Prevent duty and British values.

What the Prevent duty is

Prevent is part of the government's counter-terrorism strategy. Since 2015, training providers, colleges and schools have a legal duty to help stop people being drawn into terrorism. It is not about any one religion, community or political view. It applies to every form of extremism, including far-right, religious and single-issue extremism.

For your provider that means three things: staff are trained to notice when someone may be at risk, there is a named person to speak to, and there are rules about who can use provider spaces and systems, including the internet, so they are not used to spread extremist material.

Extremism means actively opposing the values listed further down this page, or calling for the death of members of the armed forces. Terrorism means using or threatening serious violence to advance a cause. Having strong views is not extremism. Everyone is free to disagree, debate and protest lawfully.

Signs that someone may be being drawn in

There is no single profile, and one sign on its own rarely means anything. What matters is change, especially several changes together:

• Cutting off from friends, family or colleagues they used to be close to.
• A sudden change in how they talk about groups of people, using "us and them" language, or blaming one group for everything.
• Spending a lot of time on sites, channels or chats that push hate or violence, and becoming secretive about it.
• Saying violence is justified or that the law does not apply to them.
• Being contacted, flattered or given money by someone new who encourages these views.
• Seeming angry, isolated or looking for somewhere to belong. People who are lonely or going through a hard time can be targeted.

What to do if you are worried about someone, or yourself

1. Talk to your tutor, learner coordinator or the safeguarding lead named in Journey. Prevent concerns are handled as safeguarding concerns, quietly and with care. Nobody gets into trouble for asking for help.
2. You can also use Raise a concern to directors on your learner home page. It goes straight to the people who run your provider, not to your tutor.
3. If you think someone is planning violence right now, call 999. You can report suspicious activity to the police anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321 or online at gov.uk/ACT.

If you are the one who is being contacted or feels pulled in, saying so is a brave thing to do and the response will be support, not punishment. The aim of Prevent is to help people before anything happens.

The four British values

• Democracy. Everyone has a say and decisions are made fairly. At work: your team is asked for views before the rota changes, and you can raise ideas at a team meeting and be listened to.
• The rule of law. The same rules apply to everyone and nobody is above them. At work: health and safety rules, data protection and your contract apply to the manager as much as to you.
• Individual liberty. You are free to make your own choices, hold your own views and live your own life within the law. At work: you choose how to spend your break, what you believe, and whether to join a union.
• Mutual respect and tolerance for people of different faiths and beliefs, and for people with none. At work: colleagues' religious festivals, dietary needs and dress are respected, and jokes at someone's expense are not part of the culture.

These values also sit behind the equality and diversity page: nobody should be treated worse because of who they are.

Last reviewed 2026-09-08. See also Safeguarding and Health, safety and equality.