A ROSSENDALE school has become one of the first in the UK to respond to new counter-terrorism legislation.

St Paul’s CE Primary in Rawtenstall has chosen to engage in “Prevent Duty” awareness training to help safeguard young people in schools.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The training is now mandatory for a range of frontline professionals and organisations including schools, universities and prisons.

Blackburn-based Victvs Ltd, which delivers Home Office-approved training courses throughout the UK, will be working with the Calder Road school.

Headteacher Suzanne Howard said: “The school is a very special place.

“We are a friendly, welcoming school with a strong ethos based around our role in the local and global communities.

“We aim to provide a strong foundation for every child’s future, equipping them with the life skills needed for the 21st century and a love of learning.”

The company has said that the approach has been welcomed by staff who have said that they now have “greater confidence” in both their organisation’s policies and procedures for safeguarding against radicalisation, and in their own knowledge of how to respond to any concerns they might have.

The training provider has trained all the school staff to better understand what factors can make someone choose to express their opinion through extreme violence, and of how they might go through a process of radicalisation.

Director Andrew Gregory said: “The terrible attacks in Paris last week highlight the importance of identifying people who are being drawn towards violent extremism, before they choose to act and teachers have a critical role to play in this.

“If a person is identified as being at risk of radicalisation then there are various support measures that can be put in place to help them choose a different path.

“We face an enormous challenge in countering terrorism over the coming years and it is important that communities work together with frontline professionals to help prevent people from being drawn into actions that have such catastrophic consequences.

“Staff in St Paul’s are now acutely aware of what is required of them under the new Prevent legislation, but perhaps more importantly they see how it fits within existing safeguarding frameworks.

“They know that the duty is not intended to create restrictions on their work, but that it extends their existing duties in order to protect vulnerable young people.”