The Safeguard Hub
KS4 · PSHE / Citizenship
🛡️
Prevent & Radicalisation
What it is, why it matters, and what you can do
PREVENT DUTY LESSON
Aligned with: Prevent Duty Guidance 2023 · KCSIE 2025 · CONTEST 2023
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⁉️ True or False?
- "Radicalisation happens suddenly — overnight."
- "Prevent is only about one religion."
- "If you're referred to Channel, you get a criminal record."
- "Online content can radicalise someone."
- "Schools don't have to teach about this — it's a police matter."
Vote now — we'll revisit these at the end
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📊 The UK Picture — 2024/25
8,778
Prevent referrals
in England & Wales (record high)
21%
Right-wing extremism
(largest ideological category)
36%
Referred by education
(largest referring sector)
54%
of all referrals
were under 18
Source: Home Office (2025). Individuals Referred to and Supported Through the Prevent Programme, year ending March 2025. gov.uk
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🌐 Types of Extremism in the UK
- 🔴 Right-wing terrorism & extremism — 21%
White nationalism, neo-Nazism, incel ideology. Primarily online.
- 🟢 Islamist extremism — 10%
ISIL/Daesh and Al-Qaeda inspired.
- 🔵 No clear ideology / MUU — 34%
No defined ideology — the largest single group. Most common in young referrals.
- 🟣 Left-wing, anarchist, single-issue — ~1%+
Eco-extremism, animal rights extremism, anarchist violence.
⚠️ Extremism has no single face — it comes from across the spectrum
Source: Home Office (2025). Individuals Referred to and Supported Through the Prevent Programme, year ending March 2025. gov.uk
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🔍 What Is Radicalisation?
A gradual process by which someone comes to support extremist views — including the use of violence for political, ideological, or religious reasons.
It is NOT a sudden event. It can be interrupted and reversed at any stage.
⬆️ Push Factors
- Social isolation
- Personal grievance
- Identity crisis
- Mental health difficulties
- Experience of discrimination
⬇️ Pull Factors
- Sense of belonging and community
- Simple answers to complex problems
- Purpose and meaning
- Status and validation
- Excitement and adventure
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⚠️ Warning Signs
What they say or write
- Justifying violence for political ends
- Dehumanising language about a group
- Glorifying attacks or "martyrs"
- Strong us-versus-them thinking
What they do
- New friends with extreme views
- Withdrawal from family and old friends
- Secretive about online activity
- Accessing extremist content
- Talking about travelling to conflict zones
- Unexplained changes in appearance
No single sign is proof. Patterns matter. Tell a trusted adult.
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💻
Online Radicalisation
- Online is now the primary recruitment pathway for right-wing extremism
- Algorithms show increasingly extreme content — a "rabbit hole" effect
- Gaming communities, forums, and group chats are active recruitment spaces
- Extremists use humour, memes, and irony to make content seem less serious
- Encrypted messaging apps make it harder for parents and schools to notice
What you share and engage with online shapes what the algorithm shows you next.
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🏛️ Fundamental British Values
Schools are legally required to promote these. Extremism attacks every single one of them.
🗳️
Democracy — decisions made through voting, not violence
⚖️
The Rule of Law — laws apply to everyone equally, regardless of belief
🗽
Individual Liberty — the right to make your own choices within the law
🤝
Mutual Respect — recognising the dignity of all people
🌍
Tolerance — accepting that others hold different faiths and beliefs
Source: Prevent Duty Guidance 2023 · DfE British Values guidance · Education Act 2002, s.78
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🔵 What Is Channel?
Voluntary support · No criminal record · Requires consent · Designed to help
1
Identification: Teacher or trusted adult notices warning signs → tells DSL
2
Referral: DSL refers to police Prevent team or local authority → assessment begins
3
Assessment: Practitioners assess whether Channel support is appropriate. Many referrals don't go further.
4
Consent & panel: Multi-agency panel meets. Person and family must consent before any support starts.
5
Support: Tailored help — mentoring, mental health, education. Closes when vulnerability is reduced.
Source: Home Office (2023). Channel Duty Guidance 2023. gov.uk
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🔄 Myth vs Reality
❌ Myth
Prevent is only about one religion or community
✅ Reality
Right-wing extremism is the largest ideological category (21%). All ideologies are covered.
❌ Myth
Channel means you get a criminal record
✅ Reality
Channel is voluntary and welfare-based. No prosecution. No record.
❌ Myth
Telling someone is betraying your friend
✅ Reality
Early help can interrupt radicalisation. Telling someone may save their life.
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📣
What Do You Do?
- 🏫 Tell a trusted adult — teacher, form tutor, or school DSL
- 💻 ACT Early — actearly.campaign.gov.uk — advice for anyone concerned about a friend or family member
- 📞 Anti-Terrorist Hotline: 0800 789 321 — free, 24/7, anonymous
- 💬 Childline: 0800 1111 — free, 24/7, confidential
- 🚨 Emergency: 999
You don't need to be certain. You just need to be concerned. That's enough.
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✅
What You Now Know
- Radicalisation is a gradual process — not a sudden event. It can be interrupted.
- Right-wing extremism is the largest ideological Prevent referral category — extremism has no single face
- Online radicalisation is now the primary recruitment pathway
- Channel is voluntary, supportive, and leaves no criminal record
- Fundamental British Values are the legal architecture that protects everyone
- Telling a trusted adult about a concern is an act of care — not a betrayal
Prevent Duty Guidance 2023 · KCSIE 2025 · CTSA 2015 · CONTEST 2023 · Home Office 2025
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