Risk assessment and action planning when implementing the Prevent Duty in higher education (HE)
Training materials on assessing risk when implementing the Prevent Duty in the higher education sector.
Documents
Details
Practitioners can use these materials to provide training for:
- any staff who play a part in risk assessing and action planning relating to the Prevent Duty
- senior leaders and managers
By the end of this training, participants will:
- understand the requirement in the Prevent Duty to undertake risk assessment and action planning
- be able to apply sound principles of risk assessment in assessing the risk of radicalisation in the context of their own institution, drawing on the support and advice of all relevant parts of their organisation and external agencies
- be able to use that assessment to identify an action plan that is proportionate and institution specific, consistent with its ethos and values
- appreciate the requirement to ensure that the risk assessment is a “live” document, putting in place a system to keep the document under regular and systematic review
Prevent Duty guidance and risk assessment
The Prevent Duty guidance for specified authorities in England and Wales recommends a risk-based approach, recognising that the risk of radicalisation, and therefore the risk of people being drawn into terrorism, will vary greatly and can change quickly.
Guidance for higher education providers requires all relevant higher education bodies (RHEBs) to carry out a risk assessment which assesses where and how their students and staff might be at risk. It is expected that risk assessments will also look at a range of institutional policies regarding campus and student welfare, and the physical management of the estate, including policies and procedures for events held by staff, students or visitors and relationships with external bodies, community groups and partners.
The risk assessment will be used to inform a Prevent action plan that is proportionate and consistent with the values, culture and ethos of the organisation and which meets with the requirements outlined in the Prevent Duty statutory guidance.
Requirements of the Office for Students (OfS) monitoring framework
Effective risk assessment and action planning is fundamental to successful implementation of the Prevent Duty. This is reflected in the requirement in the Office for Students (OfS) monitoring framework for the submission of copies of these documents. Institutions will have in place their own arrangements for risk assessment and will have in place a corporate risk register and supporting risk assessments.
It’s important that existing practice and registers are amended following the Prevent risk assessment.
Ownership of risk is an important concept and, at the highest levels, corporate risk will be within the remit of governing bodies, boards and proprietors.
The Prevent risk assessment and action plan will need to be brought within existing arrangements. In most cases Prevent teams will have been established and a Prevent lead identified and these personnel will be responsible for managing risks – the risk of radicalisation and of non-compliance with the duty.