But the city’s politicians are considering how to give greater support and training to teachers in the battle to identify extremist behaviour.
Members of the Prevent strategy, a scheme drawn up by the Home Office to tackle terrorism, told a city scrutiny committee that the most important people in the fight against extremism are young people.
In July 2014, Aseel Muthana, his brother Nasser and a friend Reyaad Khan, all from Cardiff, travelled to Syria and joined IS.
Carl Davies, the Home Office Prevent coordinator, said pictures of them had subsequently been used whenever terrorism was discussed in the UK media.
He said: “It’s quite damaging to communities in Cardiff every time these things are played on television.
“Compared to other areas in the UK, Cardiff has put a lot of work in place to combat the issue of people going to join groups such as IS.”
Mr Davies added: “When we are dealing with the process of people being sucked in to terrorism or extremism or people who are vulnerable to this we must remember the key element of the Prevent strategy is about safeguarding individuals.
“Using Cardiff’s multi-agency platforms we can identify people at risk of being drawn in and protect them from being radicalised.”
The Prevent presentation also focused on young people and how to prevent them from becoming involved with extremist ideologies.
Barry Phillips, the Wales Prevent coordinator for further and higher education, said: “The most important people are young people coming through the education system.
“It is important that they learn to understand and show respect and tolerance to all.”
Cardiff, he added, was the only area in the UK where schools and colleges have a self-assessment tool kit linked to the Estyn inspection framework that allows them to self-monitor extremism.
“We are really ahead of the game here in Cardiff because of the structure that our schools and colleges are undergoing,” Mr Phillips stated.
Local authorities are expected to train staff, use resources to limit access to terrorist and extremist material, and have a local action plan drawn up.
The Prevent strategy includes a warning that risk assessments should be drawn up to assess individuals, who could be drawn into terrorism, through schools, childcare providers, universities, colleges, prisons and probation services.
- The document Prevent Duty: Guidance for UK home nations, produced by the Home Office, includes guidance for schools and can be downloaded via http://bit.ly/1kcoR2s