The Prevent Duty is working positively to protect young people from radicalisation.

You may have heard about the Prevent Duty, which aims to prevent young people from being radicalised by, for example, far right extremists or religious extremists.

In school we have a duty to care for the children and take note of any child who is at risk of radicalisation, regardless of their background. We also have to take steps to help prevent children being exposed to extremist ideas. Our overriding priority is that children feel safe and able to demonstrate tolerance towards all cultures and religions, even when personal views may be different.

Talking about terrorism: tips for parents

Children are exposed to news in many ways, and what they can see can worry them. Our advice can help you have a conversation with your child:

• listen carefully to a child’s fears and worries
• offer reassurance and comfort
• avoid complicated and worrying explanations they could be frightening and confusing
• help them find advice and support to understand distressing events and feelings
• children can always contact Childline free and confidentially on the phone and online.
• it’s also important to address bullying and abuse following terrorist attacks.
• some children my feel targeted because of their faith or appearance.

Look for signs of bullying, and make sure that they know they can talk to you about it. Often children might feel scared of embarrassed, so reassure them it’s not their fault that this is happening and they can always talk to you or another adult they can trust. Alert your child’s school so that they can be aware of the issue.Dealing with offensive or unkind comments about a child’s faith or background. If you think this is happening, it’s important to intervene. Calmly explain that comments like this are not acceptable. Your child should also understand that someone’s beliefs do not make them a  terrorist. Explaining that most people are as scare and hurt by the attacks as your child is. You could ask them how they think the other child felt, or ask them how they felt when someone said something unkind to them. Explain what you will do next, such as telling your child’s school, and what you expect the to do.