Safeguarding
Act Early Stories
Educational activities and lessons to raise awareness of extremism and promote critical thinking
Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) recently launched Act Early, a safeguarding resource to prevent radicalisation in the community. It includes three videos which tell the real-life stories of people whose lives have been touched by radicalisation and extremism.
LGfL has worked with the CTP Comms team to create resources that unlock the potential of these stories for schools and youth centres. Each story has session slides and guidance notes so they can be used by experienced practitioners as well as those who may feel uncomfortable with the issues raised.
The slides are designed so teachers and youth workers can either use the entire session or individual activities.
Important: do not use these resources before reading the Practitioner Guidance and speaking to your safeguarding lead. Steering people away from extremism is all about safeguarding and you must follow your setting's procedures.
Micheal's Story - Religious Extremism
Micheal’s brother Thomas was a normal teenager who enjoyed going to the pub and worked as an electrician. He became interested in Islam at the age of 19 and gradually started to change. He insisted on using his own pans to cook and becoming angry at his mother or brother for watching TV and listening to music. He changed his name and his appearance and lost his apprenticeship after repeatedly expressing extremist views.
John's Story – Extreme Right Wing
John was often in trouble at school for low-level disruption and felt he was being left behind. When a friend told him he was going to a right-wing group meeting, John went along to support him. He was soon invited to join closed Facebook groups and started sharing extreme right-wing posts on social media and attending rallies. After inviting a teacher along to an extremist rally he was referred to the Prevent programme by his college.
Mustafa's Story – Exploitation and Vulnerably
Mustafa was a follower of multiple radical clerics and expressed and promoted extreme views. He is now a spoken word artist working within the non-governmental organisation sector as a trainer, facilitator and creator of counter-extremism expertise.
Additional Resources
We hope you and the young people you support enjoy and benefit from these resources. Please share your feedback with us.
You may find the following links helpful:
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Act Early (where these videos were first hosted) - 'Prevent Radicalisation and Extremism by Acting Early'
Prevent Safeguarding Training (from LGfL - please note this is aimed at school settings)
