The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, which became law on Thursday 12 February, puts a responsibility on schools to participate in work to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism, and challenge extremist ideas that support or are shared by terrorist groups.
The provisions for schools are expected to come into force in the next few months, subject to further potential parliamentary law changes.
As a senior researcher specialising in safeguarding at The Key, I’ve been fielding lots of questions from school leaders on how to meet existing requirements for safeguarding pupils and promoting fundamental British values. For example, headteachers and governors have asked about policies on preventing extremism and guidance on how to explain the associated risks to students of different ages.
The new Act includes a more rigorous set of expectations for schools when compared with current advice on working with other agencies to protect against terrorism. These are outlined in draft statutory guidance issued for consultation before the Act was passed; we can expect final guidance to follow soon. In the meantime, here are five key points all headteachers need to know to meet new duties.
Assessing the risk of students being drawn into terrorism
Under the new rules, headteachers and governors should be assessing whether any students are at risk of being drawn into terrorism. Your reflections should be based on your local environment: are they likely to be exposed to terrorist ideology, including extremist ideas, beyond the school gates?
Ofsted inspectors already look closely at how schools keep students safe from such risks, so you will need to show that you have robust safeguarding policies in place. For example, if your school hosts visiting speakers, then your policies should set out a clear protocol for ensuring that these are suitable and appropriately supervised on the premises. Further education settings and sixth-form colleges are expected to carry out more substantial checks. In the case of visiting speakers, for example, staff should ask to see the event content ahead of time, including any presentations and footage that will be used. They should also be willing to cancel the event if necessary.
Working in partnership with your local authority
When putting in place measures to safeguard students from terrorist ideology, your governing body or proprietor should consider how your local children’s safeguarding board approaches this issue. You can find your Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) here if you’re unsure where to find them. When redrafting your child protection policy, be sure to adhere to government guidance and refer to locally agreed inter-agency procedures.
Training staff to identify at-risk children
Do your staff have the knowledge and confidence to identify children who are at risk? Are they able to challenge extremist ideas used to legitimise terrorism? Do all staff know where and how to refer children and young people for further help? Addressing these questions is the key to identifying training gaps and giving your staff the skills they need. Prevent awareness training will play a key part in this.
Keeping students safe online
You can help to keep children safe from terrorist and extremist material by setting up appropriate levels of filtering on the school internet. Internet safety policies in further education should make specific reference to the new duty. The new rules recognise that older students and staff may need to research terrorism and counter-terrorism as part of their studies, but they expect institutions to be able to identify where online materials are accessed for curriculum purposes.
Managing prayer and faith facilities
While there’s currently no equivalent expectation on schools, further education institutions and sixth-form colleges are expected to have clear policies on the use of prayer rooms and other faith-related activities. Such policies should cover arrangements for managing the facilities and any issues that arise, including how access is managed after hours. Contact your local Channel coordinator for advice on these arrangements.
Amy Cook is a senior researcher at The Key, which provides leadership and management support to over a third of the schools in England and Wales.
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