Understanding Safeguarding & Prevent: A Clear Guide with Sam Slack
Breaking Down Safeguarding and Prevent: A Helpful Guide
We’re pleased to share a new video featuring Sam Slack, East Midlands Regional Prevent Coordinator. In it, he explains the often-complex topics of Safeguarding and the Prevent Duty using clear, accessible language.
What You’ll Learn in the Video
Safeguarding Explained: This refers to protective measures that keep children, vulnerable adults, and learners safe from harm, abuse, or exploitation. It ensures their well-being and healthy development.
Understanding the Prevent Duty: This legal obligation applies to sectors like education, healthcare, and local authorities. It requires staff to identify and support individuals at risk of radicalisation before any harm occurs.
How They Work Together: Prevent is part of the broader safeguarding framework. While safeguarding ensures vulnerable individuals are supported, Prevent specifically focuses on protecting people from extremist ideologies and influences.
Sam’s breakdown shows how these responsibilities go hand in hand. Safeguarding addresses general vulnerabilities, and Prevent focuses on early intervention in cases of potential radicalisation.
The Legal Framework Behind Prevent
Prevent is part of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. Under this act, relevant institutions must show “due regard” for preventing individuals from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.
Moreover, it is one pillar of the UK’s wider counter-terrorism strategy, known as CONTEST, which also includes:
Pursue – Stop terrorist attacks
Protect – Strengthen infrastructure and defences
Prepare – Reduce impact if an incident occurs
To comply effectively with Prevent, organisations should follow four key principles:
Risk assessments
Partnership working – e.g. referrals through Channel or liaising with local authorities
Staff training and awareness
Creating safe environments, including online protections
What This Means for You and Your Organisation
Being aware and proactive is essential. Here’s how you can contribute:
Be Alert: Learn to recognise signs of radicalisation and understand how to report concerns.
Collaborate: Prevent only works when schools, health services, local authorities, and police agencies work together.
Stay Informed: Programmes like WRAP and Prevent training help staff understand risks, manage situations, and escalate concerns appropriately.
Why This Matters
Safeguarding protects individuals from a wide range of threats, not just physical harm, but also ideological danger. Meanwhile, the Prevent Duty equips institutions to intervene before extremist views take hold.
Together, they form a powerful, united approach to protecting individuals and communities.
