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Picture of a teenage boy in article on what a prevent referral does to a child CategoriesLatest Expert Views Community Expert View Education Expert View Health Expert View Our Expert Views

What a Prevent referral actually does to a child

From the trauma of being questioned alone with no adults present to worsening mental health, a Prevent referral can be devastating to a child even when it is deemed unwarranted, writes Zara W. Tahir.  Just over half (53% according to the latest statistics) of all Prevent referrals target children, but what does it mean to a child to be referred to Prevent? Most notably, it means that under the Prevent duty, “children have been interrogated by counter-terrorism officers without the protections that are afforded to those who are suspected of a crime”.[1] This has been done without a parent’s knowledge or consent, as in the case with this 12-year-old girl, whose parents got a call from the school saying a police officer had interrogated their child at school, leaving them panicked and confused. “Imagine the amount of fear, stress and frustration you go through when as a parent you receive […]

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CategoriesLatest Expert Views Education Expert View Our Expert Views

Back to School: What has changed when it comes to Prevent in schools

The rules around your child changed this year. Here are three things linked to Prevent in schools that you need to know, writes Dr Layla Aitlhadj. If your child started school or a new year this September, you would have been given the usual things: a uniform list, a safeguarding leaflet, perhaps a form asking you to agree to the school’s online policy. What you will not have been told is that over the past twelve months the rules that decide when a school treats a child as a possible danger have changed. Each of those changes widens the reach of Prevent in schools or the life of the record it creates, and not one of them gives you any new right to be told when it happens to your child. At Prevent Watch we support people affected by Prevent, part of the government’s counter-terrorism programme. Most of the children […]

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Tile for Educators Resource on the Prevent duty CategoriesPrevious Events

Webinar: Launch of Educators Resource on the Prevent Duty

On 30 June, Prevent Watch hosted a live webinar to launch the Educator’s Resource on the Prevent Duty, with Liberty International and Amnesty UK. The Education Resource is entitled Safeguarding, not Securitisation and is available on the link above as an online resource and as a PDF download here. It covers the different rights and laws educators should bear in mind when deciding whether to make a Prevent referral, as well as some of the myths about the Prevent Duty in education. Links to further resources are also available. The resource is specifically directed at educators, but is of use to anyone interested in navigating Prevent in the education sector, and our webinar covered the major points in the resource as well as answered questions from participants. The webinar without the Q-and-A session is available to view here.

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Safeguarding not Securitisation educators resource on the Prevent Duty CategoriesKnow Your Rights Community Resources Education Resources Know Your Rights

Educator’s Resource on Prevent: Safeguarding not Securitisation

Prevent Watch, in collaboration with Amnesty UK and Liberty, have put together a valuable resource for educators on the Prevent Duty entitled ‘Safeguarding not Securitisation’. The 28-page booklet was put together after feedback from educators who wanted to know what their rights were in relation to Prevent, and who had become aware of the dangers of relying on ‘gut instinct’ in referrals, specifically when it comes to students. The current government and school guidance on Prevent do not take these harms into account, nor do they provide guidance on how to navigate Prevent while protecting students’ and teachers’ rights. This has left educators in the difficult situation of having to navigate Prevent as a statutory duty, and default to the Prevent Duty as a safeguarding protocol, while being increasingly aware that it violates many of the core principles of safeguarding and can infringe on several key rights. The booklet debunks […]

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Wonkhe logo CategoriesLatest News

Wonkhe: What the government’s Social Cohesion Action Plan means for universities and students

Under the plans for social cohesion, students are to be given “stronger protections” against extremism on campus, writes Jim Dickinson for Wonkhe. The Office for Students (OfS) is to become a recognised whistleblowing body for staff, allowing them to report in where they feel unable to raise concerns about Prevent duty compliance internally. Revised guidance on the management of external speakers and events is coming, and a “Campus Cohesion Charter”, to be co-designed with students, will set clearer expectations around conduct, respect and shared values across university life. It’s all in the Department for Education (DfE)’s section of the government’s wider Social Cohesion Action Plan, which is bringing together steps across government to “strengthen resilience against extremism” and “reinforce shared values across communities”. Read the full story on Wonkhe. Related… The Guardian: Britons’ right to protest is under threat like never before

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Poster for Parents of Palestine iftar event London 2026 CategoriesPrevious Events

London: Parents for Palestine iftar – Know your rights in school

March 8, 2026 – Dr Layla Aitlhadj spoke about the Prevent strategy and its impact on schools and children relating to Palestine at the Parents for Palestine – Know your rights in school” iftar event at Calthorpe Community Garden, London. Organised by Maslaha and Parents for Palestine, the community iftar centred on the experiences of parents and their children who experienced harm at schools when talking about Palestine. It also focused on helping parents know their rights in the face of repression and censorship, often through Prevent. If you or your organisation would like to organise a similar event or run a workshop, please contact us through our online form on this page.

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prevent extremism two genders case CategoriesParliamentary Work

A Summary of our Submission to the Children’s Commissioner

Prevent Watch submitted evidence privately to the Children’s Commissioner specifically outlining the harms of Prevent on children. Our submission highlighted that: 36% of referrals in the year ending March 2025 came from the school sector (nursery, primary, secondary schools and sixth form colleges). Around half of all referrals (49%) were between the ages of 11-17, with 4% being under the age of 10. Once referred to Prevent, even though no crime has been committed or even conceived, children are involved in the criminal justice system. This includes possible interview by CT police without the safeguards provided by PACE 1984, such as the presence of a parent or guardian. Subsequent to a referral, notwithstanding the outcome, their information will be kept on several police databases for a minimum of six years and up to 100 years, and until age 25 on social services databases, impacting their education and career. Not only […]

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Picture of adolescent male under spotlight for article on autistic boy on UK Channel programme CategoriesOur Cases Library Education Case Study Health Case Study

‘None of what he was doing and saying had anything to do with becoming a terrorist’ – mum of autistic teen who passed through Channel programme speaks

At the point of involvement in the Channel programme, since my son had been referred to Prevent, this fundamentally altered how professionals viewed him, and it had real consequences for how they interpreted and responded to risk, vulnerability, and identity – the whole process was punitive and did not do justice to my autistic son.  I wanted to share my son’s story to show how Prevent and Channel processes can fail to meet the needs of neurodivergent children, and how they can misinterpret autistic traits such as hyperfocus, imitation, and social vulnerability as ideological commitment, especially when it comes to adolescence and digitally mediated environments. We engaged with Prevent and Channel in good faith and I hope his story informs more proportionate, neurodiversity-informed practice. I do not dispute the importance of safeguarding or responding to genuine risks of extremism. My son Luke* has had difficulties from nursery age. He was first diagnosed […]

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Logo for BBC news CategoriesLatest News

BBC: Boys to be sent on courses to tackle misogyny in schools

Teachers will be given training to spot and tackle misogyny in schools, the BBC reports, while high-risk pupils could be sent on behavioural courses as part of the government’s strategy to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade. The plans for schools in England – which focus on preventing the radicalisation of young men – will be unveiled later after being pushed back three times. Pupils will be taught about consent, the dangers of sharing intimate images, how to identify positive role models, and to challenge unhealthy myths about women and relationships. The £20m package will include a new helpline for teenagers to get support for concerns about abuse in their own relationships. Read more on the BBC. Related… The Guardian: Report into Prevent strategy to suggest new ‘scheme’ to detect people ‘obsessed with violence’ (July, 2025)

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