The Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has stated that the Prevent programme is unable to provide the necessary interventions for a group of children she describes as "intoxicated by extremism, radicalisation or a desire to harm others." Her new report, published on Tuesday, suggests the current process "risks missing opportunities" to help these young people.
Analysis from the Commissioner's office indicates that 71% of child referrals to Prevent involved those without a clear ideology. Many of these cases were linked to exposure to harmful online content, such as violent videos, discussions of weapons, and extreme pornography.
Referrals of children to Prevent have risen over the past decade, from 2,918 in 2016-17 to 4,715 in 2024-25. Between April 2024 and March 2025, 79% of child referrals were closed without progressing through the programme.
The report highlights that almost 60% of Prevent referrals during this period came from education providers. However, at least 65% of these referrals were sent back to the education providers upon closure, with 93% of those not progressing further through the programme.
Dame Rachel has called for the Home Office and Department for Education to issue joint statutory guidance for children who pose a risk to others. She recommends that all children deemed violence-fixated, or with concerns about being drawn into terrorism or other criminality, should be referred to local authority safeguarding teams alongside Prevent.
A government spokesperson acknowledged the report, stating that they are reviewing it alongside their response to the Southport inquiry. They added that they are developing options to manage those fascinated with extreme violence.