Referrals by educational institutions to “prevent”, the government’s anti-extremism programme, rose by almost a quarter in the 2017-18 financial year.
New data from the Home Office shows the number of referrals from the education sector rose from 1,976 in 2016-17, to 2,462 in 2017-18. The rise brings the number of referrals from education staff almost to the level seen in 2015-16, the first year of the programme.
Education continues to be the biggest referrer to prevent, responsible for around a third of all referrals. The figures aren’t broken down by type, and will refer to school, colleges and universities.
