UK Considers Guidelines For Nursery Workers To Identify Islamic Radicals Among Toddlers

The UK Home Office is considering guidelines for nursery workers so that they can identify signs of Islamic radicalization among toddlers.

The Home Office, according to the department website, “leads on immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime policy and counter-terrorism and works to ensure visible, responsive and accountable policing in the UK.” It is supported by 25 agencies and public bodies.

Home Office documents that are currently under consideration as part of a counter-terrorism bill state that government officials should be able to identify extremist views held by small children.

Some politicians have criticized that guidance as “unworkable.”

“Are they supposed to report some toddler who comes in praising a preacher deemed to be extreme? I don’t think so,” said David Davis, a member of parliament.

“The Government should focus on projects to support vulnerable, young people,” said Isabella Sanky, policy director at human rights body Liberty.  “Instead they are playing straight into terrorists’ hands by rushing through a bill that undermines our democratic principles and turns us into a nation of suspects.”

A Home Office spokesman has defended the guidance to The Daily Mail.

“The new duty in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism will be seen in a similar way to their existing safeguarding responsibilities,” he said. “We are not expecting teachers and nursery workers to carry out unnecessary intrusion into family life but we do expect them to take action when they observe behavior of concern.”

Recommended for YouWebcast:The Art of Growth Hacking: Gaining Early Traction by Doing Things that Don't Scale

He also emphasized that the guidance is meant for training to identify children who might be susceptible to radicalization efforts.

“For schools, including nurseries and other childcare providers, we would expect staff to have the training they need to identify children at risk of radicalization and know where and how to refer them for further help if necessary,” he said.

Source http://www.business2community.com/world-news/uk-considers-guidelines-nursery-workers-identify-islamic-radicals-among-toddlers-01113447

Author: Brian Carey

Brian Carey is a freelance writer and all-around good geek. His first love is his family. Distant followers include: his boat, offshore fishing, binge-watching just about anything on Netflix, cooking Bobby Flay recipes, and playing video games.... View full profile ›