UNITED STATES
Left Foot Forward
Jonathan Russell
As the captain of a cricket club, I occasionally pick young people to play in my team. Rightly, I had to be checked by the Disclosure and Barring Service to do this, and my fellow team-mates who coach our juniors have to complete additional safeguarding training. It seems fair enough to me – if parents are signing over their children to my supervision, they want to know I am accountable.
I was shocked to learn that parents who send their children to madrassahs or yeshivas are not afforded such courtesies, despite the fact that children are often under the duty of care of these institutions for more than six hours each week. Schools, or anyone who works with children for over 18 hours each week, are regulated, but these out-of-school settings are not.
The Department for Education has just closed the consultation period for new proposals to register, inspect, and, if necessary, sanction these institutions. The proposals want to protect young people from inadequate premises, unsuitable staff, poor management, corporal punishment, and the promotion of ideas that undermine British values or promote extremism. All of this is absolutely necessary in my book.
When Quilliam goes in to schools, we try to promote a ‘primary prevention’ approach. That is, not making an assessment of a child’s vulnerability or referring people to the Channel programme, but instead promoting things like human rights and critical thinking that can help everyone. However, there is little point in promoting such positive measures, unless we can guarantee a minimum standard for all young people that ensures they are safe when being educated. I am adamant that this must go for out-of-school settings as much as schools and colleges.
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