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. (Safesmart Training 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.