Prevent Duty

The School SPOC (Single Point of Contact) is Mr Patrick Williams (Deputy Headteacher/Safeguarding Lead)

St John’s Angell Town Primary School is very proactive in ensuring that all Staff and Governors are aware of radicalisation and work incredibly hard to keep our pupils safe from any form of Radicalisation and keep them informed and educated. We also provide a wealth of opportunities to understand at age-appropriate levels the signs and vulnerabilities of Radicalisation and who to contact if they are worried or need help. As a school, we follow the Lambeth Safeguarding Team’s advice on preventing the Radicalisation of Children in our care.

Radicalisation is the process by which people come to support terrorism and violent extremism and, in some cases, participate in terrorist groups.

There is no obvious profile of a person likely to become involved in extremism or a single indicator of when a person might move to adopt violence in support of extremist ideas. The radicalisation process is different for every individual and can take place over an extended period or within a very short time frame.

Three main areas of concern have been identified for initial attention in developing the awareness and understanding of how to recognise and respond to the increasing threat of children/young people being radicalised:

Increasing understanding of radicalisation and the various forms it might take, thereby enhancing the skills and abilities to recognise signs and indicators amongst all staff working with children and young people
Identifying a range of interventions – universal, targeted and specialist – and the expertise to apply these proportionately and appropriately.
Taking appropriate measures to safeguard the well-being of children living with or in direct contact with known extremists.

Referral and Intervention Processes

Any member of staff who identifies concerns, for example, as a result of the observed behaviour or reports of conversations to suggest the child supports terrorism and/or violent extremism, must report these concerns to the named PREVENT lead (Mr Patrick Williams (Deputy Headteacher/Safeguarding Lead)

The PREVENT lead must discuss any such concerns with the local police. After consultation with the police and in light of any further information gathered about the child and the family, if it is considered there are grounds for further involvement, a multi-agency assessment meeting (usually involving the child, parents and relevant professionals) should be convened to determine the appropriate response and how this should be delivered.

The aim is to ensure early identification of children’s vulnerabilities and promote a coordinated response, wherever possible, within universal provision (Tier 1) or through targeted interventions (Tier 2) and the Early Intervention process. The emphasis should be on supporting vulnerable children and young people rather than informing or “spotting” those with radical or extreme views.

In exceptional cases, it may be considered that a child or young person is involved or potentially involved in supporting or pursuing extremist behaviour. This may be, for example, where the child is part of a family with known extremists (e.g. people who are currently subject to criminal proceedings or have been convicted of terrorism-related offences.) Where this is the case, a referral must be made to Children’s Social Care Services, and the police must be informed. Further investigation by the police will be required before other assessments and interventions.

Consideration should be given to the possibility that sharing information about the concerns with the parents may increase the risk to the child and, therefore, may not be appropriate at the referral stage.

Consideration should also be given to the need for an emergency response – this will be extremely rare, but examples are where there is information that a violent act is imminent or where weapons or other materials may be in possession of a young person or member of his or her family. In this situation, a 999 call must be made.

Where there is involvement as a result of the concerns, any provision of services should be subject to regular reviews until it is deemed appropriate to end the agreed response.

Local Support

Locally, the following organisations can provide additional advice and guidance in relation to safeguarding individuals vulnerable to radicalisation and children who may be at risk through living with or being in direct contact with known extremists.

Lambeth Council also delivers activity through the Preventing Violent Extremism agenda and can be contacted through:
Sarwan Singh Jandu
Safeguarding Manager - Primary schools, secondary schools & colleges
Tel: 020 7926 9643 / 0797 6490 051
Email: sjandu@lambeth.gov.uk

Denys Rasmussen
Safeguarding Manager - Early years and primary schools
020 7926 8915 / 07785 660426
drasmussen@lambeth.gov.uk

Understanding and Recognising Risks and Vulnerabilities of Radicalisation

Children and young people can be drawn into violence or exposed to extremist groups' messages by any means.

These can include the influence of family members or friends and/or direct contact with extremist groups and organisations or, increasingly, through the internet. This can put a young person at risk of being drawn into criminal activity and has the potential to cause significant harm

The risk of radicalisation is the product of many factors, and identifying this risk requires that staff exercise their professional judgement, seeking further advice as necessary. It may be combined with other vulnerabilities or maybe the only risk identified.

Potential indicators include:

Use of inappropriate language
Possession of violent extremist literature
Behavioural changes
The expression of extremist views
Advocating violent actions and means
Association with known extremists
Seeking to recruit others to an extremist ideology

The following guidance provides advice on how to manage and respond to concerns of children and young people identified as being vulnerable to and affected by the radicalisation of others