Prevent training is delivered to various practitioners and volunteers including local authority staff, community groups, charities, and schools and colleges.
The Prevent training delivered to local authority practitioners and staff from the third sector is typically the Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP). WRAP sessions ensure that local authority staff, especially frontline staff, are aware of Prevent-related risks and of the support which the Prevent team can offer. The regular delivery of WRAP to staff increases the understanding of the nature of the Prevent team’s work, the safeguarding support available, and how to make referrals to the team.
The Local Authority Prevent Team also delivers training to practitioners in educational institutions to ensure that the sector is engaged with the Prevent strategy and aware of the necessary safeguarding processes under the Prevent duty, including how to make a referral to their local Prevent team.
The Prevent Education Officer (PEO) is responsible for engaging educational institutions and making them aware of local risks and issues facing the education sector, as well as collating feedback about any concerns that schools have. It is important to note that the PEO’s work is not exclusive to teachers. Providing suitable guidance to parents, on topics like internet protections, helps to involve parents in the safeguarding process and increases the likelihood of engagement, should any incidents occur.
The PEO also offers curriculum support to school staff locally. This can include either developing or delivering lesson plans relating to topics such as understanding extremism, fake news, equality and identity, and online safety. Support is also available to develop a safeguarding policy that takes account of safeguarding concerns relating to radicalisation and the Prevent duty more widely. This support is welcome, not least because inspectors from Ofsted can ask any member of school staff about their safeguarding policy in relation to Prevent.
Beyond training and curriculum and safeguarding support, the PEO has a range of third-party engagements to offer schools. These sessions can help build protective factors and mitigate the vulnerability to future harm. School projects include workshops which equip pupils with robust critical thinking skills and tools to challenge extremist arguments.