New resource to prevent terrorism
Warwickshire secondary and special schools have a new online resource to help combat violent extremism and reduce the threat of radicalisation for the county’s young people.
The county council’s ICT Development Service and Warwickshire Police launched the support package at a consultation meeting for school representatives last week. It supports the Home Office’s Prevent strategy, part of the government’s counter-terrorism agenda.
The project developed a ‘preventing violent extremism’ interest space on the the Warwickshire Learning Platform a resource accessed by schools through a secure logon and already widely used as a source of information and communication.
The aim of the new area of the site is to raise awareness of this issue in Warwickshire and to support teachers in promoting this topic as part of the PSHE and Citizenship syllabus.
A feature of the interest space is a reporting tool for schools to securely log suspicious cases of extremism, bullying or criminal activities. This facility submits reports to nominated teachers which can be referred on to police where further investigation is deemed necessary. It will be trialled over the next few months by schools.
Initially only school staff will have access to this area of the Warwickshire Learning Platform but if it proves successful the site will be further developed with resources and information for young people and parents.
At the launch event, school staff and representatives from Warwickshire Police were introduced to the Prevent Strategy and the interest space and given the opportunity to explore the site and discuss its application.
John Parmiter, Head of the ICT Development Service said: “We know that young people are vulnerable targets for violent extremists and need to ensure their protection from such people. We have launched this unique resource in partnership with Warwickshire Police to ensure schools have the tools to spot the warning signs of radicalisation and act fast.
“This project backs up the county’s successful Safer Schools initiative and we can make the most of the support from Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) already in place in local communities to reinforce our messages.
“I’m looking forward to receiving feedback from the schools involved in this pilot so we can begin to think about shaping the resource for use by students and their parents.”
Speaking at the meeting Superintendent Mak Chishty from Warwickshire Police said: “Like everywhere in this country, Warwickshire must be vigilant to the threat of violent extremism.
We must work together as a community to make people aware of this threat, particularly impressionable young people, who can be a prime target by extremists to recruit them to carry out acts of terrorism.
By using our professional knowledge to recognise the signs of radicalisation, we will use this project to reach out to these young people, help educate them about the dangers of getting involved in unsuitable activities and also make sure they know where to go for support.”
If you would like further information about the resource or the Warwickshire Learning Platform, please contact the ICT Development Service on 01926 414100.