The Prevent duty

The College has a duty of care to its students and staff.  As members of the College, we all share in this.

An important aspect of this involves the provision of support to vulnerable individuals who may be at risk of radicalisation or of being drawn into terrorism by an extreme cause, movement or ideology.  The College has a legal duty under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act (CTSA) 2015:

in the exercise of [its] functions, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”.  (CTSA, Section 26(i))

This is known as the ‘Prevent duty’.  The College approaches this as part of its wider responsibility to the welfare of its students, staff and visitors.  Prevent concerns may first be noticed as a welfare or mental health matter.

The College encourages students and staff to speak confidentially and without prejudice within their Faculty in the first instance, in order toto check whether their concern could be Prevent-related.

Please follow the Referral of Concerns procedure if you have a concern which you feel could be relevant to Prevent.

 

Practical information

In addition to the introductory Prevent module in the Safeguarding Essentials training, the College offers an extended Prevent e-learning module designed for key staff at the College and the Imperial College Union. The course takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Additional training materials:

Download the College's Prevent training slides.

Access e-learning from the Home Office (External)  

Access case studies and guidance on identifying Prevent concerns: ACT Early website (External)

 

Compliance

Specific guidance on complying with the duty was issued by the Home Office under s. 29 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act in July 2015.  The guidance as amended in 2019 is available below:

• Revised Prevent duty guidance: for England and Wales (pdf)
• Prevent duty guidance: for higher education institutions in England and Wales (pdf)

Compliance with the Prevent duty is monitored by the Office for Students.  Please refer to the OfS  Compliance Framework for further information.