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| Easter could give pupils 'window of opportunity' to flee UK to join Isis | Easter could give pupils 'window of opportunity' to flee UK to join Isis |
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| Headteachers cannot be expected to perform the duties of police officers or security services, union leaders have warned, amid concerns that the Easter holidays will be a “window of opportunity” for pupils to flee the UK to join extremists in the Middle East. | Headteachers cannot be expected to perform the duties of police officers or security services, union leaders have warned, amid concerns that the Easter holidays will be a “window of opportunity” for pupils to flee the UK to join extremists in the Middle East. |
| More than a dozen parents had alerted leaders of two London secondary school over concerns about children who may have been radicalised, a former senior prosecutor said. | |
| Nazir Afzal, who stepped down on Tuesday as the chief crown prosecutor for north-west England, said parents’ fears that children would be criminalised for showing an interest in Islamic State or other extremist groups meant school staff were holding back from contacting the police. | Nazir Afzal, who stepped down on Tuesday as the chief crown prosecutor for north-west England, said parents’ fears that children would be criminalised for showing an interest in Islamic State or other extremist groups meant school staff were holding back from contacting the police. |
| “The headteachers said they are in between a rock and a hard place,” he told the Guardian. “No parent wants to criminalise their child. Their perception of the parents’ lack of confidence also impacted on them, thinking policing and criminalising is not the approach they want to take – and what else is available to them.” | “The headteachers said they are in between a rock and a hard place,” he told the Guardian. “No parent wants to criminalise their child. Their perception of the parents’ lack of confidence also impacted on them, thinking policing and criminalising is not the approach they want to take – and what else is available to them.” |
| Around 600 British nationals are believed to have left the UK to join groups in Syria and Iraq, including Isis, since 2013 and about half have returned. | Around 600 British nationals are believed to have left the UK to join groups in Syria and Iraq, including Isis, since 2013 and about half have returned. |
| Three pupils from Bethnal Green academy in east London – Shamima Begum, Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana – disappeared from their homes in February and flew to Turkey, before crossing the border into Syria. | Three pupils from Bethnal Green academy in east London – Shamima Begum, Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana – disappeared from their homes in February and flew to Turkey, before crossing the border into Syria. |
| Last month, a high court judge confiscated the passports of four other pupils at the same school after concerns were raised by Tower Hamlets council. | Last month, a high court judge confiscated the passports of four other pupils at the same school after concerns were raised by Tower Hamlets council. |
| Afzal, who met headteachers at a Women of the World event in London last month, said headteachers were worried about the opportunity provided by the Easter holidays. “When the children don’t have to be somewhere at 9am and don’t have to be there till 3.30pm there are more opportunities. That’s why Easter came up. After the half-term [it is] the next window of opportunity.” | |
| Union leaders said headteachers had been contacting them for advice on what they should do about possible radicalisation of pupils. | Union leaders said headteachers had been contacting them for advice on what they should do about possible radicalisation of pupils. |
| Leora Cruddas, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Our position on this is that radicalisation of young people is first and foremost a safeguarding issue. The principal here is keeping young people safe. | Leora Cruddas, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Our position on this is that radicalisation of young people is first and foremost a safeguarding issue. The principal here is keeping young people safe. |
| “If parents are saying they have a concern about their child and are worried their child might leave the country and go to Syria, we are all guardians of that young person – parents, schools, police, community leaders. | |
| “This is not about criminalising a young person by referring them to the police. This is about working together with a range of authorities, including parents and the police, to keep that young person safe.” | “This is not about criminalising a young person by referring them to the police. This is about working together with a range of authorities, including parents and the police, to keep that young person safe.” |
| Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “Where heads have clear evidence that young people may travel to Syria or are involved in extremist activities, they can and must alert parents and the appropriate authorities. | |
| “But they are not counter-terrorism experts, nor do they conduct surveillance on young people. Their duty of protection involves educating people well and sharing what information they do have with other agencies. | |
| “Beyond that they need clear guidance and somewhere to turn to for help. We cannot reasonably expect schools to perform police functions.” | “Beyond that they need clear guidance and somewhere to turn to for help. We cannot reasonably expect schools to perform police functions.” |
| Afzal, whose warnings were first reported by the Times, said the headteachers who spoke to him had seen a spike in the number of concerned parents coming forward since the three schoolgirls went missing. | |
| He said: “One of them said since that time pretty much every day a parent has seen him to share concern about their child. Another said similar, but not every day.” | He said: “One of them said since that time pretty much every day a parent has seen him to share concern about their child. Another said similar, but not every day.” |
| Afzal said he encouraged the headteachers to speak to the police, and there was a process in place that did not involve criminalisation. | |
| Kenny Frederick, a former secondary school headteacher in Tower Hamlets, agreed that schools had a duty of care to pass on concerns they may have about individuals, but called for a “more humane” approach to students who get involved with radical groups. | |
| “We seem to have two responses: if they are girls we are talking about grooming and they are welcomed back; if they are young men they are criminals and can’t return to the UK even if they wish to,” she said. | |
| “Schools are stuck in the middle and need to be talking through these issues with young people all the time. They also need to be holding meetings with the parents in general to help them spot the warning signs and offer advice on how to intervene.” | |
| Frederick, former principal at George Green’s school in the Isle of Dogs, called on the government and police to withdraw any threat to arrest returning young people. “This is why parents will not report them, not because they approve of what they have done. We need a more humane approach and [to] find a way to reintegrate those who have made a huge mistake, as lots of young people do, and need our support rather than punishment. | |
| “In my view all of these young people have been groomed and are victims and need our support and help. It may be too late to save some of them who are so brainwashed they can’t see the wood from the trees but there will be many for whom it is not too late to help.” | “In my view all of these young people have been groomed and are victims and need our support and help. It may be too late to save some of them who are so brainwashed they can’t see the wood from the trees but there will be many for whom it is not too late to help.” |