The Prevent Duty In Education

Prevent is part of CONTEST, one of the four elements of the Government's Counter Terrorism Strategy.

Prevent is a national programme that aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions, and communities are protected against radicalising influences.

Radicalisation can happen when a person develops extreme views or beliefs that support terrorist groups or activities.

There are different types of terrorism and Prevent deals with all of them. Prevent is run locally by experts who understand the risks and issues in their area, and how best to support their communities. These experts include local authorities, the police, charities, and community organisations

Kent County Council and Medway Unitary Authority have the lead role in delivering the Prevent Strategy across Kent and Medway in accordance with the Prevent duty guidance and work with partners such as the Police, Education and Health.

The objectives of Prevent are:

tackle the ideological causes of terrorism
intervene early to support people susceptible to radicalisation
enable people who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate.

Kent and Medway is a priority area for Prevent and has a dedicated team of professionals that support sectors and intuitions to fulfil the requirements of the Prevent duty and support those at risk of radicalisation. The team includes two education officers, working in partnership with the Department for Education, to provide free support, training, and guidance to education settings to develop and embed a whole school approach to the Prevent duty.

Protecting children and young people from the risk of radicalisation, is a key part of your setting overall safeguarding responsibilities, it’s important that all staff and governors know how to protect them from this threat. Understanding how to embed the Prevent duty as part of your wider approach to safeguarding and across the curriculum will help you to protect children, young people, from the risks of radicalisation, violent extremism, becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

You can help reduce the threat from terrorism, radicalisation, and extremism by knowing what to report and reporting it. Prevent referrals are likely to be made in the first instance by people who encounter those who appear to be at risk of being radicalised. There is no single model of a person’s radicalisation journey or single profile of a radicalised person. Frontline professionals, when deciding whether to make a referral, should consider whether they believe the person they are concerned about may be on a pathway that could lead to terrorism. Further guidance on making a referral and how to apply the notice, check, share procedure can be found by completing the Prevent duty training and contacting your Kent and Medway Prevent team by emailing prevent@kent.gov.uk.

Prevent works with individuals and communities by using voluntary early intervention to encourage them to challenge extremist and terrorist ideology and behaviour. This can involve:

support in schools, youth clubs, and community groups
promoting positive values and community cohesion
protection from extremist dialogues
encourage safe and open debate and critical thinking
encouraging reporting of concerns
engage in positive activities
engaging in open and honest dialogue around prevent.

What is Channel?

Channel is a key element of the Prevent Strategy and Local Authority Channel Panels are a statutory requirement under the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015. Channel is a multi-agency programme across England and Wales that provides support to people susceptible to becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism, underpinned by Section 36 of the CTSA 2015. The person (or their parent or legal guardian, if under 18) referred to it must give consent before any support can be provided under Channel. The overall aim of the programme is early intervention and diverting people away from potential risk. The Kent and Medway Channel Panel involves agencies working together to give individuals access to services such as health and education, specialist mentoring and diversionary activities - Channel can (uniquely) provide theological or ideological mentoring. For those requiring support an appropriate package is offered based on an assessment of their vulnerability. Please find further information on Channel

Unlike mainstream safeguarding for adults and children, there is no threshold to make a Prevent referral for an individual to access assessment and specialist support. There may be cases that require a safeguarding response in conjunction with Prevent. Channel provides early support for anyone who is vulnerable to being drawn into any form of terrorism or supporting terrorist organisations, regardless of age, faith, ethnicity, or background. Individuals can receive support before their vulnerabilities are exploited by those who want them to embrace terrorism, and before they become involved in terrorist -related activity. While it remains rare for children and young people to become involved in terrorist activity, young people from an early age can be exposed to terrorist and extremist influences or prejudiced views. As with other forms of safeguarding strategies, early intervention is always preferable.

How do I report concerns?

When a concern is identified, the ‘notice, check, share’ procedure should be applied as outlined in the Prevent duty awareness course.
If you have an immediate concerns about the welfare of any persons, then contact the Police by calling 999.
make a referral - if you have any concerns or are unsure about making a referral then discuss it with your organisation's safeguarding lead. You can also contact your Prevent Education Officer for support and guidance.

New National Referral form to be used from August 2024

From August 2024 there is a new national referral form for Prevent (PDF, 281.0 KB). Please ensure you delete the old forms from your system and only use the new form.

Once you have completed this form it is essential that you submit it to the police directly, or your Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or equivalent will do this on your behalf. For Kent and Medway all forms must be submitted to preventreferrals@kent.police.uk
Where possible you will receive a response on your referral, but this is not always possible due to data-protection considerations and other sensitivities.
On page one of the referral form, it includes advice for members of the public. The referral form is for ‘specified authorities’ only - i.e. people with Prevent responsibilities according to the CTSA, although police are happy to accept referrals from the public on the form.
Members of the public can call the Act Early Support Line on 0800 011 3764 in confidence to share your concerns or call the anti-terrorism Hotline on 0800 789 321.
If you are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment, a police non-emergency number is available as a text phone service on 18001 101. Remember, in an emergency dial 999.
report online material promoting terrorism or extremism

Terrorist attacks can sadly lead to spikes in hate crimes against certain groups, and many people in communities across the country are likely to feel vulnerable. Such action is not tolerated, is taken extremely seriously, and should always be reported.

View guidance on reporting hate crime

How can I support Prevent?

Be vigilant - radicalisation is usually a process, not an event, and factors or events may contribute towards the radicalisation for an individual.
Familiarise yourself with the factors that contribute towards radicalisation and how to make a Prevent referral.
Please make sure that you are up to date with your Prevent training and have a clear understanding of the Prevent duty, how to make Prevent referrals as well as knowing who your Prevent lead is for your organisation - and check that they are receiving regular updates.
Complete Prevent e-learning and contact the Kent and Medway Prevent Education Officers for support and guidance.

Prevent is a shared responsibility. Don't rely on others - report any concerns you have immediately.

Key documents

Rapid Reads

Prevent Education Officer newsletter

Prevent Education Officer Newsletter - January 2025

Please find previous editions of the Prevent Education Officer newsletters.

Kent and Medway Prevent Team

Assistant Director Contest and Serious Organised Crime - Nick Wilkinson

Strategic lead for Prevent and Channel at Kent County Council, Chair of Kent and Medway Channel Panel. Chair of Southeast Prevent and Channel Chairs meeting. Lead officer for Kent Community Safety Agreement priority of Preventing Extremism and Hate.

Email: Nick.Wilkinson@kent.gov.uk

Prevent and Channel Manager - Jess Harman

Coordinates Prevent activity across Kent and Medway, promotes the Prevent Strategy across both statutory and non-statutory partners, develops and oversees a partnership Prevent plan and Counter Terrorism risk assessment and delivers Prevent training to a range of agencies.

Email: Jess.Harman@kent.gov.uk

Prevent Community Engagement Officer (PCEO) - Nadine Permaul

Supporting Kent and Medway communities and encouraging engagement with Prevent. Promoting awareness and addressing misconceptions of Prevent to build resilience and confidence within communities. Improving outreach and awareness and working with partners to ensure local and emerging needs are addressed.

Email: Nadine.Permaul@kent.gov.uk

Prevent Education Officers (PEO) - Sally Green (Medway and North and West Kent) and Rachel Murray (South and East Kent)

Supporting educational establishments across Kent and Medway up to secondary level to implement Prevent through teaching, training, and guidance. Partnership working with the Department of Education and network of PEO's.

Emails: Sally.Green2@kent.gov.uk and Rachel.Murray@kent.gov.uk

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