{"id":107,"date":"2025-11-13T10:35:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T10:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/?p=107"},"modified":"2025-11-13T12:57:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T12:57:55","slug":"understanding-prevent-a-guide-for-university-apprentices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/understanding-prevent-a-guide-for-university-apprentices\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Prevent: A Guide for University Apprentices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The below information has been shared with the apprentices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a University of Westminster apprentice, you&#8217;re not just building skills for your future career\u2014you\u2019re also part of a wider learning community that values safety, inclusion, and wellbeing. Understanding Prevent and its role in safeguarding is an important part of your apprenticeship journey. Prevent helps to ensure your workplace, the University and community remain safe spaces for learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What Is Prevent?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prevent is part of the UK government\u2019s counter-terrorism strategy, known as CONTEST. Its aim is to stop people from becoming involved in terrorism or supporting extremist ideologies. All universities are required to have \u201c<em>due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism<\/em>\u201d<a href=\"#_ftn1\" id=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a>. This is known as the Prevent Duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For apprentices at the University, this means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Being aware of the signs that someone might be vulnerable to radicalisation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Knowing how to respond if you\u2019re concerned about a peer or colleague.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Understanding your role in helping to keep your learning environment safe.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Prevent is not about spying or policing opinions, and it doesn\u2019t affect your freedom of speech\u2014it\u2019s simply one of many safeguarding tools available as a means of support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How is Prevent relevant to apprentices?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an apprentice, you are part of a broader community, both at work and at the University. Prevent forms a key part of the safeguarding responsibilities in both educational and workplace settings, ensuring your workplace, University, and community remain safe spaces for learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What does this mean for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prevent <strong>doesn\u2019t<\/strong> affect your freedom of speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prevent <strong>doesn\u2019t<\/strong> mean that you, or anyone you know, will be in trouble. It\u2019s simply one of many safeguarding options available as a support system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The university has a responsibility to you as an apprentice, which includes ensuring you understand various aspects of safeguarding, including Prevent. It is your responsibility to ensure the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Stay informed<\/strong>: Understand what Prevent is and why it\u2019s relevant to your apprenticeship and workplace.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stay curious<\/strong>: Attend any Prevent training or discussions provided by your employer or the University.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Speak up<\/strong>: If you have concerns around any area of safeguarding, use the university support services or contact <a href=\"mailto:safeguarding@westminster.ac.uk\">safeguarding@westminster.ac.uk<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Spotting the Signs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Radicalisation can affect anyone, regardless of background. Some signs to look out for include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sudden changes in behaviour or appearance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Expressing extremist views or sympathies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Isolation from friends or family<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Obsession with online content related to hate or violence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These signs don\u2019t always mean someone is being radicalised, but they could indicate a need for additional support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Making a Referral<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re worried about someone, here\u2019s what you can do:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Speak to the university\u2019s safeguarding team or Prevent lead. They\u2019re trained to handle concerns sensitively and confidentially.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use the university\u2019s referral process. This may involve filling out a safeguarding concern form or speaking directly to a designated staff member.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don\u2019t try to intervene alone. Your role is to raise the concern\u2014not to investigate or confront the individual.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Referrals are handled with care and aim to provide support, not punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Where to Go for More Information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you have concerns around any area of safeguarding, please use the University support services or contact <a href=\"mailto:safeguarding@westminster.ac.uk\">safeguarding@westminster.ac.uk<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/universityofwestminster.sharepoint.com\/sites\/00270\/SitePages\/The-Report-and-Support-Platform.aspx\">Report and Support Platform<\/a> has been designed for students, apprentices and colleagues\u00a0to report and receive\u00a0support\u00a0for\u00a0unwanted behaviours<strong>.<\/strong> Please visit the landing page for more information and further links<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also ask your tutor or apprenticeship coordinator for more details on how Prevent is embedded in your programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prevent helps safeguard apprentices by fostering environments that are safe, inclusive, and resistant to extremist influence\u2014ensuring they can thrive both personally and professionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re ever unsure, ask. It\u2019s always better to speak up than to stay silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" id=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/prevent-duty-guidance\/prevent-duty-guidance-for-england-and-wales-accessible\">Prevent duty guidance: for England and Wales<\/a>,section 62.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The below information has been shared with the apprentices. As a University of Westminster apprentice, you&#8217;re not just building skills for your future career\u2014you\u2019re also part of a wider learning community that values safety, inclusion, and wellbeing. Understanding Prevent and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":904,"featured_media":108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,13,14,16,15,17,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-level-4-construction-quantity-surveyor-technician","category-level-4-construction-site-supervisor","category-level-6-chartered-surveyor","category-level-6-construction-quantity-surveyor","category-level-6-construction-site-management","category-level-6-healthcare-biomedical-scientist","category-level-7-chartered-town-planner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/904"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions\/110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/apprenticeships\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}