Prevent and Radicalisation

What is Prevent? What are the indicators of vulnerability to Radicalisation?

Sir Christopher Academy has a statutory duty under The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and the statutory Prevent Guidance 2015 to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. Extremism is defined as vocal or active opposition to fundamental values of our society, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. Radicalisation is defined as the act or process of encouraging extremist views or actions in others, including forms of extremism leading to terrorism. There are a number of behaviours which may indicate a child is at risk of being radicalised or exposed to extremist views which could include becoming distant or showing loss of interest in friends and activities or possession of materials or symbols associated with an extremist cause.

Staff are expected to be vigilant in protecting pupils from the threat of radicalisation and refer any concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead. Staff have received appropriate training to ensure they have the knowledge and confidence to identify pupils at risk, challenge extremist ideas and know where and how to refer concerns.

Key Points:

1. Radicalisation refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and forms of extremism leading to terrorism.

2. Extremism is defined by the Government in the 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'.

3. Extremism is defined by the Crown Prosecution Service as:

'The demonstration of unacceptable behaviour by using any means or medium to express views which:

• Encourage, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs;
• Seek to provoke others to terrorist acts;
• Encourage other serious criminal activity or seek to provoke others to serious criminal acts; or
• Foster hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the UK.'

4. There is no such thing as a "typical extremist": those who become involved in extremist actions come from a range of backgrounds and experiences, and most individuals, even those who hold radical views, do not become involved in violent extremist activity.

5. Students may become susceptible to radicalisation through a range of social, personal and environmental factors. It is known that violent extremists exploit vulnerabilities in individuals to drive a wedge between them and their families and communities. It is vital that school staff are able to recognise those vulnerabilities.

6. Indicators of vulnerability include:

• Identity Crisis - the student / pupil is distanced from their cultural / religious heritage and experiences discomfort about their place in society;
• Personal Crisis - the student / pupil may be experiencing family tensions; a sense of isolation; and low self-esteem; they may have dissociated from their existing friendship group and become involved with a new and different group of friends; they may be searching for answers to questions about identity, faith and belonging;
• Personal Circumstances - migration; local community tensions; and events affecting the student / pupil's country or region of origin may contribute to a sense of grievance that is triggered by personal experience of racism or discrimination or aspects of Government policy;
• Un-met Aspirations - the student / pupil may have perceptions of injustice; a feeling of failure; rejection of civic life;
• Experiences of Criminality - which may include involvement with criminal groups, imprisonment, and poor resettlement / reintegration;
• Special Educational Need - students / pupils may experience difficulties with social interaction, empathy with others, understanding the consequences of their actions and awareness of the motivations of others.

7. However this list is not exhaustive, nor does it mean that all young people experiencing the above are at risk of radicalisation for the purposes of violent extremism.

8. More critical risk factors could include:

• Being in contact with extremist recruiters;
• Accessing violent extremist websites, especially those with a social networking element;
• Possessing or accessing violent extremist literature;
• Using extremist narratives and a global ideology to explain personal disadvantage;
• Justifying the use of violence to solve societal issues;
• Joining or seeking to join extremist organisations;
• Significant changes to appearance and/or behaviour;
• Experiencing a high level of social isolation resulting in issues of identity crisis and/or personal crisis.

Key Categories of Abuse

Physical

Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer *feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately induces illness in a child'. (*Fabricated and Induced Illness)

Emotional

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill-treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child's emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may include:

• not giving the child opportunities to express their views
• developmentally inappropriate expectations
• interactions that are beyond the child's developmental capability
• over-protection and limitation of exploration and learning
• preventing the child participating in normal social interaction
• seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another
• causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger
• the exploitation or corruption of children

Sexual

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing.

They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways or grooming a child in preparation for abuse (including via the internet). Women can commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children.

Neglect

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child's health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:

• provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, (including exclusion from home or abandonment)
• protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger
• ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers)
• ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment

It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child's basic emotional needs.

Child sexual exploitation is when children and young people receive something (such as food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts, or money) as a result of performing, and/or others performing on them, sexual activities. Child sexual exploitation can occur through the use of the internet or on mobile phones. In all cases, those exploiting the child or young person have power over them because of their age, gender, intellect, physical strength and/or resources. For victims, the pain of their ordeal and fear that they will not be believed means they are too often scared to come forward.

What are the signs?

Often the victims of sexual exploitation are not aware that they are being exploited. Sometimes a victim may think they won't be believed - especially if the abuser is the partner of their mum or dad, a relative or close family friend - and so they may be reluctant to ask for help. However there are a number of tell-tale signs that a child or young person may be being groomed. These include:

• going missing for periods of time or regularly coming home late
• regularly missing school or not taking part in education
• appearing with unexplained gifts or new possessions
• associating with other young people involved in exploitation
• having older boyfriends or girlfriends
• suffering from sexually transmitted infections
• mood swings or changes in emotional wellbeing
• drug and alcohol misuse
• displaying inappropriate sexualised behaviour
• changes in eating pattern

Risks faced by children?

• Children at risk of sexual exploitation are some of the most vulnerable in our society. Many have experienced abandonment or have suffered from physical and mental abuse. They need help but don't know where to look.
• Perpetrators of these crimes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, using the internet to protect their identity and trafficking children around the country to avoid detection.

Who can offer additional support?

The NSPCC 24 Hour Child Protection Helpline, is a useful helpline, dial: 0808 800 5000