Promotion of British Values and Prevention of Radicalisation Policy
|
Name of Policy |
Promotion of British Values and Prevention of Radicalisation Policy |
| ISI Regulation | 3: Welfare, Health and Safety of Pupils |
|
Reviewed by |
Senior Deputy Head |
|
Date |
September 2024 |
|
Date of next Review |
September 2025 |
(including EYFS)
This applies to Junior School, Senior School and EYFS
This policy is written in the context of the school aims:
Stepping in: we aim for every girl to feel known, supported, confident and able to shine at Wimbledon High.
Striding out: we aim for every girl to leave us prepared to shape the society in which she lives and works
It is in line with government guidance and forms part of our wider Safeguarding policy, strategy and procedures.
- Promoting British Values
This policy applies to all pupils and staff of the school, including the Early Years Foundation Stage.
The school aims to prepare its pupils fully for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in British society.
In doing this, the school fulfils its statutory duty to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of all our pupils. In accordance with the Amendment to the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010 Wimbledon High School will ‘actively promote’ the fundamental British values of:
- Democracy
- Freedom
- Toleration
- Multiculturalism
- Respect for the rule of law
- Respect for equal rights
- Belief in personal and social responsibility
- Respect for British institutions
British values are promoted through the curriculum within the PSHE programme, assemblies and other activities (such as regular debating, Black History Month, Lunar New Year, Women in Politics Society and Pride Months), and through the routine behaviour expected of pupils and staff. They are embedded in the ethos of the school.
In promoting these values the school will not promote the partisan teaching of any subject and where political issues are discussed the school will ensure that our pupils are offered a balanced presentation of opposing viewpoints.
The school’s curriculum is designed to:
- enable pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence;
- enable pupils to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England;
- encourage pupils to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative and understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality in which the school is situated and to society more widely;
- enable pupils to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect public institutions and services in England;
- further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures;
- encourage respect for other people; and
- encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic process, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England.
The Autumn Term 2020 saw a Heritage Week in the senior school which engaged all girls with the key elements of British Values, as well as celebrating Black History Month, and celebrating the diversity of their backgrounds. We also comemorated the centenary of the end of WWI with looking at stories of the women of the conflict and getting girls to research family history; choosing which comemorative flower would represent their background. The Autumn Term 2019 will see the return of our student lead PRIDE Week.
The examples below give a flavour of how the school seeks to embed these fundamental values.
Democracy
The principle of democracy is explored in subjects such as Politics (A Level), RS, Ancient Greek and History, in GROW (PSHE) and in assemblies.
The practice is encountered by pupils in the process of electing peers to the school’s council and sub-committees, and in the selection of the Sixth Form Committee.
Pupils across the Senior School also participate in Model UN, learning about domestic and international policies and representing different and diverse opinions.
The rule of law
The school is governed by rules that pupils are made aware of through induction, assemblies, and in documents such as the ICT Acceptable Use Agreement. All staff, parents and pupils, when they join the school, are made aware of the safeguarding policy and procedures, and codes of conduct. Pupils are taught the value of and the reasons behind the rules, their own responsibilities and the consequences of their actions when these rules are broken. The development of the Positive Behaviour Strategy (Rewards and Sanctions) has been as a direct result of these principles, and they underpin it. Year Groups and all students are regularly surveyed in relation to any number of school policies and procedures.
The rule of law is explored in various subjects in the curriculum, particularly History. The GROW curriculum was reviewed in the summer of 2022.
Individual liberty
Pupils are encouraged to ask questions, make independent choices, and take intellectual risks within a high challenge/low threat environment. The school seeks to create the conditions within which pupils can make informed choices. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms, and are advised on how to exercise these safely, for example through e-safety and PSHE lessons.
Pupils are encouraged to develop, reflect on and articulate their own viewpoints. They are given the freedom to make choices in subject options and co-curricular programmes. In their teaching, our teachers encourage pupils to take ownership of their learning and make choices based on how they learn most effectively, such as the pupil-led WimTalks, the student magazine: Unconquered Peaks and pupil leadership of clubs.
We promote the possibility for all stakeholders to ask questions and challenge the status quo appropriately through the Parents Forum, Sports Development Committee, the Best Companies Survey, the Staff Consultative Committee and Head’s Breakfasts.
Mutual respect
Respect is central to the ethos of the school, and is modelled by pupils and staff alike. The school promotes respect for others in the classroom and in all other activities. The school seeks to develop mutual respect throughout the curriculum, and the code of conduct promotes the values of respect and responsibility.
Pupils are encouraged to explore ideas and develop opinions, always understanding that disagreement does not entail loss of respect for and understanding of others’ opinions.
