Prevent Duty - Safeguarding

At Southover, we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children. We recognise that safeguarding against radicalisation is no different from safeguarding against any other vulnerability. All staff are expected to uphold and promote the fundamental principles of British Values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

The Prevent Duty 2015

The Prevent Duty is the duty on the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 on specified authorities, in the exercise of their functions, to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. From 1st July, 2015, all schools and registered early years providers have a duty to ‘…have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.’

As a nursery, we need to think about how we can protect children from the risk of radicalisation. It is important to understand that we already do a great deal, both to protect our children and to promote British values simply by following the EYFS. Our nursery is renowned for its warmth and its caring ethos. Under our guidance, children learn right from wrong, they begin to mix and share with others children and value other’s views, they learn about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and challenge negative attitudes and stereotypes.

According to the advice given by the DfE, staff can build on pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and enabling them to challenge extremist views.

Fundamental British values are –

  • democracy
  • the rule of law
  • individual liberty
  • mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

We are an inclusive setting and one in which the values of respect, tolerance and freedom are regarded as fundamental. We use the Early Years Foundation Stage to set standards for learning, development and care for the children in our care thereby promoting their personal, social and emotional development and understanding of the world. Our staff have a shared understanding of what fundamental British values are and how these are promoted & valued in the nursery.

According to the statutory guidance, ’The promotion of fundamental British values will be reflected in the EYFS and exemplified in an age-appropriate way through practice guidance.’

‘Inspectors will make a judgement on the effectiveness or leadership & management by evaluating the extent to which leaders, managers & governors actively promote British values’ (Ofsted 2015).

Risk Assessment

As with all safeguarding risks, practitioners understand how to recognise any changes in behaviour which could indicate they may be in need of help or protection. We recognise that children at risk of radicalisation may display different signs or wish to hide their views and practitioners would in the first instance discuss any concerns with the DSL (Charlotte Hasan).

Practitioners use their professional judgement in identifying children who may be at risk of radicalisation and would act proportionately following guidance from both the manager and the LA.

If appropriate, we would make a referral to the ‘Channel programme’ that focusses on providing support at an early stage to people who are identified as being vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. Our DSL will attend the Prevent Duty/Channel programme training as soon as it becomes available.

Working in Partnership

We work closely with the local authority and local safeguarding children boards. Should advice or support be requested all existing procedures in place to safeguard children would be followed.

We also work in close collaboration with all families, parents and carers and maintain effective engagement through any safeguarding processes.

Staff Training

Staff will undergo appropriate training associated with the Prevent Duty when available. All staff will receive in-house training and awareness of the Prevent Duty 2015 document annually and are required to acknowledge all information within this policy.

IT Policies

Southover Nursery follows many thorough IT related policies and procedures all of which are easily accessible to staff, parents/carers and visitors. These polices are shared with all employees/apprentices/volunteers/students and are part of the induction process.

Building children’s resilience to radicalisation

Our staff have a shared understanding of what fundamental British values are and how these are promoted & valued in the nursery. The fundamental values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs are already implicitly embedded within the 2014 Early Years Foundation Stage. We are guided by and follow the EYFS on a daily basis, meaning that promoting British values is something that we do already, both appropriately and successfully. For example –

Democracy: making decisions together

Practitioners encourage children to share their opinions, value those of their peers and their teachers, talk about their feelings, express when they do or do not need help and where appropriate vote on action e.g. with a show of hands. These democratic values are embedded in our daily practice across the setting. Everyone has a voice and everyone is listened to. Children and their parents are regularly asked for their thoughts/opinions/comments. Children are given opportunities to make choices and decisions on a daily basis e.g. choosing activities, their favourite stories or songs. Children are encouraged to share their views and recognise that they are entitled to have their own beliefs which may be different to those of their peers.

Rule of law

At Southover, children understand and follow our golden rules – being kind, sharing, taking turns, lining up etc. The children themselves helped formulate these rules and they are very proud of them. They are taught that our rules need to be followed and that there are consequences if they are broken. We promote good behaviour all the time be it with a specific activity e.g. circle time or generally, by means of good modelling in all that we do throughout the day. We work with the children on different emotions and help them understand how to successfully manage and express their feelings.

Individual liberty

At Southover, children are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. We model and provide provide boundaries for them to make choices safely. They are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms. We take great pride in helping to nurture their self-confidence and self-awareness and actively help develop their positive sense of self e.g. self-portraits, family trees, role play, dressing up etc. Children take great pride in taking on responsibility e.g. ringing the tidy up time bell, carrying a toy box, taking another child to wash their hands.
They are encouraged to talk about their experiences during group time/news, take appropriate risks and try new experiences, always having the confidence to do so within a safe and nurturing environment.

