Robin Jacobs considers the practical steps schools need to take in order to comply with their legal obligations under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act.

Since July 2015, all schools have been under a legal duty to “have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism” when exercising their functions. This is known as the Prevent Duty and it comes from the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015.

The government has published various pieces of guidance on the duty and what it entails, and schools will want to be familiar with all of the following:

Prevent Duty Guidance for England and Wales: This is general guidance to which all public bodies who are subject to the Prevent Duty (i.e. not just schools) must have regard. It was first published in March 2015. An updated version has been drafted and is available to view online but this has not yet been officially adopted. Paragraphs 57 to 76 of the guidance are concerned specifically with schools and childcare providers: www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance

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