By Dr Charlotte Littlewood

Prevent is the government programme schools and others use when they're worried someone is being drawn towards terrorism.

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Last year around 10,000 people were referred to it and just over half were children. This week the Children's Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, published a report arguing that thousands of those children are being failed: referred, then sent back to school with nothing. This argument rests on a core misunderstanding of the Prevent process and remit, resulting in yet another alarmist distraction from the heavy work underway.

Prevent has not been short of scrutiny. From allegations that it focuses too much on Islamism to allegations that it focuses too much on the far right. From allegations it does too much to it does too little. And because of this heavy critique, robust investigative reports have examined its effectiveness.

William Shawcross reported in February 2023 with thirty-four recommendations, all accepted. Lord Anderson reported on the Southport and Amess failures in 2025; the government accepted every one of his recommendations in July, and a Prevent Commissioner is now in post to oversee delivery.

Practitioners are in the middle of implementing it all: a new assessment framework, a new........

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