Prevent duty training in schools is a requirement for all teachers. Unfortunately, as a supply teacher, you are not often included in this training due to short-term placements. Preventing radicalisation and extremist behaviour is an important safeguarding concern for schools. Avoided only by using a whole-school approach to challenging and reporting extremist behaviour.
In this article, we signpost you to free prevent safeguarding training for supply teachers whilst sharing tips on how and when to challenge extremist behaviour as a supply teacher.
What responsibilities do schools have linked to prevent duty?
Since 2015, schools have expectations to comply with the information shared in section 26 of the Counter Terrorism Act. Schools are responsible for preventing young people from joining extreme groups linked with terrorism; this is known as a Prevent Duty.
Explained further in the free 2-part Spotting and Stopping Radicalisation online CPD training, the Institute of Supply Teachers (IoST) details how all school leaders must follow the guidance of how to take steps to prevent radicalisation. Accessed via the Teacher Learning Camp (TLC), this free supply teacher CPD shares the school self-assessment tool for identifying the likelihood of extreme views based on geographical location, information in the news and family views and opinions. Using this radicalisation self-assessment tool for schools helps to create the risk assessment needed to be tailored specifically to the school. As a supply teacher, you should be given access to these policies and documents.
What classes as extremist views in schools?
Radicalisation is deemed to be the process by which a young person comes to support and champion terrorism and forms of extremism which will lead to terrorism. Extremist views are vocal and actively oppose the British Values that underpin our society, including the education system. A definition of what constitutes British Values is shared in a short video collected by the IoST when creating the free training for spotting and responding to radicalisation.
How to challenge radicalisation as a supply teacher
As a supply teacher, you are unlikely to have attended any whole-school training or meetings about how to handle radicalisation or extremist views in the classroom. Therefore, you must read through the school’s policies and stance on challenging extremist views in the classroom.
We recommend during our online training for radicalisation to challenge but refrain from entering a debate with a pupil who is expressing radical views linked with terrorist organisations. Similar to a safeguarding concern, you will notify the designated prevent staff member (usually a senior leadership team member) and record a summary of the information you have.
Being faced with extremist views when teaching an unfamiliar class in an unfamiliar school environment can be daunting. Thinking back to the strategies covered in the 3-part managing behaviour in the classroom training can be useful, staying calm, confident and respectful always.
Many other relevant, bite-sized training modules are available: just head to the Teacher Learning Camp.
Sign up to IoST today for free to access all these CPD courses and more.