Feedback from School Council and Student Parliament via pupil representatives is taken very seriously. Commitment to charity fundraising, Enrichment activities, the Shine Project and Community Outreach encourage girls and staff to recognise their responsibility to diverse communities. Special weeks such as Heritage Week and Dare to Be week highlight the expectation that girls will respect others at all times, and assemblies from outside speakers such as a Syrian refugee allow for distinct and different voices to be heard. In Autumn Term 2018 we will be celebrating a 'Heritage' week which encouraged girls to consider aspects of diversity and difference. Our Pastoral and whole school theme for 2019-20 is 'Connections' which was decided upon by the Student Leadership and Pastoral Teams and will encourage girls to make connections within and outside their community.
Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
Pupils are given the opportunity to explore and understand their place in the UK’s culturally diverse society, and they are given the opportunity to experience diversity within the school community.
Assemblies allow pupils to appreciate different faiths and practices, and this is supported by the programmes of study in RS, History and PSHE. Pupils are given the opportunity to encounter other perspectives, religions, cultures and languages in numerous ways – including trips abroad.
The role of the school in the prevention of political indoctrination
This is implicit in the values described above.
There is no place at the school for the promotion of partisan political views. There are occasions when it is appropriate to present pupils with different political views; in these cases, we undertake to ensure a balanced presentation of those views.
The school is a safe space in which pupils can understand and discuss sensitive topics, including terrorism and the extremist ideas that are part of terrorist ideology, and learn how to challenge these ideas.
If any pupil were to express discriminatory or extremist opinions or behaviours, these would be challenged as a matter of course.
- The National Prevent Strategy
Section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 places a duty on certain authorities (including schools), in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. [1]
This duty is part of the Prevent Strategy (2011).
The Prevent strategy recognises the link between terrorist groups and terrorism and extremist ideology. Some people who join terrorist groups have been previously radicalised by them. Extremism is defined as: “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also include within our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our armed forces.” [2]
The strategy deals with ‘all forms of terrorism and non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can popularise views with terrorists can then exploit’. At WHS, we recognise that this will range far more widely than ISIL/anti-western terrorism, and include animal rights extreme activism and far-right nationalism. The strategy also makes clear ‘that preventing people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism requires challenge to extremist ideas where they are used to legitimise terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups. And the strategy also means intervening to stop people moving from extremist (albeit legal) groups into terrorist related activity.’ [3]
Wimbledon High School supports the Home Office Prevent strategy to combat radicalisation and terrorism. This strategy can be defined in terms of the 4Ps:
- Protect - to strengthen protection against a terrorist attack in the UK or against its interests overseas and so reduce their vulnerability. This work focuses on border security, the transport system, national infrastructure and public places
- Prepare - to mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack where that attack cannot be stopped. This includes work to bring a terrorist attack to an end and to increase the UK's resilience to facilitate recovery from its aftermath
- Pursue - to stop terrorist attacks by detecting, prosecuting and otherwise disrupting those who plot to carry out attacks against the UK or its interests overseas
- Prevent - to stop people from becoming or supporting terrorism. This includes countering terrorist ideology and challenging those who promote it; supporting individuals who are especially vulnerable to becoming radicalised; and working with sectors and institutions where the risk of radicalisation is assessed to be high.
Whilst the first three strands are clearly the remit of the government and security services, the fourth one is one to which schools and those who work with young people in a wider setting such as Youth workers or Social Services can contribute.
We are ‘subject to the duty to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. Being drawn into terrorism includes not just violent extremism but also non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can popularise views which suspects exploit. Schools should be safe places in which children and young people can understand and discuss sensitive topics, including terrorism and the extremist ideas that are part of terrorist ideology, and learn how to challenge these ideas. The Prevent strategy should not limit discussion of these issues. School should be mindful of their existing duties to forbid political indoctrination and secure a balanced presentation of political issues.’ (64)[4]
This strategy is supported at Wimbledon High School in the following ways:
Action Plan
Below are the steps that Wimbledon High School has taken to comply with the Prevent Strategy.
Raising Awareness of the issue of radicalisation with staff and the governing body so that those who work with young people at Wimbledon High School appreciate that they are a front line strategy, and act accordingly. All Staff receive appropriate training to give them confidence to identify children at risk and so that they know where to go for further support. Training for new staff will be given in conjunction with usual safeguarding training.
Progress:
- Designated Safeguarding Lead recieved Prevent Training given by the Local Support Officer on June 2017 and will attend further training 'Harmful Practices: "Honour" Based violence/Forced Marrage on 3rd October 2019, given by Merton Council.
- All staff and the Chair of Governors to have their two year Prevent update in Autumn Term 2019, in conjunction with Merton Prevent officer.
- All teaching staff take certificated online Prevent training through Channel, including ad hoc starters and supply staff.
