The Educator Magazine U.K. Sept-Dec 2024 issue - Magazine - Page 48

Now is the time to empower
and safeguard young people
from radicalisation
Act Early Stories from LGfL-The National Grid for Learning.
Act Early Stories (actearlystories.lgfl.net) - a powerful pack
of free educational activities and lessons for schools and
youth centres designed to raise awareness of extremism,
spark discussion, and promote critical thinking in young
people - has been launched by the charity LGfL-The
National Grid for Learning.
peer pressure, grooming and exploitation. All are designed
to be used by experienced practitioners as well as those who
may not have much knowledge of the issues raised.
The aim is to empower teachers and other practitioners to
speak to young people about extremism in different
educational settings.
Created by LGfL’s safeguarding team, the resources are
designed to complement Counter Terrorism Policing’s
ACTEarly Campaign. The original ACTEarly Campaign was
launched after worrying trends showed that record numbers
of young people began showing up in their casework,
indicating a clear need for teachers, parents, friends and
family to do more to protect the young people in their care
from extremism. In the year ending 31 March 2023, there
were 6,817 referrals to Prevent. This is an increase of 6.4%
compared to the previous year (6,406), and the third
highest number of referrals since the first period reported on
(2015/16). The increase is predominately driven by an increase
in referrals from the Education, Community and Police.
Session One features Micheal, who lost his older brother
to religious extremism after he joined a terrorist group.
It explores vulnerability and encourages young people to
recognise how extremists exploit issues around identity
for their own agenda, through group-led discussion and
reflection.
Based on the real-life stories of three young people whose
lives have been affected by extremism, the Act Early Stories
resource explores extreme right-wing narratives and religious
extremism, and includes powerful videos, ready to use session
slides and guidance notes to encourage discussions around
Session Two focuses on John, who was radicalised by the
extreme right wing and includes a letter to his younger self.
Students are encouraged to unpick the building blocks of
extremism, to recognise the consequences of not challenging
extremist behaviour and where to seek support and help.
Session Three features a drama-based video and literacy
activity about the indicators of exploitation, to help students
understand peer pressure and the grooming process.
This provokes discussions around what extreme views are,
the implications these can have, why some people are more
likely to be influenced than others, why it may not always be
easy to leave and how to seek support.

Paperturn flipbook system