What is the Prevent strategy?
Prevent is part of the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. Its aim is to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Prevent will address all forms of terrorism but continue to prioritise according to current threat levels. It’s about minimising the risk of people supporting extremist ideologies which espouse violence and terrorism.
As such Prevent is an early intervention tool most commonly in the form of education, dialogue and mentoring, aiming to reduce the likelihood of terrorist or other violent actions in the future.
Prevent is just one of four elements which make up the Government’s Counter Terrorism Strategy comprising of four key elements:
Pursue: to stop terrorist attacks
Protect: to strengthen our physical infra-structure against a terrorist attack, and
Prepare: to mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack
Prevent: to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.
Prevent can be seen as separate from the other three elements in that it operates in the ‘non-criminal’ space; a prevention tool to reduce the numbers of people who may consider criminal acts. In an educational context Prevent is a safeguarding issue for schools aimed at supporting and protecting children and young people who are vulnerable and at risk of being radicalised. Prevent is about ensuring that they are diverted away before any crime is committed and described as a long term solution to the current threat of extremism.
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 the extreme right wing, violent Islamist groups and other causes.
How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?
From July 2015 all schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism. This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from drugs or gang violence. Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues so they better understand how to protect themselves.
What does this mean in practice?
Many of the things we already do in our school help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy.
These include:
We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they can’t access extremist and terrorist material, or by vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils. We will carry out our Prevent duty in different ways, depending on the age of the children and the needs of our community.
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:
More Information can be found on our website
Isn’t my child too young to learn about extremism?
The Prevent strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself, which may not be appropriate for younger children. It is also about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect. Our School will make sure any discussions are suitable for the age and maturity of the children involved.
Is extremism really a risk in our area?
Extremism can take many forms, including political, religious and misogynistic extremism. Some of these may be a bigger threat in our area than others. We will give children the skills to protect them from any extremist views they may encounter, now or later in their lives.
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 – a violent action against people or property, designed to create fear and advance a political, religious or ideological cause
Radicalisation – the process by which a person comes to support extremism and terrorism