Opogo H&S Series: Implementing the Prevent Duty

This course, “Implementing the Prevent Duty,” is designed to equip educators and safeguarding professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to fulfil their responsibilities under the Prevent Duty. The Prevent Duty is a legal obligation in the UK, requiring educational institutions and other specified authorities to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.

What is the Prevent Duty?

The Prevent Duty is part of the UK Government’s counter-terrorism strategy, known as CONTEST. It aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism by addressing the ideological causes of terrorism, intervening early to support those susceptible to radicalisation, and enabling those who have engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate.

The Role of Educators

Educators play a crucial role in carrying out the Prevent Duty. They are in a unique position to identify children and young people who may be vulnerable to radicalisation. Their responsibilities include:

• Identifying Vulnerabilities: Recognising signs of radicalisation and extremist behaviour.
• Building Resilience: Promoting fundamental British values and creating a safe space for open discussion.
• Reporting Concerns: Following the school’s safeguarding procedures to report any concerns about a student’s behaviour.
• Collaborating with Partners: Working with local Prevent staff, the police, and local authorities to manage and support at-risk individuals.

Four Main Areas of Radicalisation

The Prevent Duty describes four main areas of radicalisation that educators need to be aware of:

1. Risk Assessment: Understanding the risks of radicalisation in the local area and identifying individuals who may be vulnerable.
2. Working in Partnership: Collaborating with local authorities, the police, and other organisations to share information and support individuals at risk.
3. Staff Training: Ensuring that all staff are trained to recognise signs of radicalisation and know how to respond appropriately.
4. IT Policies: Implementing robust IT policies to prevent access to extremist material and promote safe online behaviour.

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will:

• Gain an understanding of the Prevent Duty and its importance.
• Learn how to identify and support individuals at risk of radicalisation.
• Understand how to effectively collaborate with external partners to safeguard students.
• Be equipped with practical strategies to implement the Prevent Duty within their educational setting.

For additional learning via the DfE you can visit the following links:

• Prevent awareness elearning – an introduction to the Prevent duty (Home Office)
• Prevent referrals elearning – make a referral that is robust, informed and with good intention (Home Office)
• Channel awareness elearning – understand the objectives of the Channel programme, the working process, roles and responsibilities (Home Office)
• Prevent for further education and training – aimed at different audiences including staff, governors and board members (Education and Training Foundation)

For more information about available training, contact your local authority.

This course consists of one video lesson and attached materials. The materials include DfE documents which you should read alongside the video before taking the quiz to gain your certificate.