Prevent Guide for Parents

February 2022

What is the Prevent strategy?

Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes.

The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including political and religious extremism.

The Prevent duty is carried out under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, which legally requires schools to take steps to prevent children from being drawn into terrorism.

How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?

All schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism.

This means schools have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views, in the same way we protect them from drugs or gang violence.

Importantly, schools can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues so that they better understand how to protect themselves.

What does this mean in practice?

Different schools will carry out the Prevent duty in different ways, depending on the age of the children and the needs of the community.

Many of the things we already do in school to help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy.

We take this duty seriously and carry out the four main actions responsibly, namely: risk assessment, working in partnership, staff training and IT policies. If we assess a child as at risk, we will refer to the Channel Programme

https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021/10/18/factsheet-prevent-and-channel-2021/ , which focuses on providing support at an early stage to anyone who is identified as being vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.

Building resilience in our children and the promotion of fundamental British values is at the heart of preventing radicalisation. We do this by providing a safe place in which children can discuss issues, and we aim to give them the knowledge and confidence to challenge extremist beliefs and ideologies.

In terms of training, staff have received training to familiarise them with the Prevent Duty and WRAP training. (Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent). In terms of internet safety, we ensure suitable filters are in place to keep children away from extremist materials.

We recognise that we play a vital role in keeping children safe from harm, including from the risks of extremism and radicalisation, and in promoting the welfare of children in our care.

For additional information, please refer to the relevant section of our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy (7.5) which is also listed below: 

7.5 If you have concerns about extremism

If a child is not suffering or likely to suffer from harm, or in immediate danger, where possible speak to the DSL first to agree a course of action.

If in exceptional circumstances the DSL is not available, this should not delay appropriate action being taken. Speak to a member of the senior leadership team and/or seek advice from local authority children’s social care. Make a referral to local authority children’s social care directly, if appropriate (see ‘Referral’ above). Inform the DSL or deputy as soon as practically possible after the referral.

Where there is a concern, the DSL will consider the level of risk and decide which agency to make a referral to. This could include the police or Channel, the government’s programme for identifying and supporting individuals at risk of becoming involved with or supporting terrorism, or the local authority children’s social care team.

The DfE also has a dedicated telephone helpline, 020 7340 7264, which school staff and governors can call to raise concerns about extremism with respect to a pupil. You can also email counter.extremism@education.gov.uk. Note that this is not for use in emergency situations.

In an emergency, call 999 or the confidential anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321 if you:

• Think someone is in immediate danger
• Think someone may be planning to travel to join an extremist group
• See or hear something that may be terrorist-related

When reviewing our PREVENT duties we would consider the guidance contained on the Safer Cornwall website. www.safercornwall.org.uk

What can we do to help our children understand these issues and help protect them?

• Provide a safe space for them to debate controversial issues.
• Help them to build resilience and the critical thinking they need to be able to challenge extremist arguments.
• Give them confidence to explore different perspectives, question, and challenge.

The school is committed to providing effective filtering systems and this will include monitoring the activities of children when on-line in the school. We follow the guidance set out in Annex C (KCSIE September 2024) Please refer to the online safety policy.

All staff in the first instance should contact the SPOC (Single Point of Contact) within the school with any concerns. The name of our SPoC is given at the start of this policy.

Additional contact details:

Concerns can be discussed with the Prevent Lead for Cornwall: Steve Rowell email: prevent@cornwall.gov.uk

MARU can also be contacted for advice: 0300 1231 116

Emergency Out of Hours: Tel No: 01208 251300

If there are any immediate and serious concerns call the police on 999