Keeping Children and Young People Safe against Radicalisation and Extremism

The carer/child relationship is the foundation to keeping children safe and supporting their social development and educational attainment. Maintaining a positive relationship can sometimes be difficult as children develop and seek an identity that may be different from that of their own family. Children and young people have a natural curiosity. 

You will already know that your children can be vulnerable to risks both inside and outside the home and will have taken steps to protect them so they can grow, learn and develop to their fullest potential. Protecting your children from radicalisation and extremism is similar to protecting them from the other harms you may be more familiar with, such as drugs, gangs and sexual exploitation. This information sets out how to help keep children and young people safe and explains how you should respond if you have a concern.

 

Is my foster child vulnerable to radicalisation?

Children and young people can be vulnerable to a range of risks. They may be exposed to new influences and potentially risky behaviours, influence from peers, influence from older people or the internet as they may begin to explore ideas and issues around their identity. 

Young people may be drawn towards extremist ideologies for a number of reasons, for example: 

  • They may be searching for answers to questions about identity, faith and belonging
  • They may be driven by the desire for ‘adventure’ and excitement
  • They may be driven by a need to raise their self-esteem and promote their ‘street cred’
  • They may be drawn to a group or individual who can offer identity, social network and support
  • They may be influenced by world events and develop a sense of grievance resulting in a need to make a difference

 

How do people become radicalised?

‘Radicalisation’ describes the process of an individual engaging with and being drawn into an extremist ideology. There is no single route to radicalisation, as every person is different, and the process is unique to each individual.

 

Online

Children and young people may spend a lot of time on the internet while studying and they use other social media and messaging sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Vine or WhatsApp. These can be useful tools, but we need to be aware there are powerful programmes and networks that use these media to reach out to young people and can communicate extremist messages.

 

Peer interaction

Children and young people at risk may display extrovert behaviour, start getting into trouble at school or on the streets and mixing with other children who behave badly. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes those at risk may be encouraged, by the people they are in contact with, not to draw attention to themselves. As part of some forms of radicalisation, parents may feel their child’s behaviour seems to be improving: children may become quieter and more serious about their studies; they may dress more modestly and mix with a group of people who seem to be better behaved than previous friends.

 

TV and media

The media provide a view on world affairs. However, this is often a very simple version of events which are in reality very complex. Therefore, children and young people may not understand the situation fully or appreciate the dangers involved in the views of some groups.

 

What are the warning signs?  

There are a number of signs which may indicate that a young person may be at risk. These include: 

  • Out of character changes in dress, behaviour and peer relationships
  • Secretive behaviour
  • Losing interest in friends and activities
  • Showing sympathy for extremist causes
  • Glorifying violence
  • Possessing illegal or extremist literature and / or accessing extremist websites

 

Remember that there could be all sorts of reasons for the behaviours listed above and radicalisation is just one of these. It is important to recognise and respond to concerns to make sure that the young person gets the appropriate support. If you have concerns, it is important for you to discuss these with your social worker or your child’s social worker.

 

How can I support children and young people to stay safe?

There are many practical things you can do to help your foster child stay safe:

 

  • Know where your child is, who they are with and check this for yourself
  • Know your child’s friends and their families
  • Keep lines of communication open, listen to your child and talk to them about their interests
  • Encourage them to take up positive activities with local groups that you can trust
  • Talk to your child about what they see on the TV or the internet and explain that what they see or read may not be the whole picture
  • Allow and encourage debate and questioning on local and world events and help them see different points of view
  • Encourage your child to show an interest in the local community and show respect for people from all faiths and backgrounds
  • Help your child to understand the dangers of becoming involved in situations about which they may not have the full information
  • Teach them that expressing strong views and trying to change things for the better is fine but they should not take violent action against others or support those that do
  • Be aware of your child’s online activity and update your own knowledge
  • Know what social media and messaging sites your child uses
  • Remind your child that people they contact over the internet may be pretending to be someone else or telling them things that are not true
  • Explain that anyone who tells them to keep secrets from their family or teachers is likely to be trying to do them harm or put them in danger
  • If you are concerned that your child may be at risk of travelling abroad, you might want to consider taking the precaution of locking their passport in a safe place. Some young people think they need to use a passport for confirming their age. They do not – they can apply for an identification card. To obtain an official photo ID for the UK visit: www.validateuk.co.uk. Also consider what access the young person has to money.

 

What do I do if I am concerned about my foster child in relation to radicalisation and extremism?

If you have any concerns about your foster child in relation to extremism (or any other safeguarding issue) you should discuss this with your social worker and/or the child’s social worker who will help you access the appropriate support. 

You can also talk to your child’s class teacher or another person in the school that you trust. They will be able to help and can access support for you and your child. 

If you / the child does not have an allocated social worker, and you have concerns for the safety or wellbeing of a child or young person, you can contact:  

Staffordshire Children’s Advice and Support Service (Front Door) 

We are a county-wide telephone enquiry service for all children who:

  • live in Staffordshire
  • are aged from pre-birth to 18 years old
  • do not currently have an allocated worker 

Opening times

  • Monday to Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  • Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

 

 

0300 111 8007 and select option 1

(In an emergency, outside office hours, please call 0345 6042886)

 

Email: firstr@staffordshire.gov.uk

 

Where can I get more information? 

Educate against hate - gives information about how you can help to protect your child/ward from extremism and radicalisation 

There is lots of information, advice and resources which can be used to help children stay safe online. Useful websites include: 

www.internetmatters.org
www.childline.org.uk
www.childnet.com

www.ceop.gov.uk - The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) works with child protection partners across the UK and overseas to identify the main threats to children and coordinates activity against these threats to bring offenders to account, protecting children from harm online and offline.