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 Beech Hill 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).
Useful links for further information on Prevent.
http://www.educateagainsthate.com
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.
Prevent Duty
As part of Beech Hill’s commitment to safeguarding and child protection we fully support the government’s Prevent Strategy, and take guidance from Teaching Approaches to help build resilience to extremism.
We ensure we:
- Teach a broad and balanced curriculum
- Promote fundamental British values
- Assess the risk of pupils being drawn into terrorism and support for extremism
- Train key staff to give them the knowledge and confidence to identify children at risk
- Protect children from terrorist and extremist material when accessing the internet at school
- Ensure robust safeguarding policies are in place to identify children at risk, intervene and refer pupils as appropriate
If you have any concerns you wish to discuss, please contact:
Our Prevent Lead and Designated Safeguarding Lead is Shameem Hussain (Headteacher) or Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, Samantha Bowling (Deputy Headteacher).They will ensure that any concerns raised by pupils, staff or parents are dealt with in accordance with Calderdale Safeguarding Procedures. Prevent policy and practice is detailed in our Safeguarding Policy under Section 3.3 ‘Prevent Duty’
Useful links and resources
Prevent duty guidance
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance
http://www.educateagainsthate.com
Channel General Awareness
http://course.ncalt.com/Channel_General_Awareness/01/index.html
Prevent for Schools
http://www.preventforschools.org/