- Raising student awareness through the curriculum. This will be addressed both discreetly within certain curriculum areas where a clear understanding of history / religion / tradition promotes an appropriate understanding of the origins of movements such as Nazism and promoting an understanding of world religions based on peaceful messages and intent. The RS department have created a British Values board to highlight its importance within their curriculum, and all Heads of Dept have referenced it within their schemes of work. In addition, awareness will be raised explicitly within the School’s PSHE Programme - such as the Y8 visit by PC Mann to discuss 'what are British Values' and the whole school theme weeks like Heritage and Pride which will continue in Autumn 2019.
- Fundamental British Values have been audited in the Junior School to safeguard against emerging (though low-risk) threat of Terror Tots, and the PSHE programme has been reviewed in light of this audit.
- Y7-9 in the Senior School have audited for themselves where they find British Values in their own daily experiences at school.
- From September 2019 WHS has introduced a 'PPE' Programme to year 10, which will activily cover ideas about Fake News, Ideologies, Democratic Values and pluralism of ideas.
- Internet and Digital Awareness (including parent, staff and pupil sessions with the Digital Sisters)
- Stereotyping and the Media (including talks by speakers such as Natasha Devon & Holly Rubin, and an e-safety seminar)
- Persuasion and Influence (including increased emphasis on debating in the Senior School)
- The GROW 2.0 Conference (September 2019) will include a discussion panel on no platforming, free speech and the use of the internet.
- Extremism (including debates around freedom of speech)
Creating an inclusive school, which appreciates the importance of SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural) and delivers it though a shared curriculum for all, encouraging full participation in a broad and balanced curriculum, including the Pastoral curriculum, which celebrates the diversity of the school community and aims to make students feel valued and included.
Responding to concerns. Concerns raised by staff or other students are investigated as Safeguarding issues according to the school safeguarding protocol and policy. As such, the Designated Safeguarding Lead now assumes the additional responsibilities for Prevent and acts as a single point of contact. The school will maintain records of any concerns raised and action taken in line with existing safeguarding procedures.
Robust Safeguarding protocols and procedures. Wimbledon High School is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all its students. As a school we recognise that safeguarding against radicalisation is no different from safeguarding against any other vulnerability. Channel assesses vulnerability using a consistently applied vulnerability framework built around three dimensions. The three dimensions are:
- Engagement with group, cause or ideology;
- Intent to cause harm; and
- Capability to cause harm.
Therefore as part of wider safeguarding responsibilities staff will be alert to and report using the following Safeguarding protocol:
- Disclosures by students of their exposure to the extremist actions, views or materials of others outside of school, such as in their homes or community groups
- Graffiti symbols, writing or art work promoting extremist messages or images
- Students accessing extremist material online, including through social networking sites
- Parental reports of changes in behaviour, friendship or actions and requests for assistance
- Other local schools, local authority services, and police reports of issues affecting their students
- Learners voicing opinions drawn from extremist ideologies and narratives
- Use of extremist or ‘hate’ terms to exclude others or incite violence
- Intolerance of difference, whether secular or religious or, in line with our equalities policy, views based on, but not exclusive to, gender, disability, sexuality, race, colour or culture
- Attempts to impose extremist views or practices on others
- Anti-Western or Anti-British views
Clear channels of communication for passing on concerns. Any concerns should be referred to the school designated safeguarding lead. They will then act in the following way:
Is somebody at immediate risk of harm?
Call 999
Do you suspect that somebody may pose a risk to national or international security?
Call 999 if the threat is immediate, otherwise, call the confidential anti-terrorist hotline: 0800 789 321
Do you suspect that somebody in Merton is at risk of radicalisation?
Radicalisation is a safeguarding matter. Speak to the school’s safeguarding lead. They will refer the case to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). MASH will then initiate the Merton Prevent procedure (called ‘Channel’) which Wimbledon High School supports and recognises that concerns passed on to them will be dealt with appropriately.
Internet monitoring. Wimbledon High School uses Fortinet screening which applies pre-defined rules to screen and filter all internet traffic coming through the school’s networks. Websites with radicalised content are filtered out through this system. In addition, Fortinent monitors all requests to external websites from within the school’s network, including access to radical sites. Students found wanting to access sites with radicalised content will be referred through the Merton Prevent referral process to Channel.
- A weekly report is run by the ICT team and is sent directly to the Designated Safeguarding Lead who reviews the usage.
Use of External Agencies and Speakers
External agencies or speakers can enrich the experiences of our students, however we will endeavour to ensure that we do not unwittingly use agencies that are inconsistent with, or are in complete opposition to these values.
Speakers will be assessed on a case by case basis and all staff inviting in external speakers complete a risk assessment vetted by the DSL prior to the speaker's arrival.
Contact details
Matt Tarrant is our local police prevent liaison officer
Matt.Tarrant@met.pnn.police.uk
101 - non-emergency police number
The confidential anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789321
Staff:
The DfE dedicated telephone helpline & mailbox for non-emergency advice on 020 7340 7264, counter-extremism@education.gsi.gov.uk
Appendices