Source: Children’s Commissioner for England published on this website Thursday 20 August 2026 by Jill Powell
Two-thirds of Prevent referrals for children made by schools and colleges were returned to education settings – and in almost all of these the cases (93 per cent) the children received no support from Prevent.
The Children’s Commissioner’s latest report draws on new data, interviews with professionals and new analysis of official figures to reveal the journeys taken by children in the government’s counter extremism programme.
The study describes a system with a great deal of worry about children, seeking somewhere for them to get help, or someone to hold responsibility for them, and not finding it.
Dame Rachel de Souza recommends that children currently sent to Prevent should be assessed through local safeguarding teams – which should include Counter Terrorism Policing – and directed to the right support.
The call to action comes as Phase 2 of the Southport Inquiry prepares to examine the ‘adequacy of arrangements in England and Wales for managing the risk from violence fixated individuals’ following question raised about Prevent in the first phase.
Increasing referrals
The Children’s Commissioner’s report shows the number of Prevent referrals involving children has increased substantially from 2,918 in 2016-17 to 4,715 in 2024-25.
New analysis of official figures shows most cases referred to Prevent involving children (71 per cent) did not have a clear ideology. Sector professionals say many referrals are linked to wider vulnerabilities including exposure to harmful content, violence fixation, exploitation or unmet needs.
This group of children might be frequently talking about weapons, idolising ‘famous’ attackers, or sharing videos of violence – such as beheadings or suicides. They may be sharing extreme pornography with peers, encouraging others to join dangerous online communities or to self-harm.
Professionals interviewed for the report were deeply concerned about children being drawn into radicalisation and violence online.
The Commissioner’s analysis shows of the 4,715 Prevent referrals involving children between April 2024 and March 2025, 79 per cent were closed without progressing through the Prevent programme.
Referrals without a clear ideology were less likely to progress to a Channel discussion (86%) than those with defined ideology (60%).
The report also includes new data that reveals in 2024-25, nearly three in five referrals came from education settings, yet at least 65 per cent of these cases referred by schools and colleges were returned to education settings when the referral was closed and 93 per cent of these cases were never discussed at panel or progressed through the programme.
“We referred him again then and it came back as ‘doesn’t meet threshold and it will not be provided on this programme.’ We were not given an explanation, just that sort of thing.” – School safeguarding officer with experience making Prevent referrals.
Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza said:
“The Prevent programme plays an important role in protecting communities and preventing people being drawn into terrorism. It is right that when professionals have concerns about a child’s behaviour, the content they are accessing online or the risks they pose to themselves or others, they act swiftly and decisively.
“I have long been concerned about the numbers of children being referred to Prevent, but we have to look beyond the increase in referrals to understand the varied reasons children have been referred in the first place. Some may have been exposed to harmful content online, others be vulnerable to exploitation, experience difficulties with their mental health or display concerning behaviours for a range of reasons.
“A referral should be the start of understanding a child’s individual circumstances, not the end of the process. When a child does not progress through Prevent, we must be confident other services are there to understand and meet their needs. Simply returning children to services that made the referral, without a clear understanding of what is driving their behaviour or who will be responsible for meeting their needs, risks missing opportunities to provide the right support children desperately need.
“We need a stronger safeguarding response particularly for children who are fixated with violence but have no identified extremist ideology. Professionals working with children need the expertise and support to identify children’s needs and behaviours, intervene early and provide appropriate interventions.”
The Prevent programme is part of the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy that focuses on preventing people from being drawn into terrorism.
The Commissioner’s report makes clear that, while Prevent plays an important role in tackling radicalisation, it may not always be the right pathway for children whose needs are rooted in wider vulnerabilities. Key findings include:
- Rising referral numbers: Referrals to Prevent involving children have risen from 2,918 in 2016-17 to 4,715 – the highest figure in this period. Last year, 8,778 referrals were made to Prevent in England and Wales, of which more than half (54 per cent) involved children.
- No clear ideology: The majority of children (71 per cent) had no specific identifiable extremist ideology, including those with no ideology identified, no ideology but ‘other susceptibility to radicalisation’, multiple ideologies with no dominant ideology, or a fascination with extreme violence or mass casualty attacks. Referrals without a clear ideology were less likely to progress through Prevent than those with defined ideology.
- Repeated referrals: Some children have been referred to Prevent multiple times. Between April 2016 and March 2025, 91 per cent of children were referred once, and the remaining nine per cent (1,136 children) were referred at least twice. Less than 190 children (approximately 1.5 per cent) were referred three times or more.
- Referrals often closed without support: Nearly four in five referrals involving children (79 per cent) were closed without progressing through the Prevent programme. Almost three in five referrals came from education settings. Of these, at least 65 per cent were referred back to an education setting when the case was closed, 93 per cent of which never progressed through the programme.
- Concerned about wider vulnerabilities: Professionals described children being exposed to extremist and violent content online, often without developing a fixed ideological belief. Many children referred were vulnerable to exploitation, bullying or unstable home lives, leading to professionals questioning whether Prevent was the appropriate response.
The Commissioner’s report also found that information on children’s mental health and neurodevelopmental needs was missing from 60 per cent of referrals. Where conditions were recorded, autism accounted for 16 per cent of conditions in referrals, whereas the estimated prevalence among all school-aged children is around three percent.
Following the Southport attack, Phase 1 of the national independent inquiry examined the failure to identify the risk posed by Axel Rudakubana. Phase 2 is examining what changes are needed across agencies and services to prevent similar atrocities.
Dame Rachel argues that identifying children at risk of violence or radicalisation must remain a priority, but children should receive support through the pathway best suited to their individual circumstances. Her report aims to inform that inquiry and has made the following recommendations:
- Better data to understand children’s experiences including the introduction of a consistent unique childhood identifier, regardless of whether a child comes into contact with social care, to ensure opportunities to share data and information are not lost. The Home Office should also strengthen data collection so children’s journeys through Prevent can be tracked and outcomes better understood.
- The Home Office and Department for Education should issue joint statutory guidance on children who pose a risk to others. This should require that all children where there is a concern that they might commit violence or other forms of harm – because they are violence fixated, drawn into terrorism, or because of concerns about criminality – are referred to the Multi Agency Child Protection team – which should include Counter Terrorism Policing where needed – in the child’s local area.
- Stronger online protections to address the risk of children being drawn into radicalisation or becoming fixated with violence. The government should restrict technology companies from accessing children until they can prove they have highly effective safeguards to protect children from harm.
- Improved support for children with complex needs including children with neurodevelopmental needs, trauma and other vulnerabilities who may fall between services.
