Protecting children from radicalisation
What can organisations do?
Your organisation should:
- include radicalisation in your safeguarding policies and procedures
- identify those at risk and make sure everyone in your organisation knows when to report a concern
- work in partnership with other organisations across the community
- promote positive messages of tolerance and community cohesion
- help parents and children get support.
> Find out more about safeguarding in faith communities
Policies and procedures
Protecting children and young people from being drawn into radicalisation and extremism should be part of your safeguarding policies and procedures. This should include information about how to recognise and respond to radicalisation, both online and offline.
The Prevent duty guidance for England, Wales and Scotland specifies the need for schools to have appropriate web filtering systems in place to protect children from terrorist and extremist content online (Home Office, 2021a; 2021b). This is also good practice for other organisations.
> Learn more about writing a safeguarding policy and procedures
> Find out more about writing an online safety policy statement
Risk assessment
The risk of children and young people becoming radicalised may vary from area to area. It is important that you understand the risks that are most relevant to the young people you work with so you can respond in an appropriate way.
The Home Office has provided a vulnerability framework as part of its Channel duty guidance (PDF), which can be used to identify those who may be at risk of becoming radicalised (Home Office, 2020).
Training
Staff and volunteers should be fully trained to understand how children can become radicalised, recognise the signs that a child may be at risk and know what action to take.
> Browse our introductory child protection training
> Take a look at our online safety training
Working in partnership
It’s important that agencies across the community work together to tackle the threat of radicalisation and extremism. One way to do this is to think about spaces where radicalisation may take place and work together to make them safer.
> Find out more about contextual safeguarding
Positive messages
You can build young people’s resilience to radicalisation and extremism by:
- helping improve their self-esteem and self-confidence
- promoting inclusivity and community cohesion
- providing a safe environment for debating a range of issues such as British values, recognising and managing risk, making safer choices and the impact of pressure from others
- helping young people understand how they can influence and participate in decision making.
Supporting vulnerable children and families
Getting early help to those at risk is vital. Work with other groups and agencies in the local community to provide children and families with appropriate support, welfare and pastoral care.
> Get more information about early help