Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Executive Director for People

The Scrutiny Board considered a briefing note of the Executive Director for People which briefed members on the Prevent programme in schools.

The Prevent Duty was established in July 2015 as part of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act and in particular Section 26 which came into force on 1 July 2015.  It outlined the duty for a school or college to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”.  Schedule 6 confirmed that all schools were covered by the requirements (whether maintained or independent are specified authorities for the purpose of the act).  This report outlined those requirements and the implications for schools in the City, the key actions which had been taken to support implementation and proposals for further action.

The Prevent Duty stated that the requirement to have due regard to the risks of radicalisation to support extremism was part of the wider safeguarding duties of schools and public bodies and should be incorporated within their main resources.

The Prevent Duty was closely associated with supporting local communities to resist the threat of violent extremism.  It was overseen locally by both the Community Safety Partnership and by both of the Local Safeguarding Boards.

Essentially the Prevent Duty was based on the principle that recognising children can be vulnerable to exploitation and radicalised to support and engage in violent extremism was one part of the safeguarding duties of teachers – and was therefore part of the overall duty of care.  There were four key duties for schools:

·  Identify local risks

·  Identify at risk students

·  Work in partnership with other agencies

·  Keep children safe online where much of the radicalisation takes place (including phones not just PCs and Laptops)

In addition, all schools must meet the requirements set out in section 78 of the Education Act 2002 and promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural values (SMSC) to develop their pupils in “Self knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence, distinguish right from wrong, contributing to their locality and society, further tolerance and harmony encourage respect for other people and the rule of the law.”  The achievement against this requirement was assessed through Ofsted.

The principles of the Prevent Duty were clearly outlined in support of the Equality Act – ‘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.”

A large part of the response to the Duty had been to provide training and awareness to schools in the City. Since October 2015, and the appointment of the Prevent Co-ordinator, further training had been available. During that time almost 40 schools had been directly trained by the Co-ordinator, with over 1,000 staff attending, the principal form of training was based on the Home Office model known as the Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent.

The Government required all areas to establish a Channel Panel.  A multi-agency group, led by the Local Authority, with its principal aim to provide a safeguarding support to individuals who may be at risk of radicalisation.

The Scrutiny Board appreciated the work of officers on Prevent.

The Scrutiny Board questioned Cabinet Members, Deputy Cabinet Members and officers on the following:

·  Training in Coventry

·  Partnership working

·  Faith organisations

·  Monitoring training

·  Work with Universities

The Board sought clarification that all schools had received quality training.

RESOLVED that

1.  the Scrutiny Board considered the report and requested that the Cabinet Member congratulate officers and continue to work with partner organisations and agencies in the city

2.  data regarding the number of schools delivering prevent training be made available

3.  officers monitor the quality of the training where we can gain access to the material