Prevent Strategy

Prevent Duty

Protecting Children from Extremism (‘Prevent’)
All schools have a duty to their children to develop them as good citizens who can recognise, resist and repudiate extremism.

At Marshfield Primary School, we promote strong SMSC learning, and to further develop this we apply the DfE advice on Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development (November 2014) which affirms that:

“pupils must be encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance.”

This is part of an obligation to meet the requirements of s78 of the Education Act 2002, and schools are “inspected and assessed on their measures to protect their pupils from extremist material” (Tackling Extremism in the UK).

What is extremism?
On 1 July 2015 the Prevent duty (section 26) of The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 came into force. The June 2015 Guidance, defines extremism as;
“vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.”

What is expected of schools?
Schools are expected to fulfill their ‘Prevent’ duties in three ways:

• By teaching the four values explicitly, and by exemplifying them within the school community and the way it functions;
• By being aware of signs that members of the school community may be vulnerable to becoming led to support terrorism and extremist ideologies;
• By responding appropriately if children show indications that they are vulnerable or at risk.

Useful links for further information on Prevent.
http://www.educateagainsthate.com
http://cohesionbradford.org.uk/

What are we doing at our School?

• We have two members of staff who are our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs)
• A further 4 members of staff have received Designated Safeguarding Lead Training
• All our staff have received in-house training in Radicalisation and Preventing Extremism; Compliance with the Prevent Duty; Channel Awareness Module.
• All our staff have achieved an online Prevent accreditation.

• The DSLs are the Single Point of Contact for ‘Prevent’ concerns.
  ‘Prevent’ awareness now forms an integral part of safeguarding induction for new staff members.
• The school follows Safer Recruitment and Prevent is included in Induction and Codes of Conduct for staff behaviour.
• We use e-Safe monitoring software in school which monitors all use, by staff and pupils, of school IT equipment for websites and terms that could relate to extremist material.
• The school attendance policy aims to stop parents taking children out of school, and potentially out of the country, during term time. If we learn that parents still intend to travel, we do our utmost to verify intentions and travel plans.

It is recognised that Governors are a vital component of the school’s ‘Prevent’ role, and that their understanding of the purpose and nature of work to safeguard against extremism is integral to maintaining strong, positive and trusting bonds between school and community. In the event of any uncertainty about how to respond to a concern about vulnerability, school staff would, where possible, discuss the principles with the link Governor responsible for safeguarding. This would of course maintain confidentiality and no names would be given.

School will always contact the Local Authority and, if necessary, the police if it has any concerns regarding radicalisation or extremism.