The number of FE students referred to the government’s anti-terrorism programme dropped by over a quarter last year, as experts suggest learners are “self-censoring” to avoid being flagged.
FE institutions made a record high 215 referrals in 2022-23, but this figure dropped by 27 per cent to 157 in 2023-24.
The Home Office data, obtained by FE Week through the freedom of information act, showed that most FE radicalisation concerns were categorised as “conflicted” or “no ideology”.
College leaders have called for more clarity on how to deal with vulnerable students without a defined ideology after an 18-year-old male student was radicalised online to fight for Ukraine and ultimately died. A Prevent officer had cleared him of having an extreme ideology motivating his choice.
College experts and Prevent critics have suggested that the drop in referrals could stem from students’ increased awareness of college online monitoring software, which detects what learners are searching online.
Eddie Playfair, senior policy manager at the Association of Colleges, said: “In recent years, there’s been a stronger requirement for schools and colleges to use filtering and monitoring software to screen online activity by students on college systems.
“These have both an automatic and a human element and may have initially flagged more concerns than previously. It may also be that students’ online behaviours have changed as a result of their increased awareness of the monitoring.”
Jacob Smith, who authored a report in January by human rights charity Rights & Security International on the “policing” of children and young people on Prevent data collection, added that a drop in FE referrals “does not necessarily equate to decreased harm”.
“We know that the threat of referrals is a real issue, with people self-censoring due to a fear of being referred,” he added.
A previous report by digital rights campaigner Open Rights Group revealed Prevent referrals data can be stored on police databases for a minimum of six years and “could be justified for up to 100 years”, even when the referral is escalated to channel, which involves bespoke support through a de-radicalisation programme.
Carlie Smith, safeguarding and behaviour manager at Kirklees College, told FE Week the college’s Smoothwall software flagged 18 alerts this academic year of “terrorism/extremism” and another 40 alerts of hateful rhetoric, causing staff to intervene in person to spot any concerns.
“As most radicalisation of young people happens online, we feel this may be a reason for fewer referrals,” she added.
However, she added the college has seen a three-year upward trend in students’ understanding of extremism, radicalisation and British Values.
“We do feel that in some part, the education piece is having some effect,” she said.
Clarity on extremism categories
Most of the 2022-23 FE referrals which categorised as “vulnerability present but no ideology or counterterrorism risk” (38 per cent). In 2023/24, out of a total 157 FE referrals, 32 per cent had this label.
The second highest concern was the “conflicted” category, making up 22 per cent of all 157 FE referrals in 2023/24, a record high proportion since the data was made available.
Carlie Smith said her college raised concerns with the local Prevent team on the “lack of clarity” around the categories, particularly what consists of an “incel” referral.
Incel referrals are low in FE, the data shows. Cases doubled from two to four last year and only one was accepted into channel.
Kirklees College experienced eight incidents of extremism and two of radicalisation in 2023-24, three of which were referred to Prevent. Carlie Smith said two didn’t meet the threshold, and one student who was referred did not consent to the voluntary scheme.
One case that didn’t meet the threshold was an 18-year-old male who was radicalised online to fight for Ukraine in the Ukraine/Russia war, where they died.
She said he met with a Prevent officer, who determined he had “no extreme ideology” motivating his choice, though he acknowledged a “very real and imminent threat” of him travelling to fight.
Islamist concerns rise
Though the numbers are few in FE, FE Week analysis found a 46 per cent rise in referrals with Islamist extremism concerns.
A total of 16 Islamist referrals were made in 2023-24, up from 11 in 2022-23. The highest figure was in 2018-19, as far back as Home Office data was provided, where 17 referrals were made.
Layla Aitlhadj, who runs Prevent Watch, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that supports people who have been referred, said she was “deeply sceptical” about the statistics as they “often obscure more than they reveal”.
Aitlhadj suspected the increase could be down to the 2023 Prevent review from William Shawcross that recommended an increased focus on Islamist extremism.
She also hypothesised that data of referrals logged after October 2023 should account for increased student activism around Palestine since Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7.
“I believe that this is most likely due to the well-known tendency to securitise Muslim students’ legitimate political engagement, in this case those expressing solidarity with Palestinians or critiquing UK foreign policy,” she said.
Campaign groups such as CAGE International raised concerns in 2021 about school pupils being referred to Prevent over Palestinian solidarity and even brought a legal challenge in 2022 against DfE guidance for “political impartiality in schools”.
The Home Office said there was “little difference” in the comparative monthly data of all Prevent referrals from October, November and December 2023 compared to the same periods the prior two years. However, it did not specify the types of concerns or the source of referrals.
Just one of the 16 Islamist referrals made it to channel. In 2022-23, zero cases made the channel threshold.
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