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A father of a ten-year-old referred to Prevent speaks about his experience when his child was referred to counter-terrorism – and the impact on his son.
My son Isa is 10 years old and in Year 5. During a creative class, the children were tasked to write an essay on a topic of their choice and he chose to write about what is going on in Palestine.
We later learned that once Isa had finished his essay, his teacher began questioning him about the content of the essay.
My son was questioned about where he had gotten his information from. Then his teacher made him read a BBC article ‘’Israel Gaza War: History of the conflict explained’’. She only allowed him to read it up to a certain point.
The teacher then commented on his essay, telling him to always remember that “there are two sides to a story” and “life isn’t always as simple as right or wrong”.
I had no idea that Isa was even thinking about the situation in Palestine; he doesn’t have a lot of understanding about the situation – he is only 10 years old.
Urgent summons to the school
Shortly after the essay task, we got a call from the head teacher, requesting that we come to the school urgently.
When a parent gets a call like that, all kinds of things go through your mind. We thought something very bad had happened to our son. The head told me Isa was “physically fine”, but when I asked for more information, we were given no further explanation.
We had no idea what it was all about and why it was so urgent. This only increased our anxiety.
Within an hour we were at the school. My wife and I were immediately led into a meeting with the head teacher and the form tutor.
‘Concern’ about the word ‘martyrdom’
We were shown the essay our son wrote, and then we were asked what we thought.
I asked what their concerns were, exactly, and they pointed to the last two bullet points in the essay, especially Isa’s use of the word “martyrdom”.
I think this concern has to do with the prevailing Islamophobia in the UK and misunderstanding of this issue, even among Muslims. So, I explained that it as a concept that is interpreted in many ways, even by Muslims.
I reiterated that Isa was not exposed to any news regarding Palestine/Israel at home, as we feel it’s not age appropriate, because it is even upsetting for us as adults.
However, Isa is very sensitive. When he did get upset, we encouraged him to pray for everyone there to be safe, and for the situation to reach a point where everyone can be safe.
I explained all this to the staff, and I continued to defend my son. Although Isa had taken a strong position against Israel, I don’t think that it was a security concern as he is just a child.
In addition, he has had no issues at the school. He is well-liked by friends from different backgrounds, and his form tutor agreed with me on this.
No consent Prevent
I really felt that the staff were very nervous. They told us they had never had an “incident” like this happen before.
But I didn’t really see it as an “incident”, but we were then told that there had been a discussion with other head teachers about Isa.
They had supported a referral to Prevent as it was “within the school guidelines”.
When I heard that the headteacher had contacted the local Prevent Team, my heart sank because of course they had advised the school to go ahead and refer my son.
However, we did not agree with their assessment, and I did not agree there was a need for a referral.
The next day, I was shocked to get a call from the head saying that he had made the referral to Prevent that same day.
My son is being harmed by this
We really had gotten the impression that any concerns the school felt they had, had been clarified and sorted during our meeting.
Anyway, I asked the head about time frames and next steps, but I was told that he “wasn’t sure what would happen next”.
We were told that the Prevent team would have a meeting in the next 5-6 days and decide on the matter. It was at this point that we got very distressed and upset.
Imagine having your 10-year-old son being the subject of a decision by counter terrorism with no opportunity to explain or challenge the referral and the situation?
This is all having a harmful impact on Isa, because he now feels like he has done something wrong.
‘Shocking’ Prevent referral form
Since we were left completely in the dark without any idea as to what would happen next, we decided to seek support. First, we wrote to the school for answers.
We were informed by the head teacher that he would have to seek advice on how to respond. This was the response to our very basic questions about our son being referred to Prevent.
A whole week passed before we heard anything back.
The school then showed us the letter they had sent to Prevent. We were shocked by its contents, and even more so by the content of the Prevent referral form.
The school had stated that not only were the bullet points concerning but that the whole essay was “unbalanced” and that they had been concerned by the “tone” and language he used.
From my point of view, these concerns were more to do with viewing my son through a securitised lens; he is only 10 years old.
We have taken steps to protect our son
The lack of clarity and information about the process has been terrible. We were literally sitting, waiting for news. Eventually, the school informed us that Prevent would not be pursuing the case further.
However, the headteacher has been advised by Prevent to consider re-referring Isa should “any further concerns arise”.
Rather than creating a safe space for discussion and debate, this seemed like the school was asked to place our son on some type of a watchlist!
With support from Prevent Watch, we are trying to get Isa’s data removed from counter terrorism records. We are well aware that this could have a lasting impact on his life.
As a parent, I felt I had to speak up so that others facing similar situations feel they are supported.
Read more Prevent Watch cases
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Picture by Jessica Lewis/The Painted Square on Unsplash