Mutual respect and tolerance

Fundamental to our ethos is the belief that everyone is equal and that everyone should be respected. Our children are expected to respect and listen to eachothers’ comments and opinions. We always include and are tolerant of everyone. We want our children to feel valued & respected. We actively seek out and listen to their views. All views, faiths, cultures and races are valued.

We teach children about the world in which they live, helping them to understand they are part of a much wider world. Children have the opportunity to dress-up, try different foods from other cultures and learn about other cultures festivals, religions and celebrations.

Where possible, we try to engage with our local community and welcome visitors from various faiths and cultures in order to widen and enrich the children’s understanding of the world. Such visits are complemented by resources within the setting such as story books, dolls and role play items. Key, relevant multicultural events from all over the world are learnt about and celebrated as standard and children welcome these experiences.

Stereotypes are routinely challenged as we ensure resources and experiences within the settings are based upon real life and are led by the children and their experiences. We ensure we are not led by preconceived ideas of gender, culture or racial stereotyping.

 

What to do if you have a concern

All and any child protection concerns must be reported to the designated member of staff for safeguarding, Charlotte Hasan. In the event that the manager is not available, all and any concerns must be reported to the deputy manager or the next most senior member of staff. A record must be made of all and any concerns.

All practitioners must follow child protection and safeguarding policies and procedures, following the safeguarding flowchart and contacting the DAT if appropriate. In the case of concerns relating directly to extremism, concerns can be raised by email counter.extremism@education.gsi.gov.uk or a DfE helpline on 020 7340 7264.

If a staff member feels that another staff member is behaving in an inappropriate way they would follow the whistleblowing procedure.

All staff –

  • are fully aware of the threats, risks and vulnerabilities that are linked to radicalisation.
  • are aware of the process of radicalisation and how this might be identified early.
  • are aware of how we can provide support to help families and children to be resilient and able to resist involvement in radical or extreme activities.
  • will need to be constantly vigilant and remain fully informed about the issues which affect the local area, city and society.
  • are reminded to suspend any ‘professional disbelief’ that instances of radicalisation ‘could not happen here’ and to be ‘professionally inquisitive’ where concerns arise,
  • follow the appropriate procedures for recording and passing on information.

Indicators

There are a number of behaviours within families or in the child themselves which may indicate a child is at risk of being radicalised or exposed to extreme views. These include;

  • Spending increasing time in the company of other suspected extremists.
  • Changing their style of dress or personal appearance to accord with the group.
  • Day-to-day behaviour becoming increasingly centred on an extremist ideology, group or cause.
  • Loss of interest in other friends and activities not associated with the extremist ideology, group or cause.
  • Possession of materials or symbols associated with an extremist cause.
  • Attempts to recruit others to the group/cause.
  • Communications with others that suggests identification with a group, cause or ideology.
  • Using insulting to derogatory names for another group.
  • Increase in prejudice-related incidents committed by that person – these may include; physical or verbal assault,
    provocative behaviour, damage to property, derogatory name calling.
  • Possession of prejudice-related materials, prejudice related ridicule or name calling,
    inappropriate forms of address, refusal to co-operate, attempts to recruit to prejudice-related organisations.
  • Condoning or supporting violence towards others.

British values forms part of the day-to-day curriculum

  • We teach children to be kind, helpful and respectful of others;
  • We teach children to be part of their local community;
  • We plan to celebrate festivals and mark special days from the world around us;
  • We teach the children about compromise, some of us believe one thing, some of us believe something totally different but we can all play together.
  • We teach children to work together – we provide them with projects that involve everyone in the provision and we plan group times, where children learn to listen, take turns and value contributions from others.
  • We teach children about the world in which they live – the world on their doorstep and the wider world – through books, posters, planned activities, resources, outings and much more.
  • We teach children to listen and respect others. Teaching children to listen to each other and wait before speaking, how to have a conversation.
  • Table manners
  • Learning about our heritage and history.
  • Being polite, saying please and thank you
  • Listening during story and song time
  • Teaching empathy and understanding
  • Appropriate behaviour and learning right from wrong.
  • Taking turns and sharing.
  • Learning British weather and seasons
  • Making friends and friendship
  • Tolerating others and mutual respect.
  • Cooking, eating and learning about traditional British food.

A broader a child’s experiences, the more confident and effective they are likely to be at contributing to Britain’s diverse society.

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