Extremism and Radicalisation Policy

 

 

RAINFORD CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL

 

AND RAINDROPS PRESCHOOL

‘Learning and growing together to achieve our best in the love of God’

 

POLICY FOR PREVENTING RADICALISATION AND EXTREMISM

 

 

 

For approval by CDCS:  31^st October 2017               

To be reviewed on or before:      Autumn 2020

 

 

Signed……………………………………………  Chair of CDCS Committee

 

Signed……………………………………………  Headteacher

 

 

 

 

Our Mission Statement

 

‘Learning and growing together to achieve our best in the Love of God’

 

School Aims

 

In order to prepare today’s children for tomorrow’s challenges, Rainford CE Primary Schools aims to achieve the following:

 

• Every child will be encouraged to understand the meaning and significance of faith, experience God’s love and develop the spirituality to enable them to live out our Christian values of love, joy, peace, friendship, forgiveness, perseverance and justice

 

• Every child will achieve their full potential through being a highly motivated, resilient and independent learner who embraces new experiences, has confidence to tackle challenges and go onto develop a lifelong love of learning.

 

• Every child will value themselves as a unique individual with special qualities and strengths developing self-discipline and honesty; taking responsibility for their own actions and appreciating their ability to make a positive difference in the world.

 

• Every child will appreciate and respect others, celebrate differences between individuals and groups and respect and care for God’s creation and the environment.

 

• Every child will be encouraged to make healthy choices and appreciate the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

In order to do this, we will constantly reflect the Christian ethos of our school in our relationships with our children, their families, our staff, the church and the wider community.

 

 

OVERVIEW

This school takes seriously its duty contained in the Counter Terrorism and Security Act (2015),

to prevent pupils and those working in school from being  radicalised or drawn into extremism. We will follow the advice contained within the new statutory guidance on the legal duty set out in the ‘Prevent Duty Guidance: For England and Wales (2015)’ in conjunction with the other duties which we already have for keeping pupils safe.

 

OBJECTIVES

1. To prevent pupils and those working in school from being radicalised and drawn into extremism
2. To take appropriate action to protect children from harm
3. To be alert to harmful behaviour by other adults
4. To ensure that pupils use the internet safely and to encourage parents to be alert and vigilant to the dangers their children might face.
5. To ensure that staff and pupils report any concerns to the headteacher immediately.
6. To build strong links with the appropriate outside agencies so that where the school needs specialist help and support it will be activated promptly.

 

DEFINITION

Extremism can be defined as “holding of extreme opinions: the holding of extreme political or religious views or the taking of extreme actions on the basis of those views”.

 

 

STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTING EXTREMISM

 

The Office for Security & Counter Terrorism works to counter the threat from terrorism and their work is detailed in the counter terrorism strategy CONTEST. This strategy is based on four areas of work:

 

 • Pursue To stop terrorist attacks

• Prevent To stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism

• Protect To strengthen our protection against a terrorist attack

• Prepare To mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack

Our role, as a school, is outlined more specifically in the DCSF document ‘Learning together to be safe: A toolkit to help schools contribute to the prevention of violent extremism.’

 

At Rainford CE Primary School we follow the principles outlined in the DCSF toolkit which seeks to:

• Raise awareness within school of the threat from violent extremist groups and the risks for young people.

• Provide information about what can cause violent extremism, about preventative actions taking place locally and nationally and where we can get additional information and advice.

• Help schools understand the positive contribution they can make to empower young people to create communities that are more resilient to extremism, and protecting the wellbeing of particular pupils or groups who may be vulnerable to being drawn into violent extremist activity.

• Provide advice on managing risks and responding to incidents locally, nationally or internationally that might have an impact on the school community.

 

 

PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW IF THERE ARE CONCERNS THAT A CHILD IS BEING RADICALISED

 

We are aware of the potential indicating factors that a child is vulnerable to being radicalised or exposed to extreme views, including peer pressure, influence from other people or the internet, bullying, crime and anti-social behaviour, family tensions, race/hate crime, lack of self-esteem or identity, prejudicial behaviour and personal or political grievances In the event of prejudicial behaviour the following system will be followed;

· All incidents of prejudicial behaviour will be reported directly to the SLT or the Head Teacher.

· All incidents will be fully investigated and recorded in line with the Behaviour Policy and records will be kept in line with procedures for any other safeguarding incident.

· Parents/carers will be contacted and the incident discussed in detail, aiming to identify motivating factors, any changes in circumstances at home, parental views of the incident and to assess whether the incident is serious enough to warrant a further referral. A note of this meeting is kept alongside the initial referral in the Safeguarding folder.

· The SLT follow-up any referrals for a period of four weeks after the incident to assess whether there is a change in behaviour and/or attitude. A further meeting with parents would be held if there is not a significant positive change in behaviour.

· If deemed necessary, serious incidents will be discussed and referred to First Response Team 01744 676600.

