Growing numbers of children being referred to the government’s counter-terror programme are not suitable for that route and require help of a different kind, Dame Rachel de Souza has warned.
The children’s commissioner said Prevent is not helping children who are fixated with violence, raising concern that some young people are being directed into a system that does not match their needs.
Prevent is the government’s counter-terror programme. The warning focuses on children who are being referred to it despite, according to Dame Rachel, not being appropriate cases for the scheme.
Her intervention highlights a concern about the way children displaying a fixation with violence are identified and supported. The issue is not only whether they are referred, but whether the response available through Prevent is the right one for their circumstances.
Dame Rachel’s warning suggests that the rise in referrals is placing attention on a group of children whose problems may require help outside the counter-terror framework.
No further official response was included in the supplied material. The latest position is that the children’s commissioner has called attention to the growing number of unsuitable Prevent referrals involving children and the need for help that better addresses their situation.
