Recommendation SP63: Improved school Prevent training
From The Southport Inquiry Report: Phase 1, published 13 April 2026.
Recommendation
The Department for Education should ensure that (i) its own policy guidance for teachers and schools (outside the Statutory Guidance for which the Home Office is responsible) is strengthened; and (ii) schools put in place improved Prevent training (including refresher training). This must ensure that staff are not just aware of when to make a Prevent referral but are also aware of (i) what happens once a Prevent referral is made; and (ii) the importance of ongoing dialogue, feedback and assessment between the referrer and the Prevent officer.
In brief (written by this site)
In July 2026, HM Government stated that the Department for Education accepted the recommendation and expected to complete implementation by mid-2026 (Home Office response, Jul 2026). The department planned to make substantial updates to guidance on safeguarding learners vulnerable to radicalisation, update designated safeguarding lead Prevent training by September, and introduce a new Prevent training package for those working with SEND learners (Home Office response, Jul 2026). The record holds no update since the government's response of July 2026 (Home Office response, Jul 2026).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
The Department for Education (DfE) is the lead department and expects to complete the implementation of this recommendation by mid-2026. Progress and next steps:
- DfE will make substantial updates to the guidance Prevent Duty: safeguarding learners vulnerable to radicalisation. It will also consider whether amends are needed on guidance around Prevent in future iterations of Keeping Children Safe in Education.
- DfE will update designated safeguarding lead Prevent training by September.
- DfE will introduce a new Prevent training package for those leading or working with SEND learners.
Blanket government agreement does not establish acceptance or delivery by each addressee. Some response passages cover groups of recommendations.
Scope of the government response
The government's response to Phase 1 (CP 1623, 2 July 2026) agreed with all 67 recommendations in one sentence, and names only 39 of them individually. Where a recommendation is not named, the response shown is the passage the response gives for the group it belongs to (the recommendations for organisations outside central government, or the recommendations to policing bodies), which is not a response to that recommendation alone; the response does not list the members of any group. The 10 recommendations for Phase 2 of the Inquiry to consider show no response: the response introduces them (paragraph 20) but answers none of them. The government accepts the recommendations that are for central government to deliver. Where a recommendation is for an organisation outside central government, the government's agreement is not that organisation's acceptance.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Department for Education has been found in the sources searched (last checked 2 July 2026). This is separate from the response above.
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Department for Education
Response