Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their strategy for reducing the risk of radicalisation of young people; and how they will work with schools to reduce that risk.

Preventing extremism in all schools is a priority for the Government, and the Department for Education established a dedicated Due Diligence and Counter Extremism Division (previously known as the Preventing Extremism Unit) in October 2010 to oversee this work.

The Division’s aim is to ensure that children and young people in England are safeguarded from extremists and extremist views in schools or in out of school hours learning, and prevent young people from becoming radicalised or acting on extreme views. The Division is staffed by civil servants with support from specialists with expertise in security matters.

Schools can help protect children from extremist and violent views in the same ways that they help to safeguard children from drugs, gang violence or alcohol abuse. Schools’ work on the Government’s Prevent strategy needs to be seen in this context. It is for local authorities to determine how best to support schools in their areas in the light of local circumstances.