Prevent is one of the key elements of CONTEST, the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy. Prevent helps to protect society from terrorism by supporting people who are at risk of radicalisation and offering them appropriate interventions.

Radicalisation means someone is being encouraged to develop extreme views or beliefs in support of terrorist groups and activities. There are many different types of radicalisation and Prevent deals with all of them.

Schools working with other local partners, families and communities, play a key role in ensuring young people and their communities are safe from the threat of terrorism.

If someone is at risk of radicalisation, they should be referred to Prevent’s support programme, Channel.

If a Channel intervention is required, a tailored support package will be offered. This could include mentoring, theological guidance, education, and careers assistance. Channel is voluntary and people who are referred to Prevent must give consent (via a parent or guardian if they are underage) before they can be given support. If a person does not engage with Channel or decides not to continue with the process for any reason, alternative forms of support may be available from the local authority or other providers. Any risks are then carefully managed by the police.

While it remains rare for children and young people to become involved in terrorist activity, young people from an early age can be exposed to terrorist and extremist influences or prejudiced views.  As with other forms of safeguarding strategies, early intervention is always preferable.

New Prevent Resources

The Home Office has developed a Prevent communication toolkit with products and resources such as posters, case studies, videos and factsheets  - please get in touch with the team if you would like some of these resources to share. 

Implementing the Prevent Duty in Education Toolkit

We have created a new toolkit to support educational settings with Prevent, whether revising school policies, seeking advice about Ofsted and Prevent, learning about these safeguarding responsibilities for the first time or understanding how to equip young people to cope with the threat of extremism.

The toolkit includes self-assessment templates, risk self-assessments and information on reporting and who to contact for advice.

Alongside the toolkit, training is available for schools.

You can download the toolkit here.

Download the Prevent Referral Form here

School Governors

Alongside the Governor Prevent Training and training on promoting British values, there is a Governor Handbook produced by the DfE which can be downloaded here:

DfE Governance Handbook

Training