PREVENT UPDATE
Update: 5th November 2023
Below advice to professionals in schools but of interest to all from Jatinder Matharu, Safeguarding co-ordinator.
As many of you will be aware the Prevent Strategy was refreshed and published 7th September 2023.
The Prevent duty guidance has been refreshed and updated to reflect several recommendations of the Independent Review of Prevent. It is an update to the existing Prevent duty guidance for schools and early years providers in England and Wales (last updated in April 2021). The updated guidance has been simplified into one document for all education settings
- this helps to create greater consistency in the core expectations, whilst still acknowledging differences between education phases.
There are no new legal requirements or additional responsibilities for schools and early years providers. Settings should continue to understand their Prevent duty requirements as part of their wider safeguarding responsibilities as outlined in Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE).
The Prevent programme
The core mission of Prevent is stopping people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. The early intervention support provided by Prevent addresses the personal, ideological, and social factors which make people more susceptible to radicalisation. Prevent also extends to supporting the rehabilitation and disengagement of those already involved in terrorism. A short fact sheet can be accessed here: Prevent and Channel factsheet - 2023 - Home Office in the media (blog.gov.uk)
There is lots of support with regards to the new Prevent guidance which includes training, risk assessments, risks both on/offline, curriculum resources and advice from the DfE, Home Office and LGfL. I have attached a range of excellent tools and resources in the attached ‘PDG Stakeholder pack’ which you can use to digest the guidance and detail. It contains videos, new risk assessment templates and briefings for each phase of education to incorporate into newsletters, training or other ways you might engage with the sector.
This guidance is designed to help you consider indicators of risk and decide what response is appropriate and proportionate. These indicators are a guide to help you make professional judgements Managing risk of radicalisation in your education setting - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) If in doubt, make a Prevent referral using the Prevent Referral Form 2024
The glossary of terms is really useful to help navigate through the terminology: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance/glossary-of-terms
Briefing Notes:
prevent-duty-guidance-schools-and-early-years-providers-briefing-note-1.pdf
prevent-duty-guidance-further-education-and-skills-final-briefing-note-1.pdf
stakeholder_pack_final_2_002.pdf
Other support available can be found here
- DfE dedicated Prevent website - Educate Against Hate - offers a range of resources, tools and practical advice from early years through to KS5.
I hope this information will assist you refreshing your prevent policy, training and risk assessments.
Jatinder Matharu
Education Safeguarding Professional