Prevent Lead: Diana Barry

What is the Prevent duty?

The Prevent duty requires all schools to "have due regard to the need to prevent people being drawn into terrorism", under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. The duty covers all types of extremism, whether political, religious or ideological.

What does it mean for Prevent School?

We have a need to protect pupils from the risk of radicalisation, as part of our wider safeguarding duties and our duty to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils. The Prevent strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself, which may not be appropriate for younger children. It is also about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect. The school will make sure any discussions are suitable for the age and maturity of the children involved.

At Prevent we do this by:

Many of the things we already do in school to help children become more resilient, empowered, have integrity, a sense of belonging and happy members of the community, also contribute to the Prevent strategy.

These include:

• Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity.
• Challenging prejudices and racist comments.
• Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity.
• Promoting British values and the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils.
• We will also protect pupils from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the Internet to make sure they cannot access extremist and terrorist material, and by checking visitors who come into school to work with children.
• We have robust safeguarding procedures to identify children/young people at risk
• We engage with our Local Authority with any risk assessments in place; to determine the potential risk of individuals being drawn into terrorism in your local area
• We make sure we have measures in place to protect pupils from harmful online content, including setting up appropriate filtering systems. We use South West Grid for Learning.
• We make sure staff receive training to help them identify pupils at risk, challenge extremist ideas, and know how to act if they have a concern

The designated and deputy safeguarding leads (DSL) have completed Prevent awareness training.

What should I do if I have a concern?

Follow our usual safeguarding procedures. Discuss these with the DSL, and they will decide whether to involve other agencies such as the LA, police, social services, or Channel, the government’s programme for identifying and supporting those at risk of being drawn into terrorism.

Who do I speak to in school?

Designated Safeguarding Lead - Jodie Watkins-Young

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads - Diana Barry & Lorraine Faulkner