· In the event of a referral relating to serious concerns about potential radicalisation or extremism, the school will also contact Merseyside Police on 0151 777 8311 and First Response on 676600

 

The school will use these principles to guide our work in all areas including building on our work in:

• Promoting Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes for all pupils

• Promoting pupil wellbeing, equalities and community cohesion

• Building the resilience of the school, working with partners, to prevent pupils becoming the victims or causes of harm

• Working with other agencies and parents to build community networks of support for the school.

 The toolkit forms the body of this policy and is available to download from: www.communitycohesionncc.org.uk/docs/280.pdf

 

OUTCOMES

All in this school will work in partnership with parents and the wider community to prevent pupils from being radicalised or drawn into extremism. The head teacher and Governing Body will assess the impact of this policy and monitor its operation. It should be viewed in conjunction with the school’s other policies especially the E-Safety and Acceptable Use Policy, Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy; Equality Policy; Visiting Speaker Procedure and Rainford CE Behaviour Policy.

 

Appendix A

 

Indicators

Vulnerability

• Identity Crisis - Distance from cultural/ religious heritage and uncomfortable with their place in the society around them

• Personal Crisis – Family tensions; sense of isolation; adolescence; low self esteem; disassociating from existing friendship group and becoming involved with a new and

different group of friends; searching for answers to questions about identity, faith and belonging

• Personal Circumstances – Migration; local community tensions; events affecting country or region of origin; alienation from UK values; having a sense of grievance that is

triggered by personal experience of racism or discrimination or aspects of Government policy

• Unmet Aspirations – Perceptions of injustice; feeling of failure; rejection of civic life

• Criminality – Experiences of imprisonment; poor resettlement/ reintegration, previous involvement with criminal groups

 

Access to extremism / extremist influences

• Is there reason to believe that the child/young person associates with those known to be involved in extremism - either because they associate directly with known

individuals or because they frequent key locations where these individuals are known to operate? (e.g. the child/young person is the partner, spouse, friend or family

member of someone believed to be linked with extremist activity)

• Does the child/young person frequent, or is there evidence to suggest that they are accessing the internet for the purpose of extremist activity? (e.g. Use of closed

network groups, access to or distribution of extremist material, contact associates covertly via Skype/email etc)

• Is there reason to believe that the child/young person has been or is likely to be involved with extremist/ military training camps/ locations?

• Is the child/young person known to have possessed or is actively seeking to possess and/ or distribute extremist literature/ other media material likely to incite racial/

religious hatred or acts of violence?

• Does the child/young person sympathise with, or support illegal/illicit groups e.g. propaganda distribution, fundraising and attendance at meetings?

• Does the child/young person support groups with links to extremist activity but not illegal/illicit e.g. propaganda distribution, fundraising and attendance at meetings?

 

Experiences, Behaviours and Influences

• Has the child/ young person encountered peer, social, family or faith group rejection?

• Is there evidence of extremist ideological, political or religious influence on the child/ young person from within or outside UK?

• Have international events in areas of conflict and civil unrest had a personal impact on the child/ young person resulting in a noticeable change in behaviour? It is

important to recognise that many people may be emotionally affected by the plight of what is happening in areas of conflict (i.e. images of children dying) it is important to

differentiate them from those that sympathise with or support extremist activity

• Has there been a significant shift in the child/ young person’s behaviour or outward appearance that suggests a new social/political or religious influence?

• Has the child/ young person come into conflict with family over religious beliefs/lifestyle/ dress choices?

• Does the child/ young person vocally support terrorist attacks; either verbally or in their written work?

• Has the child/ young person witnessed or been the perpetrator/ victim of racial or religious hate crime or sectarianism?

Travel

• Is there a pattern of regular or extended travel within the UK, with other evidence to suggest this is for purposes of extremist training or activity?

• Has the child/ young person travelled for extended periods of time to international locations known to be associated with extremism?

• Has the child/ young person employed any methods to disguise their true identity? Has the child/ young person used documents or cover to support this?

Social Factors

• Does the child/ young person have experience of poverty, disadvantage, discrimination or social exclusion?

• Does the child/ young person experience a lack of meaningful employment appropriate to their skills?

• Does the child/ young person display a lack of affinity or understanding for others, or social isolation from peer groups?

• Does the child/ young person demonstrate identity conflict and confusion normally associated with youth development?

• Does the child/ young person have any learning difficulties/ mental health support needs?

• Does the child/ young person demonstrate a simplistic or flawed understanding of religion or politics?

• Does the child/ young person have a history of crime, including episodes in prison?

• Is the child/young person a foreign national, refugee or awaiting a decision on their immigration/ national status?

• Does the child/ young person have insecure, conflicted or absent family relationships?

• Has the child/ young person experienced any trauma in their lives, particularly any trauma associated with war or sectarian conflict?

• Is there evidence that a significant adult or other in the child/young person’s life has extremist view or sympathies?

 

More critical risk factors could include:-

• Being in contact with extremist recruiters

• Articulating support for extremist causes or leaders

• Accessing extremist websites, especially those with a social networking element

• Possessing extremist literature

• Using extremist narratives and a global ideology to explain personal disadvantage

• Justifying the use of violence to solve societal issues

• Joining extremist organisations

• Significant changes to appearance and/or behaviour