Prevent

Prevent Statement 

Prevent Lead – Mary Bonner (Designated Senior Lead for Safeguarding) in coordination with Deputy Head, Stacey Stewart (Deputy DSL)

The Prevent Strategy – Aims to prevent people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It has three key themes (the 3 I’s):

Ideologies – Respond to the ideological challenges we face from those supporting terrorism

Individuals – Provide support and advice to vulnerable individuals, preventing them from being drawn into terrorism

Institutions – Work with educational and other institutions to address the risk of radicalisation and violent extremism

(Extremist groups - left wing, right wing, animal rights, environmental and splinter groups)

The Counter Terrorism Bill places a statutory duty on Schools to help prevent young people being radicalised – ‘Frontline staff should understand Prevent, be able to recognise vulnerabilities to radicalisation and know where to go to seek further help.’ Home Office Dec 2014

Prevent is seen at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary Academy as ‘safeguarding’ and the following key themes in relation to Prevent: Leadership and Accountability, Training, Reporting and Referral Process and Curriculum will be implemented following training.

Leadership and Accountability 

• Clear Leadership – Identified Prevent Lead/single point of contact/Safeguarding Lead
• Prevent lead has an understanding of Prevent and its objectives
• Prevent is embedded within the safeguarding policies and procedures and safeguarding responsibilities are clear and explicit
• SLT, Governors and staff are aware of Prevent and its objectives

Training 

• All school staff are Prevent trained
• Governors have been Prevent trained as part of their annual training
• School Prevent lead attends additional Prevent training and cascades to all staff and Governors
• Prevent Training, literature and guidance is available to all staff
• Prevent Lead and key staff are aware of Channel  

Reporting and Referral Process 

• Prevent Lead/SPoC identified within school
• Staff in school know who the Prevent Lead is
• Internal referral process follows safeguarding process
• Prevent Lead and key staff know who to contact with a concern – Prevent Team - prevent@calderdale.gov.uk
• An Audit trail/process exists for reports, concerns and or referrals
• Consistency – Note/Check/Share
• Development of ‘Lessons Learnt’ – with SLT and Governors as necessary

Curriculum 

• Broad and balanced
• Shared and integrated into ethos
• Range of initiatives and activities (spiritual, moral, social and emotional needs)
• Engagement with the local community
• Development of British Values through our detailed Personal Development curriculum
• No ‘one off spectaculars’ – Prevent embedded within the curriculum
• Development of critical thinking skills (internet safety, power of influence) 
• Updates for parents and carers as relevant

• Channel – Leading mechanism to support and protect vulnerable individuals who are at risk of being drawn into terrorist related activity (including Channel Referral Process)
• SPoC – Single Point of Contact
• Calderdale Prevent Contact Details (including the following) –     
• Information Sharing and Confidentiality – statutory duty to share information where there are concerns about the safety and well-being of a child or adult
• The Calderdale Safeguarding Panel – multi-agency approach to safeguarding vulnerable children, young people and adults at risk of radicalisation, violent extremism and terrorist related activity

Prevent Strategy in School

The strategy in school has taken into account push and pull factors that can foster extremism and strategic teaching approaches used as an effective method to tackle issues.

Push factors include:

• Lack of excitement and frustration
• Lack of sense of achievement
• Lack of purpose/confidence in the future
• Gaps in Knowledge or understanding of faith – in children and parents
• Gaps in knowledge and understanding of context regarding immigrants, migrants and asylum seekers as specific communities within the UK
• Humanitarian compassion for communities involved in global conflict
• Sense of injustice
• Actual or perceived humiliating experiences
• Exclusion – lack of belonging to peer or community

Pull Factors include:

• Charismatic , confident and influential individuals who are potentially in positions of power
• Networks/sense of belonging
• Broader community views which enable or do not oppose extremism
• Persuasive clear messages, exploiting knowledge gaps
• Social networking media – with no compliance to fact or legal recourse
• Individuals who are skilful in terms of exploiting emotional empathy in others

Strategic Teaching Approaches:

• Teacher attitudes and behaviour - willingness to admit you don’t know, acknowledging controversial issues exist, awareness of the teacher’s role, willingness to seek help and guidance if uncertain about an issue
• Specific knowledge – Understanding of other cultures and religions as well as values and beliefs and knowledge of an alternative values framework
• Teaching practice and pedagogy – Boosting critical thinking, helping to see multiple perspectives, use of multiple methods and resources, embedding or sustaining dialogue following any specialist interventions, enabling students to tackle difficult issues, Linking school work to wider community, drawing evidence from across the curriculum, developing in children a sense of multiple identities and to help children become aware of and comfortable with multiple personal identity.
• Teaching British values of democracy – The right to vote, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect, tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

Curriculum (click to expand)

The above strategic teaching approaches are evident in school in the following ways, underpinned by our Mission Statement:

• RE/Worship – respect for the faiths and beliefs of others, tolerance, celebrating sameness and difference, love and kindness for others, ‘Love, Learn and Live in Christ’!
• Teaching of virtues - one specific virtue each half term linked to a specific British Value
• Leadership Roles – democratic process, discussion, decision making, responsibility, Community
• Green Issues – Recycling, Stewardship of Earth, local environment issues
• Democratic voting in lessons and at other times – cross curricular 
• Computing – safer use of the internet and social media, research
• Maths – problem solving, understanding and interpreting data
• English – stories, discussions (valuing, participating and justifying opinions) poetry, persuasive and narrative writing
• Geography/History – local, national and global awareness and historical context
• Circle Time – critical thinking, discussing difficult issues, issues in the news
• Effective communication with parents and carers – letters, website, DOJO, texting
• Events – Masses, liturgies, star awards, performances, festivals
• Assemblies – collective worship/personal development/achievement/celebration!
• Opportunities and events
• Residential Trips – sense of belonging/school community, challenge and support
• Science – testing and predicting ideas using scientific method, research
• Involvement with the local community – events/visits and visitors
• Art – appreciation of others' work
• MFL – language and culture of another country
• Integration of Promoting fundamental British values as part of SMSC in schools DfE from Nov 2014
• Teaching resources used from a wide range of sources – cultural/faith
• Associated policy links – anti-bullying, safeguarding, RE
• Restorative Practices – through effective behaviour management based on our Mission, Circle Time