At LGfL we always aim to be proactive and respond to the needs of schools and staff. We found that whenever we delivered Prevent Duty training to leadership and Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) they said they needed help assessing knowledge, identifying gaps and improving safeguarding practice.
Last month, in response to their concerns, we launched the free Prevent Quiz for Staff. This is a multiple choice assessment. It consists of 25 questions based on the Home Office’s recently updated Prevent duty guidance (2023) and the Department for Education’s (DfE) Keeping Children Safe in Education.
Key features and benefits of the Prevent Duty Staff Quiz
- Free, online, and easy to use
- Based on the latest DfE and Home Office guidance
- Helps identify knowledge gaps for targeted training
- Scenarios relevant to school staff
- Supports Ofsted inspections
The quiz provides a simple way to ensure staff have a good grasp of what has become a more complex situation in the past few years. The twenty five questions are posed in the form of scenarios and statements. Instead of just checking knowledge acquisition, the quiz focuses on applying understanding. Participants can decide on the best responses to the situation, following their training on the Prevent Duty Guidance.
It is available on any device – tablets, laptops and computers. It’s quick and easy to complete and the feedback comes directly to the participant’s e-mail inbox. They can then share this with their DSL.
Why LGfL has created the quiz now
Whilst the updated Prevent Duty Guidance, which came into effect in January this year, places no new legal requirements or additional responsibilities on education settings, the changes provide greater clarity and practical advice to mirror good practice.
This includes adopting a proportionate approach to risk and reducing exposure to radicalising influences, whether it be through the curriculum, visiting speaker or IT policies.
Whilst established terrorist narratives exhibit common themes such as antisemitism, misogyny, antiestablishment, religious grievances or ethnic superiority, conspiracy theories can also act as gateways to radicalised thinking and sometimes to violence.
The risk and threat landscape has changed
Current research suggests the internet has become the ‘preferred’ avenue for those searching for terrorist propaganda or contacts. Digital technology makes it simpler than ever for individuals or groups to promote and to consume radicalising content. With this in mind, the quiz comprises both offline and online scenarios that staff may encounter. Our aim is to create an environment where radicalising ideologies are challenged and are not permitted to flourish.
If staff need to address real life situations during the school day, there’s not much time to react. It can be difficult but the scenarios help build confidence. DSLs are not the only ones who may face a safeguarding quandary. It could be admin staff in reception, the caretaker or perhaps a teaching assistant. Schools need to provide opportunities for all staff to be trained. They need materials that will encourage them to think critically and apply their knowledge. And whilst the quiz focuses on the Prevent Duty, these critical thinking skills are transferable for other areas around safeguarding as well.
The Prevent Duty quiz in action
The quiz is not just a tick-box exercise. The scenarios use situations that staff at schools may have encountered before. We have chosen examples that teachers have brought to our attention during discussions with school leaders:
‘You overhear a pupil talking about a video he’s seen of a terrorist attack. His friends ask him to share it on their WhatsApp group so they can watch it. What can you say to him?
- That by forwarding terrorist content, he could be committing the offence of disseminating terrorist materials, which could make him liable to arrest and prosecution
- That by looking at it, he is playing into the terrorist’s hands because this is exactly what they want
- That the content could be very graphic, violent and intimidating, which could be emotionally distressing to him and others
- All of the above.
Once they have completed the quiz online, the participant receives immediate feedback, with their score, and corrections to any incorrect answers. For questions which require a more detailed explanation, they are directed to a resource or to further support.
The impact of the free Prevent Duty Quiz for Schools
It enables DSLs to identify gaps in understanding. This gives them a picture of areas that need to be explored in greater depths across the school, or perhaps in smaller groups, or individually. This means that they can address areas during their regular safeguarding briefings. They can opt for a drip-feed approach and signpost members of staff to relevant resources.
The Prevent Staff Quiz is proving a real hit with schools. In the first month since the launch we received over 3000 anonymised responses. The tremendous take up of the staff quiz is a very positive sign that it is fulfilling its remit.
We will be carrying out further evaluations and providing a summary of data strengths, weaknesses and key gap analysis. As well as taking time to reflect and see if there are any other questions or additions needed, we’ll also update the quiz with any further trends or changes in the upcoming 2024 publication of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) at the beginning of the next academic year. In the future, we’re also hoping to create a resource for parents.
It’s all about joining the dots, so we have a comprehensive support package to provide as complete a safeguarding picture as we can for our children and young people.
Test your staff’s Prevent Duty knowledge with LGfL’s FREE online quiz!
Aligned with DfE guidance, this quiz helps schools identify gaps and improve safeguarding practice. Try the quiz now! Prevent Quiz for Staff 2024
LGfL–The National Grid for Learning – Triple ERA and double Bett Award winner in 2022 and winner of the Safety and Security Award at the Education Today School & Supplier Awards – is a charitable trust that is passionate about saving schools money, keeping children safe, tackling inequality, energising teaching and learning and promoting wellbeing.
Its mission is the advancement of education. It does not profit from schools and reinvests any profits it makes back into education.
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