Our school recognises the duties placed on it by the Counter Terrorism Bill (July 2015) to have due regard to the need to prevent pupils from being drawn into terrorism.
Due regard means that we should place an appropriate amount of weight on the need to prevent people being drawn into terrorism when they consider all the other factors relevant to how they carry out their usual functions.
Being drawn into terrorism includes both violent extremism and non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can promote views which terrorists exploit.
This duty is known as the ‘PREVENT Duty’ and applies as much to our school as it does to all others.
This is but one element within our overall school arrangements to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of all Children in line with our statutory duties set out at s175 of the Education Act 2002 (s157 of the Education Act 2002.)
Our duties include:
Assessing the risk of pupils being drawn into terrorism (using our ‘working knowledge’ of the pupils in our care)
Working in partnership with relevant agencies under the LSCB procedures
Appropriate staff training
Appropriate online filtering
Our school is committed to actively promoting the fundamental British Values of:
Democracy
The rule of law
Individual liberty
Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
Our pupils are encouraged to develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.
CT Policing launched a digital partnership with Netmums, on 6 July 2021 to promote ACT Early the dedicated Counter Terrorism safeguarding website to parents. The campaign also aims to encourage them to have radicalisation on their radar in the same way they do with other online harms.
The ACT Early campaign and website aims to encourage family and friends worried someone close is at risk of becoming radicalised to act early and share their concerns. This will be the first ever digital partnership focused on supporting Prevent’s work and will help bring transparency around the programme and the support available. Netmums is the largest UK parenting site and is an established and trusted brand.
CTP Communications and Prevent will be working alongside Netmums delivering interactive opportunities for parents to learn about the dangers and signs to spot to help protect their children from the potential risk of online radicalisation. The campaign will also show that CT Policing working closely with other partner agencies have a role to play in safeguarding and are there to support and not criminalise if parents act early.
Fifty-eight per cent of all Prevent referrals in 18/19 were of young people aged 20 and under, with nearly half of those relating to children under the age of 15. Currently, just 2% of referrals into the Prevent programme are made by family and friends, despite the fact that they are more likely to spot the signs of radicalisation before anyone else. CTP Communications and Netmums surveyed over 1000 parents to gain insights into their understanding of radicalisation and these were used to develop this new partnership.
The Netmums partnership will include online ‘drop-in’ clinics where parents can ask a Prevent officer questions and seek advice: NETMUMS - Join our expert Q&A and find out more about online extremism. There will also be four informative articles on the Netmums website, social media content, a video of the topline survey results and content sent direct to parents via the Netmums newsletter: NETMUMS - Tweens and teens (11+ years).