Prevent in Schools
Depending on the circumstances, safeguarding leads may also look to determine whether abusive and discriminatory views expressed or shared by pupils are representative a wider susceptibility, and consider the appropriateness of engaging with support through the Prevent programme. We trust teachers and other staff to exercise their professional judgment about whether a referral is appropriate, as they do for all other safeguarding risks. Further training and more discussion around radicalisation will help in addressing this, and advice and guidance is available on Educate Against Hate and GOV.UK to support safeguarding leads in making these decisions.
Schools should also be mindful of their legal duties regarding political impartiality and should always avoid working organisations that promote antisemitic, anti-Muslim or any other discriminatory views. The Department for Education has published clear and comprehensive guidance to help those working with and in schools to better understand legal duties on political impartiality. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools
Further Resources
Particularly in relation to the conflict, and any antisemitic or anti-Muslim incidents emanating as a result of this, you may find the below links useful:
- The Community Security Trust (CST) has published a number of resources on their social media feeds, including guidance on how to communicate about Israel in a non-antisemitic way. A host of other resources can be found on their website here: Educational Resources – CST – Protecting Our Jewish Community. CST also has a national emergency number which should be used to report antisemitic attacks, alongside calling 999: 0800 032 3263.
- Tell Mama is a confidential support service for those suffering from anti-Muslim hate and discrimination across the UK. Their website features a number of different ways to report anti-Muslim incidents, including via phone or WhatsApp: Report in Anti-Muslim Hate or Islamophobia (tellmamauk.org). The site also hosts useful resources, including on mosque security.