1. Statement
2. Aims
3. Related policies, legislation and guidance
4. Roles and responsibilities
5. Procedure
6. Review
Appendix: Prevent Duty Risk Assessment and Plan (pdf)
1. Statement
The College is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for all students, staff, and visitors, as part of its child protection and safeguarding obligation. This includes recognising the responsibilities under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 to prevent people being drawn into terrorism. This is known as the Prevent duty, the key aims of which are to:
- tackle the ideological causes of terrorism
- intervene early to support people susceptible to radicalisation
- enable people who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate.
When complying with the Prevent duty the College is also mindful of its other legal obligations under data protection legislation, the Equality Act 2010 and the protection of freedom of speech and academic freedom.
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2. Aims
This policy sets out how the College will fulfil its obligations under the Prevent duty:
- Provide comprehensive and balanced programmes, within Personal Tutor and PSHEE sessions, to equip students with the knowledge, skills and critical thinking abilities to challenge and debate in an informed way.
- Ensure staff receive appropriate Prevent training.
- Devolve responsibilities for effective Prevent duty management to specific staff members.
- Challenge extremist views, discrimination and prejudice of any kind, whether from internal or external sources.
- Promote diversity and respect for British values, including democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.
- Monitor and control access to extremist materials and influences, both online and offline.
- Raise awareness among staff and students of the risks of extremism and radicalisation.
- Develop a system of information sharing with relevant authorities, where necessary.
- Implement measures to address any safeguarding concerns regarding extremist behaviour, views or materials.
- Annually review this policy and ensure its effectiveness.
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3. Related policies, legislation and guidance
3.1 Related policies
3.2 Legislation and guidance
- Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015
- Channel Duty Guidance (protecting vulnerable people and making referrals)
- DfE Prevent duty guidance
- Educate against hate
- Keeping children safe in education
- RBKC Prevent Team
- UK Prevent duty training
- Working together to safeguard children
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4. Roles and responsibilities
All staff undergo Prevent training, both online and in-person, with a particular focus on the susceptibilities and influencing factors that lead a young person to adopt extremist views. Staff are made aware of their duties, how to raise concerns and how to provide further support for young people at the College. Areas included in training are regularly reviewed and kept in-line with current trends, such as concerns around toxic masculinity and conspiracy theories, as well as any local threats identified by the RBKC Prevent Team.
4.1 Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
- Ensure staff awareness of the Prevent strategy and relevant guidance.
- Carefully monitor the Safeguarding database, as part of the Prevent strategy, to identify students who may be more susceptible to being drawn into terrorist activities.
- Provide appropriate Prevent training and support, including how to raise concerns, to staff and students.
- Investigate and report any concerns related to extremism and radicalisation.
- Implement appropriate actions in line with College policies and procedures, and in collaboration with external agencies such as the RBKC Prevent team.
- Work closely with other members of the Senior Leadership Team and Facilities Manager on filtering and monitoring online use, within the College’s network, to block potentially harmful and inappropriate content and illegal behaviour.
4.2 Personal Tutors
- Create a safe and inclusive learning environment for students to discuss sensitive issues such as extremism, radicalisation and terrorism.
- Be aware of signs and indicators of radicalisation and be trained to respond appropriately, including reporting concerns to the designated safeguarding lead.
- Deliver PSHEE (GCSE) or Personal Tutor (Year 12) schemes of work that cover topics related to the Prevent Duty Strategy, such as British values, diversity and tolerance.
- Promote critical thinking, open dialogue and respect for different opinions and beliefs.
- Encourage students to challenge extremist views and promote positive role models who exemplify British values.
- Keep accurate records of interactions with students and any concerns or incidents related to the Prevent Duty.
- Strategy, and ensure that students are aware of the College’s policies and procedures for addressing radicalisation and extremism. When doing so, ensure that these records are updated onto the College’s safeguarding database.
4.3 All staff
- Ensure familiarity with the Prevent duty guidance and this policy.
- Challenge extremist views, discrimination and prejudice of any kind.
- Be alert to signs of vulnerability and take appropriate action.
- Report any concerns related to extremism and radicalisation using the College’s Safeguarding database.
- Promote British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs. Staff should encourage students to understand and appreciate these values and how they underpin a cohesive society.
- Create a safe and inclusive learning environment where students feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues. Staff should foster an environment of trust and respect, where students are encouraged to challenge extremist views and explore different perspectives.
4.4 Principal
- Undertake appropriate training to understand their role in safeguarding and the College’s obligations under the Prevent duty.
- Ensure the College has clear policies and procedures in place for preventing radicalisation and extremism. These policies should outline the College’s approach to identifying and addressing concerns about radicalisation or extremism among staff and students.
- Ensure that training is provided for all staff members, so that they understand their responsibilities in relation to the Prevent Duty and are able to identify signs of potential radicalisation or extremism.
- Encourage a culture of openness and dialogue within the College, where staff and students feel comfortable raising concerns about radicalisation or extremism.
- Ensure that any concerns about radicalisation or extremism are reported to the appropriate authorities, such as the local authority’s Prevent team or the police.
- Regularly review and evaluate the College’s approach to the Prevent Duty, ensuring that it remains effective and up-to-date. Ensure that the effectiveness of the policy is monitored and the policy is reviewed annually to reflect changes or recommendations from legislation or guidance.
4.5 Facilities Team
- Ensure robust filtering and monitoring of online usage to prevent access to and interference from illegal and inappropriate websites and persons.
- Ensure that attempts to access inappropriate websites are immediately reported to the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Deputy in the absence of the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
4.6 Guest speakers
The College will carry out necessary risk assessments when inviting guest speakers to deliver talks and events. This includes ensuring that materials and resources to be used do not encourage or promote radicalisation or extremism. The DSL, or deputy, will deal with any concerns raised before or during presentations. All guest speakers will be supervised during their presentations.
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5. Procedures
5.1 Raising concerns and referral
Students and staff should follow the process below if they have any concerns relating to terrorism, extremism or radicalisation. In the event of a suspected or actual immediate threat, the police will be contacted.
- Raise concerns with the Designated Safeguarding Lead or deputy.
- Collect as much contextual information as possible to be shared with the police for referral. The DSL will usually share this information, however it is possible to do this directly.
- A police gateway assessment will determine if the Prevent referral needs to be discussed at a multi-agency meeting. The assessment determines the level of susceptibility and risk around the referred person.
- A multi-agency meeting, called a Channel panel, decides whether the person will be adopted as a case and how they will be supported, this is detailed in the action plan created at the meeting.
- Staff may be called upon to provide information to the panel and provide support to the person as agreed in the action plan.
5.2 Alerting external agencies
The College will provide all information regarding concerns to the police, social care, Prevent, and any other agency it deems necessary to contact.
5.3 Risk management and Channel referral
The DSL will receive guidance from the local authority Prevent Team regarding risk management and/or follow the process above in 5.1 for raising concerns.
5.4 Disciplinary action
Based on feedback and intelligence from all involved agencies, the College may initiate further disciplinary action in line with the College’s Student Behaviour and Exclusions Policy. Where necessary, the College will continue to seek guidance from the police and/or Prevent Team as the investigations continue.
6. Review
This policy, and related risk assessments, will be reviewed annually by the Senior Leadership Team, which includes the DSL and Facilities Manager, as part of the wider safeguarding review.
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