Preventing violent extremism
The Prevent programme
Prevent is about safeguarding vulnerable individuals from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism, by engaging with people vulnerable to radicalisation and protecting them from being targeted by terrorist recruiters.
Focusing solely on confronting ideologies alone will not undermine terrorism. Prevent provides holistic support to address some of the personal and social conditions which make vulnerable people receptive to radicalisation.
The delivery of Prevent requires the support of local communities and local partnerships to be implemented effectively. Prevent is an extension of existing multi-agency safeguarding principles to tackle terrorism in all its forms and focuses on prevention.
Prevent is not a spying mechanism, focussed on any religion or ethnicity, or an attempt to stifle free speech.
How prevent works
How are people vulnerable to radicalisation, supported?
Channel Panel is the early intervention element of Prevent. It provides bespoke support to children and adults identified as vulnerable to radicalisation, before their vulnerabilities are exploited by terrorist recruiters and before they become involved in criminal terrorist related activity.
Channel Panel works like other safeguarding interventions, identifying individuals at risk through a referral process, assessing the nature and extent of the risk and developing a support plan for them. It is a voluntary and confidential programme.
Channel Panel takes a multi-agency approach, involving a range of partners including the local authority, the police, education, social services, health providers and others to tailor the support plan to the individual’s needs.
Types of support
The type of support available is wide-ranging and bespoke. It can include:
- Help with accessing other mainstream services, such as education or career advice
- Dealing with mental or emotional health issues
- Support with substance misuse
- Theological or ideological mentoring from a specialist Channel Intervention Provider (IP), who works with the individual on a one-on-one basis.
Anyone can make a Prevent referral. Referrals come from a wide range of partners, including the police, health professionals, schools, youth offending teams and children and adult services as well as members of the public. See below for referral information for Professionals and Members of the public.
How you can help
Family and friends know when something is not right. You can spot worrying behaviour at an early stage and help the person you care about get the support they may need to move away from extremism.
The journey to becoming radicalised is different for everyone and there are many reasons why a person becomes vulnerable. Sometimes the person’s behaviour can be linked to other issues and is not connected to radicalisation. If you are not sure, you could talk to other friends or family members first and they may help you decide if it is the right time to seek help.
If you’re concerned someone you know is at risk of getting involved in terrorism or extremism, please take the following steps.
How to make a referral
Professionals
For more information for professionals and to submit a referral, click the link below.
Taking appropriate measures to safeguard the wellbeing of children living with or in direct contact with known extremists. In Cheshire East if you suspected a child to be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, which includes being radicalised, then a referral should be made in line with child protection procedures and you should also contact ChECS.
Members of the public
For further information and to find out more about Prevent and make a referral see the ACT Early website:
If it is an emergency, call 999.
What happens once a Prevent referral is made
When the Prevent referral form has been submitted, it will carry an official sensitive protective marking, which means that the information will need to be handled with risk appropriate security measures.
On receipt of the referral form, the local authority will assess if there are any immediate safeguarding concerns for the individual, while Counter Terrorism Policing will assess whether there are any radicalisation concerns. There are three potential outcomes for a referral:
- Closed no further action – referrer will be informed, and the case will be signposted if necessary
- Counter Terrorism Policing will manage the concerns raised
- Referral to Channel Panel – for consideration of multi-agency support. The referrer will be contacted as part of the assessment process by the Channel Coordinator.
Prevent referrals
Prevent seeks to intervene early, to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Where someone is concerned a person may have been deliberately exposed to harmful terrorist narratives, it is right that they refer them to the necessary authorities. A Prevent referral does not amount to an accusation of criminality. Rather, it allows for a multi-agency assessment to be conducted and support to be provided to help divert people from engaging in harmful activity. Through this referral, the person will be able to receive the vital support they need.
Prevent and schools
Many young people will have a strong personal interest in these issues, and we are aware that in some schools this may lead to political activity by older pupils. Schools should ensure that political expression by pupils is done sensitively, avoiding disruption and feelings of intimidation, or targeting for other pupils and staff.
Depending on the circumstances, safeguarding leads may also look to determine whether abusive and discriminatory views expressed or shared by pupils are representative of a wider susceptibility and consider the appropriateness of engaging with support through the Prevent programme. We trust teachers and other staff to exercise their professional judgment about whether a referral is appropriate, as they do for all other safeguarding risks.
Further training and more discussion around radicalisation will help in addressing this, and advice and guidance is available to support safeguarding leads in making these decisions:
Data privacy
Your personal information, supplied for the purposes of Channel, will be held and processed by the Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF. The Home Office is the controller of this information. This also includes when it is collected or processed by third parties on our behalf.
Page last reviewed: 25 March 2025
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