The Importance of Safeguarding and Prevent for 16+ Learners

In today’s ever-evolving education landscape, safeguarding learners is more than just a regulatory requirement—it’s a fundamental duty of care. The rise in online radicalisation, misinformation, and extremist narratives means that educational institutions must remain vigilant in ensuring a safe, supportive, and resilient learning environment. The previously updated Prevent Duty guidance provides a clear framework for education providers to take proactive steps in protecting learners from radicalisation and extremist influences.

Why Safeguarding and Prevent Matter for 16+ Learners

Young people transitioning into further education, apprenticeships, or employment are at a critical stage in their personal and professional development. They are increasingly exposed to a wide range of influences—both positive and negative—through social media, peer networks, and external environments. This makes them more susceptible to radicalisation and extremist ideologies.

Educational providers have a legal and moral responsibility to safeguard learners and staff against these risks. Beyond compliance, embedding Prevent into the culture of education settings helps create safe learning spaces where students can engage in open discussions, challenge extremist views, and develop the critical thinking skills necessary to navigate complex societal issues.

Understanding the Prevent Duty

The Prevent Duty is part of the UK government’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, and requires education providers to take steps to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. It applies to further education colleges, independent training providers, and higher education institutions.

The objectives of Prevent are to:

✔️ Tackle the ideological causes of terrorism

✔️ Intervene early to support people susceptible to radicalisation

✔️ Enable people already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate

The Prevent Duty does not require educators to become counter-terrorism experts, but rather to integrate safeguarding practices that identify concerns early and offer appropriate interventions.

How Education Providers Can Implement Effective Safeguarding and Prevent Strategies

1. Training and Awareness for Staff and Students

Staff are at the frontline of safeguarding, making training essential in helping them recognise early signs of radicalisation. This includes behavioural changes, extremist rhetoric, and increased engagement with radicalising content online.

Students, too, need education on critical thinking, digital literacy, and understanding extremist narratives. Resources such as the ACT Early campaign and Educate Against Hate provide valuable tools for raising awareness.

2. Creating a Strong Communication Culture

A well-structured Prevent communication strategy ensures that staff, learners, and stakeholders are aware of the role of Prevent in safeguarding.

Regular newsletters and blogs can highlight Prevent initiatives, share updates on extremism trends, and provide guidance on how to report concerns.

Posters, leaflets, and social media campaigns can serve as visual reminders of safeguarding expectations.

Guest speakers from the Prevent Advocacy Speaker Catalogue, including survivors of terrorism and subject matter experts, can provide powerful real-world insights into the risks of radicalisation.

3. Robust Policies and Risk Assessments

Every education provider should have a risk assessment and action plan tailored to their specific setting. This should include:

Clear referral processes for staff to report concerns.

ICT and online safety measures, such as filtering extremist content.

Procedures for handling external speakers and events to prevent extremist views from gaining a platform.

Higher education institutions, in particular, must balance freedom of speech with safeguarding responsibilities. Policies should ensure that all events undergo due diligence to prevent the promotion of radical or extremist ideologies.

4. Multi-Agency Collaboration

Prevent is most effective when delivered through multi-agency partnerships. Education providers should actively collaborate with:

Local Prevent coordinators to access training and resources.

Police and local authorities to stay informed about regional risks.

Mental health and social services to provide broader safeguarding support.

5. Encouraging Early Intervention

Prevent referrals are a safeguarding measure, not a criminalisation tool. The process is designed to provide support to individuals at risk, rather than punish them. Using the ‘Notice, Check, Share’ approach, staff can escalate concerns in a proportionate and appropriate manner, ensuring that students receive the right support at the right time.

The Role of Digital Safeguarding in Prevent

The rapid spread of extremist narratives online presents one of the most significant challenges for safeguarding learners. Social media, online gaming, and encrypted messaging platforms have become common avenues for radicalisers to spread misinformation and recruit vulnerable individuals.

Education providers must implement:

✔️ Robust IT policies and filtering systems to prevent access to extremist material.

✔️ Digital resilience training to help students critically evaluate online content.

✔️ Active monitoring of trends in radicalisation pathways to stay ahead of emerging threats.

Striking a Balance: Safeguarding, Freedom of Speech, and Academic Freedom

Prevent is often misunderstood as a tool to restrict free speech—but this is not the case. Educational settings should be places where students can explore challenging topics, debate different perspectives, and develop their own views in a safe and supportive environment.

However, the right to free speech does not include the right to incite violence or promote terrorism. Institutions must ensure that their policies strike a fair balance between fostering academic freedom and preventing harm.

Our Safeguarding & Prevent Duty Spotlight Service

Are you confident that your organisation has an effective, timely, and consistent approach to safeguarding and Prevent duty policies? Many organisations believe that simply having policies in place and completing training is enough. However, training is just the first step—ensuring that learners and employers internalise the importance of safeguarding requires a deeper, embedded approach.

Our Safeguarding & Prevent Duty Spotlight Service is designed to embed these critical concepts into the heart of the learner and employer journey.

Our team will conduct a thorough review of your current safeguarding and Prevent practices, identifying any gaps or areas that need improvement. We will work closely with your organisation to develop tailored solutions that ensure learners understand the importance of staying safe, while providing a clear framework for your team to implement effective safeguarding and Prevent approaches.

With the continued focus on safeguarding and Prevent, our review will help your organisation and teams determine your current position and practice, identifying actions to stop, start, and continue. We will focus on policy, implementation, awareness, and reporting to provide you with a comprehensive report that outlines areas for improvement and recommendations for best practices.

Don’t leave safeguarding and Prevent to chance—let us help you ensure that your learners and staff are fully equipped to stay safe and secure. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

Final Thoughts

A Shared ResponsibilitySafeguarding 16+ learners from radicalisation and extremism is not just a statutory obligation—it’s a collective responsibility. Education providers play a pivotal role in building resilient communities where students can develop into informed, critical, and engaged citizens.

By embedding Prevent within safeguarding policies, fostering open communication, and working in collaboration with external agencies, we can create safer learning environments that empower learners while protecting them from harm.

The risks are real, but with proactive action and a shared commitment, we can ensure that young people are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and support they need to thrive in a complex world.

👉 Take Action Today: Get the professionals to review your safeguarding policies.