Prevent Duty - Percy Hedley School

What is the Prevent strategy?

Prevent is part of the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy that aims to stop people becoming terrorists and support those who are susceptible to extremist views. It is a multi-agency approach to safeguard people at risk of radicalisation.

Terrorism can occur anywhere in the world with atrocities carried out in support of various ideologies. There is no single definition of terrorism, but it commonly refers to criminal acts intended to provoke a state of terror in the general public. Terrorism can be motivated by a range of ideologies or other factors, including religion, politics and race. In the UK the extreme right-wing groups and single-issue groups such as animal rights campaigners can post a significant threat.

The Prevent Strategy has three main objectives:

Respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and threat we face, and those who promote it;
Prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advise and support;
Work with sectors and institutes where there are risks of radicalisation which we need to address.

How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?

From July 2015 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 and the needs 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.
Include information about your school’s approach here, for example:

Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity
Challenging prejudices and racist comments
Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity
Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy
Protecting children from the risk of radicalisation, such as using filters on the internet or vetting visitors who come into school

How does Prevent relate to British values?

Schools have been required to promote British values since 2014, and this will continue to be part of the response to the Prevent strategy.
British values include:

Democracy
The rule of law
Individual liberty and mutual respect
Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Isn’t my child too young to learn about extremism?

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. Schools should make sure any discussions are suitable for the age and maturity of the children involved.

Is extremism really a risk in our area?

Extremism can take many forms, including political, religious and ideological extremism. Some of these may be a bigger threat in our area than others. The intention is to give children the skills to protect them from any extremist views.

Within our school we work with 13 different local authorities, we ensure that we work with them to keep up to date with the current contextual risks to our pupils and ensure that up to date training on this is delivered to all of our staff. We keep close contact with both North Tyneside and Newcastle Prevent leads to ensure understanding of contextual issues within the area local to our school.

Prevent Duty at Percy Hedley School

Within our school we have a Prevent Lead who ensures that our staff have up to date, contextual training on the current issues within Prevent. We work closely with all of our Local Authorities to ensure we have a working knowledge of the Prevent Duty within those localities. We work closely with Newcastle LA and North Tyneside LA to support our external training program and keep our Prevent Risk Assessment up to date.

Below you can find our current Prevent Audit which is completed by the Prevent Lead and the DSL team termly. This information is taken from our current Prevent Risk Assessment which can be reviewed by request from the Prevent Lead. Our risk assessment is reviewed by SLT and our Governors on a termly basis, or when a reactive incident has occurred.

Our Prevent Lead in School is Rebecca Fletcher (DSL).

Prevent Audit December 2023 >

Preventing Children and Young People from Radicalisation

If you believe someone is at risk of radicalisation you can help them obtain support and prevent them becoming involved by raising your concerns and making a referral, either to the schools Designated Safeguarding Lead, or contact:

Anti-terrorist hotline 0800 789 321

Crimestoppers 0800 555 111

Police 999

The home office website has lots of further information about Prevent >