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United StatesThe aim of the Prevent Policy is to identify how employees and Apprentices will be supported to develop an understanding of the Prevent Strategy and how they can utilise their existing knowledge and skills to recognise someone who may have been or is being radicalised. The policy will build on existing safeguarding policies and procedures
The government Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, places a duty upon all education providers to have regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. This Prevent Duty forms part of the wider governments CONTEST counter terrorism strategy:
Prevent terrorism – stop people becoming terrorists
Pursue terrorism – disrupt and stop terror attacks
Prepare to deal with terrorism – mitigate impact of attacks that can’t be stopped.
As a nation we continue to prioritise according to the threat posed to our national security; the allocation of resources will be proportionate to the threats we face. There has been an increase in far-right inspired terror attacks and lone acts of terror opposed to mass organised terror activities, the government strategy now includes ways in which to identify risk of these instances.
The aim of the Prevent strategy is to reduce the threat to the UK from terrorism by stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. The Prevent strategy has three specific strategic objectives
Respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it
Prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support.
Work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation that we need to address.
Radicalisation is a process not an event, and there is no single route or pathway to radicalisation. Evidence indicates that those targeted by radicalisers may have doubts about what they are doing. It is because of this doubt that all employees including apprentices need to have the mechanisms and interventions in place to support an individual being exploited and to help them to move away from terrorist-related activity.
This protocol aims to:
outline the statutory responsibilities of Wren Kitchens in relation to PREVENT
inform staff of their duties and responsibilities relating to PREVENT
describe the process for raising a concern under PREVENT
describe the response to concerns via the CHANNEL process
describe the requirements for information sharing
describe the arrangements for PREVENT training
‘Having due regard’ means that the authorities should place an appropriate amount of weight on the need to prevent people being drawn into terrorism when they consider all the other factors relevant to how they carry out their usual functions.
‘Extremism’ is defined in the 2011 Prevent strategy as vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also include in our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our armed forces, whether in this country or overseas.
‘Interventions’ are projects intended to divert people who are being drawn into terrorist activity. Interventions can include mentoring, counselling, theological support, encouraging civic engagement, developing support networks (family and peer structures) or providing mainstream services (education, employment, health, finance or housing).
‘Non-violent extremism’ is extremism, as defined above, which is not accompanied by violence.
‘Prevention’ in the context of this document means reducing or eliminating the risk of individuals becoming involved in terrorism. Prevent includes but is not confined to the identification and referral of those at risk of being drawn into terrorism into appropriate interventions. These interventions aim to divert vulnerable people from radicalisation.
‘Radicalisation’ refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and extremist ideologies associated with terrorist groups.
‘Safeguarding’ is the process of protecting vulnerable people, whether from crime, other forms of abuse or (in the context of this document) from being drawn into terrorist related activity.
“Terrorism”. The current UK definition of ‘terrorism’ is given in the Terrorism Act 2000. In summary this defines terrorism as an action that endangers or causes serious violence to a person/people; causes serious damage to property; or seriously interferes or disrupts an electronic system. The use or threat must be designed to influence the government or to intimidate the public and is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause.
‘Terrorist-related offences’ are those (such as murder) which are not offences in terrorist legislation, but which are judged to be committed in relation to terrorism.
‘Vulnerability’ describes the condition of being capable of being injured; difficult to defend; open to moral or ideological attack. Within Prevent, the word describes factors and characteristics associated with being susceptible to radicalisation.
“Channel” is a programme which focuses on providing support at an early stage to people who are identified as being vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. The programme uses a multi-agency approach to protect vulnerable people by: a. identifying individuals at risk; b. assessing the nature and extent of that risk; and c. developing the most appropriate support plan for the individuals concerned.
This work is facilitated by the multiagency Channel Panel. Section 38 of the CT&SA places a duty to co-operate on all partners of a Panel to assist the police and the panel in carrying out their functions under the CT&SA.
