Radicalisation - the Prevent duty
About Prevent
Schools now have a legal duty to prevent young people from being drawn to terrorism (since 1 July 2015). Schools should be alert to issues around staff, pupils and parents.
This page covers the following:
- Duty of schools and other settings
- What schools need to know - key documents
- Training
- Risk assessment
- Referrals/Enquiries
- ARISE
- Contact details Ealing Prevent team
Duty of schools and other settings
The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (Parliament.UK), which became law in February 2015, puts a responsibility on schools to participate in work to prevent young people from being drawn into terrorism, and to challenge extremist ideas that support, or are shared by, terrorist groups.
Schools and settings (see specified authorities above) are subject to the duty to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. Being drawn into terrorism includes not just violent extremism but also non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can popularise views which terrorists exploit.
The Prevent duty is not intended to limit discussion of these issues. Schools should, however, be mindful of their existing duties to forbid political indoctrination and secure a balanced presentation of political issues. These duties are imposed on maintained schools by sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996. Similar duties are placed on the proprietors of independent schools, including academies (but not 16-19 academies) by the Independent School Standards.
Please read guidance below to support a measured implementation of the duty:
Statutory guidance Prevent duty (GOV.UK)
Working together to safeguard children (GOV.UK)
Keeping children safe in education 2020 (GOV.UK)
What schools need to know - key documents
Education and childcare specified authorities subject to the duty (pdf)
Key points for headteachers (pdf)
Q&A Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (pdf)
Educate against hate website - Practical advice for parents, teachers and school leaders.
Prevent supplementary schools toolkit (pdf) - Guidance to support any supplementary schools operating within your premises.
Training
Staff training
The Prevent Team offers free training and workshops to help your school with understanding and implementing the Prevent duty. Please see our current training offers below:
We recommend that all staff as a minimum should access the free e-learning courses produced by the Home Office: Prevent duty training - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Student workshops
We also offer free workshops for children, which aims to support in building resilience against extremist narratives
Prevent student workshops overview 2022-23 (pdf)
In addition to student workshops, we also have community providers who offer mentoring and support services, which schools can access for free. More information on the target audience and programmes on offer can be found here: Community projects
Should your school consider that they require a whole staff group briefing or their own workshop on the subject, you can contact the Prevent team directly.
Note: Our delivery of face to face training continues to be reviewed due to COVID-19. Please contact our team to discuss options.
Risk assessment
The templates and notes listed below are not designed to replace existing risk assessments but can be integrated into those existing documents or used as an appendix to existing documents. They do not represent council policy:
- Prevent risk assessment guidance notes for Ealing schools (pdf) May 2020
- Ealing schools Prevent risk assessment model (word) May 2020
- Ealing schools Prevent risk assessment template (word) May 2020
Referrals/Enquiries
If you have any Prevent related enquiries, please contact our team for further support and guidance.
When making a referral related to radicalisation, please follow your usual safeguarding process and refer into ECIRS.
When making a referral to ECIRS, please do so along with completing the Ealing Prevent referral form and send to ECIRS@ealing.gov.uk and cc: preventschoolsinfo@ealing.gov.uk
ARISE
The anti-radicalisation in schools for Ealing (ARISE) network was set up as a steering group for schools to enable them to share best practice around the Prevent duty. Look at the video about the key elements of Ealing Prevent toolkit:
Ealing Prevent toolkit for schools
- Ealing Prevent toolkit for schools (pdf)
This toolkit includes ideas, resources and practical approaches to support primary and secondary school practitioners to understand the principles of the Prevent strategy and implement the Prevent duty as part of a whole school approach. - Presentations from Ealing online safety in education conference
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For further information, please contact contact the Prevent team.
Contact details Ealing Prevent team
General enquiries, including training, curriculum and other advice
Anisa Syed
Prevent education officer
Email: preventschoolsinfo@ealing.gov.uk
Tel: 020 8825 7106 / 020 8825 6476
All issues related to referrals and CHANNEL case management
Paul Smith
Prevent safeguarding manager
Email: smithpa@ealing.gov.uk
Tel: 020 8825 7590
In order to monitor what is happening locally, concerns should always be passed on to Ealing’s Prevent Team (details above) or where evidence exists of a possible risk to children, utilise the standard referral process in line with your agencies procedure to the ECIRS team at Ealing Council. (link under related content below).
