What is the Prevent strategy?

Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes.

The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including political and religious extremism.

How does this apply to schools?

From July 2015 all schools have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism.

This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views. At King James I Academy we are able to 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?

There are many things we already do in school which contribute to the Prevent strategy.

These include:

• 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

We will also endeavour to protect our children from the risk of online radicalisation, by applying filters on the internet and by ensuring they can’t access extremist and terrorist material while in school or using our Chromebooks.

Visitors

All visitors are vetted before coming into King James I Academy to work with pupils. We will never knowingly allow visitors or arrange events that promote terrorism or which popularise hatred or intolerance of those with particular protected characteristics.

KEY TERMS

Extremism – vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values such as democracy, the rule of law and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Ideology – a set of beliefs

Terrorism – an action that endangers or causes serious violence to a person/people, causes serious damage to property, or seriously interferes or disrupts an electronic system, and is intended to advance a political, religious or ideological cause

Radicalisation – the process by which a person comes to support extremism and terrorism

Frequently Asked Questions

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 our response to the Prevent strategy.

British values include:

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

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

The Prevent strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself; it is also about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect.

The Academy will make sure any discussions are age appropriate for 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. We will give children the skills to protect themselves from any extremist views they may encounter, now or later in their lives.

Further Information

Contact the school

If you have any questions or concerns about the Prevent strategy, please do not hesitate to contact our Designated Child Protection Lead, Mrs Mhairi Barnfield

Our policies

You will find more details about radicalisation in our Child Protection Policy and our Prevent Policy which are both available on our website.

External sources

The following sources may also be useful for further information:

Revised prevent duty guidance for England and Wales, HM Government 

What is Prevent? Let’s Talk About It http://www.ltai.info/what-is-prevent/

Prevent Radicalisation and Extremism by Acting Early actearly.uk