Wren Kitchens is responsible for preventing its employees and apprentices, from being drawn into terrorism and ensure they can access appropriate support. This protocol provides guidance on what to do if concerns are raised about an individual who may be at risk of being drawn into radicalisation or terrorism.
Roles and Responsibilities:
The Designated Safeguarding Lead is the nominated PREVENT lead, and is responsible for:
development of policy and procedure relating to PREVENT
ensuring there is a PREVENT programme to deliver training in accordance with the relevant legislation
ensuring the collation and submission of PREVENT performance data
ensuring referrals are made to Channel where appropriate
responding to requests for information from the Channel panel
contributing to the Channel process and attending Channel meetings
undertake training in line with their role
Recognise PREVENT concerns when they observe or are informed of such
Record the concern
Refer the concern if appropriate in the manner described in referral pathways below
All staff, who work directly or indirectly with apprentices or young people are trained on the vulnerabilities and indicators of radicalisation, the Channel process and how the duty engages with requirements of their role, via certificated learning. Identifying risk at an early stage allows early intervention and is crucial to the Prevent Duty and Channel process being successful.
There is no single way of identifying who is likely to be vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. Factors that may have a bearing on someone becoming vulnerable may include:
peer pressure, having family members or friends who are already radicalised,
influence from other people or via the internet,
bullying,
crime against them or their involvement in crime,
anti-social behaviour,
family tensions,
race/hate crime,
lack of self-esteem or confusion over personal identity
personal or political grievances
feelings of loss or bereavement
social isolation
experience of discrimination, inequality or harassment leading to a sense of grievance
family breakdown or community tensions
There are many reasons why someone may be at risk of radicalisation and some of the signs to look out for are listed below:
out of character changes in behaviour, dress and beliefs
changes in their friendship groups or associating with people who hold extremist views
digital interaction with inappropriate online sites
changes in use of social media with increased secrecy
showing sympathy for extremist causes
advocating extremist messages
glorifying violence
accessing extremist literature and imagery
NB this is not an exhaustive list.
The duty encompasses building learner resilience to the threat of radicalisation, challenging extremism and raising awareness of and demonstrating British values:
Democracy – is a state of society characterised by equality of rights and governments that are representative of the will of the population subject to a free electoral system.
The rule of law- the principle that all people and institutions are accountable to law that is fairly applied without exception.
Individual Liberty -the notion that all individuals can freely express themselves through the freedom of speech and lawful actions without interference from the state.
Mutual respect and tolerance - defined as a permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, beliefs, practices, racial or ethnic origins differ from one's own.
Opportunities to promote the above values are currently facilitated within the apprenticeship programme. Apprentices will have an opportunity to discuss topics relating to Safeguarding and PREVENT. Their tutors/assessors will have regular catch ups and encourage apprentices to report any concerns using the appropriate channels. Apprentices will also be reminded of the reporting process, including local authority contacts.
Channel is a voluntary programme which provides tailored support to help move individuals away from radicalisation.
The Channel panel is chaired by the local authority and works with multi‐agency partners to collectively assess the risk to an individual and decide whether an intervention is necessary.
If a Channel intervention is required, the panel works with local partners to develop an appropriate tailored support package. The support package is monitored closely and reviewed regularly by the Channel panel.
Channel assesses vulnerability using a consistently applied vulnerability assessment Framework built around three criteria. The three criteria are:
Engagement with a group, cause or ideology
Intent to cause harm; and
Capability to cause harm. (See appendix 1 vulnerability assessment framework)
Referrals are often likely to be made in the first instance by individuals who come into contact with vulnerable people. Where appropriate a referral will be forwarded to the Police who will assess whether or not the case is potentially suitable for Channel. The Police co-ordinate Channel activity, requesting relevant information about a person, and make an initial assessment of the person’s vulnerability. Partners of the multi-agency Channel panel may be requested to provide information about an individual to the police during the information gathering stage. (See PREVENT & information sharing, below).
