Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to respond to the Institute of Race Relations’ recent analysis Prevent and the Children’s Rights Convention in which the new duties placed on schools to prevent children being drawn into terrorism have been tested against the key articles in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Lord Bates

The Prevent duty is foremost about safeguarding vulnerable people – including children – from the dangers of radicalisation. We expect front line professionals, including teachers, to apply the duty in a proportionate manner.

To support schools in understanding their responsibilities in relation to the duty, we published statutory guidance in March last year which set out what is expected of them. In June last year, the Department for Education issued practical advice for schools which complemented the statutory guidance. Last month a website called ‘Educate Against Hate’ was launched specifically for schools and parents, which provides advice and support on how to identify and respond to concerns about radicalisation. We are also rolling out a training programme to equip all teachers with an awareness of radicalisation and an understanding of what they can do to ensure that children and young people are safeguarded from its risks.

It is important that when they have genuine concerns, people refer an individual to Channel, our voluntary programme to counter radicalisation, with the benefits that brings. A referral to Channel will be gauged in a way that defines an appropriate response.