If we fail to tackle extremism when we encounter it, then we fail our children and their communities, writes the CEO of a large multi-academy trust
One of the fundamental responsibilities that we have as educators is in loco parentis: we protect our pupils from harm, in whatever form. Safeguarding is so fundamentally hardwired into what we do, and yet for some in our sector, our duties under Prevent cause a sense of unease and discomfort. Two years on from those duties coming into effect, critics still regularly denounce Prevent as tantamount to spying, or worse "Islamophobia".
But these criticisms themselves are dangerous. By putting a question mark in a teacher’s mind about whether to report concerns they might have, making them second guess their judgements, could put a pupil in real harm.
Physical bullying, online victimisation, sexual abuse, FGM: as unpleasant as these are, they are real challenges that we all face in our schools. By and large, teachers have accepted that these challenges all need to be confronted head-on. Radicalisation is no different. As difficult as it is, if we fail to tackle extremism when we encounter it, then we fail our children, their families and our communities. [Tes Global] Read more
