What is the Prevent strategy?
Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes. The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism. From July 2015 all educational organisations have a duty to safeguard their learners from radicalisation and extremism. For NLET, it applies to all of our stakeholders – trustees, staff, learners, professional partners and visitors. This means we have a responsibility to protect our stakeholders from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from drugs or bullying. Importantly, we can provide a safe place to discuss these issues so stakeholders can better understand how to protect themselves.
What is extremism/radicalisation?
Extremism and radicalisation are two different but closely related ideas:
- Extremism is a system of beliefs, which can be political, racial or religious ideas which encourage hatred of or harm to other groups. These beliefs are those that do not support the basic ‘British Values’.
- Radicalisation is the process by which a person gradually comes to believe extremist ideas. This is a gradual process that is often shown by changes in a person’s behaviour over time, such as them becoming more isolated or spending more time with others with extremist ideas.
What does this mean in practice?
Many of the things we already do at nlet to help learners become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy. These include:
- Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity
- Challenging prejudices and racist comments
- Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity
- Promoting spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, as well as British values such as democracy
We will also protect stakeholders from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they can’t access extremist and terrorist material, and we will carry out the Prevent Duty in different ways, depending on the nature of the stakeholder and the needs of the community.
British Values and how these relate to Prevent
The Government emphasises that we are required to ensure that key ‘British Values’ are included in what we deliver. The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy. Educational establishments have been required to promote British values since 2014, and this will continue to be part of our response to the Prevent strategy.
The five British Values are:
- Democracy
This is the process by which people have a voice in the decision making process.
- The rule of law
Understanding the importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country.
- Individual liberty
Being encouraged to make independent informed choices, with the knowledge that they are in a safe, secure and supportive environment.
- Mutual Respect
Understanding that your behaviour has an effect on your own rights and those of others. All members of the nlet community treat each other with respect and this is reiterated through its teaching and learning environments.
- Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
Understanding that we are part of a diverse global community of many different beliefs and cultures, and respecting each other’s rights to have and express their beliefs.
How do I report a potential Prevent issue?
Each council has dedicated Prevent contacts. You will be able to get this from your local council website. If you notice a prevent concern during your time at nlet, please let a member of staff know, or you can contact the Student Services department on student.services@nletrust.org .
Your report will be dealt with anonymously – no one will know your name.
I want to know more…
You can refer to our Extremism and Radicalisation Policy
You can also refer to Educate Against Hate [https://educateagainsthate.com/ ] which is a government website designed to provide advice and information about guarding against radicalisation and extremism.
You can do prevent training yourself at this website: http://course.ncalt.com/Channel_General_Awareness