Procedure for raising concern
The procedure outlined below should be followed when raising concerns about an individual or individuals. In addition to the procedure outlined below, if there is a perceived immediate threat to any individual or property, the police should be notified by calling 999 to report the concerns.
Any member of staff who observes or is informed of any concerns about a person who may be vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism should contact the Prevent Lead. If considered appropriate, a referral will be made by the PREVENT Lead to the relevant Channel panel for the area where the person lives.
Where appropriate, the person raising the concern will be asked to complete a referral form outlining the concern and the circumstances in which it arose. The referral should be sent to the relevant Local authority PREVENT coordinator and copied to the Safeguarding and PREVENT Lead.
Where the concern involves the person making threats of a terrorist nature or a risk of harm to others then this should be referred immediately to the Police and consent would not be required. This would occur when the risk to public safety is believed to outweigh the duty of confidentiality. This will be the case even when the person may be acutely mentally unwell. If it transpires that the concern was due solely to the person’s illness this can be dealt with at a later stage and the Channel consideration withdrawn. Advice may be sought from the PREVENT Lead.
Effective information sharing is the key to the delivery of Prevent, enabling partners to take appropriate, informed action and is central to providing the best support to those who are vulnerable to radicalisation.
However, the Prevent programme must not involve any covert activity against people or communities. But specified authorities may need to share personal information to ensure, for example, that a person at risk of radicalisation is given appropriate support (for example on the Channel programme). Information sharing must be assessed on a case-by-case basis and is governed by legislation.
The partners of a Channel panel must act in co-operation with the panel and the police in carrying out their functions for Channel. Section 38 of the CT&SA requires the partners to co-operate with the panel and the police in providing any relevant information so that they can effectively carry out their functions to determine whether an individual is vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.
When considering sharing personal information, the specified authority should take account of the following:
necessity and proportionality: personal information should only be shared where it is strictly necessary to the intended outcome and proportionate to it. Key to determining the necessity and proportionality of sharing information will be the professional judgement of the risks to an individual or the public
consent: wherever possible the consent of the person concerned should be obtained before sharing any information about them
power to share: the sharing of data by public sector bodies requires the existence of a power to do so, in addition to satisfying the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Human Rights Act 1998
Data Protection Act and the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
The duty to co-operate is limited by the company’s legal responsibilities; compliance with the duty does not require or authorise the making of a disclosure that would contravene the Data Protection Act 1998. Where consent cannot be sought, information sharing may take place if this is in accordance with the Data Protection Act. (CT&SA S.38.4a)
Therefore, consent should be obtained wherever possible. If it is not obtained, or if consent is withheld, there must be another lawful basis to share the information. There will be circumstances of course, when seeking the consent of the individual will not be desirable or possible because it will prejudice delivery of the intended outcome, or may increase the risk of significant harm to the individual or the public.
In these circumstances there are gateways or exemptions which permit sharing of information to take place without consent, if for example, it is required by law or can be justified in the public interest. Each case must be considered on its own merits.
Where there are significant concerns about the sharing of information for PREVENT purposes, these can be discussed with the Safeguarding and PREVENT Lead.
This protocol should be used alongside existing documents:
Welfare & Safeguarding of Young People & Vulnerable People in the Workplace Policy
Whistleblowing Policy
Equality Opportunities Policy
National Legislation & Guidance:
Counter Terrorism & Security Act 2015
Revised Prevent duty guidance: for England and Wales; Statutory guidance Updated 1 April 2021
Data Protection Act 2018
Human Rights Act 1998
Terrorism Act 2006
Equality Act 2010
Counter-Terrorism Strategy CONTEST 2018
Prevent Duty Guidance for further education institutions in England and Wales Updated 1 April 2021
Useful information and contacts:
Safeguarding Team: safeguarding@wrenkitchens.com
For further information and guidance regarding Prevent or Channel, you can visit the government website where you will find useful handouts:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/channel-guidance
Anti-Terrorism Hotline: 0800 789 321
If there is a perceived immediate threat to any individual or property, the police should be notified by calling 999 to report the concerns.
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