Making a Channel referral

Channel may be appropriate for anyone who is vulnerable to radicalisation or being drawn into any form of extremism. Channel aims to safeguard children and adults of any faith, ethnicity or background before their vulnerabilities are exploited by those that would want to cause them or others harm.

The Kirklees Channel Panel recognises that the radicalisation process can be complex and that there is no single factor or indicator to identify an individual at risk of radicalisation. There are no academically proven checklists that exist that will accurately identify a person who is becoming radicalised and may go on at a later time to commit acts of terrorism.

A single comment or one-off statement does not necessarily mean that an individual is at risk of radicalisation and those involved in extremism can come from a range of backgrounds and experiences. The Channel process in Kirklees ensures that referrals made to Prevent are appropriate before they are discussed at the Channel panel.

The Notice, Check, Share chart can be used in your assessment of whether to make a referral and, if a referral is to be made, the information to be submitted on the referral form. The flow chart is not a definitive guide and should be used as a prompt to promote further questioning, reasoning and clarity for the necessity of a Prevent referral.

If you need to speak to someone about your concerns prior to making a referral, please contact the Kirklees Prevent Hub on 01924 483747.

Our referral form is now an online form and can be accessed using the link above. For partners with a My Kirklees account, the form can be saved prior to sending. For those making referrals without a My Kirklees account the form will need to be completed in one go.

To complete the form, you will need to submit details of the individuals name; date of birth (if known); gender; address; primary language; employment/education details (if known) and if under 18, details for a parent or guardian. Other useful information includes nationality/citizenship, immigration/asylum status, contact number, e-mail address and any social media handles used.

You will also be required to complete a description of the concerns, including any relevant background information, as well as details of any complex needs.

You will be asked if the individual has any stated or diagnosed disabilities, disorders or mental health issues; as well as providing details on any other actions taken by you and your organisation in relation to the concerns.

Finally, you will be asked to provide you own name, organisation and contact details, along with similar details for the person who first noted the concerns and the person who is the organisations designated safeguarding lead (if these details are different to your own as the referrer).

Once you submit the form will automatically be directed to the Kirklees Prevent Team therefore there is now no need to email across the form or to use Anycomms.

Participation in Channel is voluntary and requires consent to be given by the individual (or their parent or guardian in the case of anyone under 18) in advance of support measures being put in place.

It is preferable that the individual being referred is aware of the referral and in agreement to receiving support prior to the referral being made. However, it is understood that this may not always be possible, and a referral should always be made where there is a concern around extremism or a risk of radicalisation. In these cases consent will be sought at an appropriate stage prior to any support being provided.

Following a referral, the information received is assessed by the Police. Following this assessment a decision will be made on the suitability of the case for discussion at the Kirklees Channel Panel.

If the case is not suitable for Channel the referrer will be informed about the outcome of the assessment and if necessary make a referral to other agencies for support.

Following assessment, if the case is deemed suitable for Channel support then the referrer will be invited to the next Channel Panel meeting.

The referrer should continue to the monitor the case and keep Prevent updated with any additional information which could lead to an increase in vulnerabilities to radicalisation.

Channel Duty Guidance

The role of the Channel panel is to develop an appropriate support package to safeguard those at risk of being drawn into extremism based on an assessment of their vulnerability.

The Kirklees Channel panel is chaired by the Kirklees Local Authority and meetings are held on a monthly basis.

The panel is made up of a number of professionals with safeguarding experience from a variety of organisations and services including children and adults safeguarding, education, health, and West Yorkshire Police.

If an individual is discussed at Channel and deemed vulnerable, participation is voluntary and it is up to the person, or their parents (for children aged 17 and under), to decide whether to take up the support the panel offers. Participation in Channel does not lead to a criminal record.

Channel Duty Guidance

If the Channel panel assesses that someone is vulnerable to radicalisation and / or extremism they will put in place a package of support tailored to address the individual's specific needs. The types of support could include:

• Mentoring support - work with a suitable adult as a role model or to provide personal guidance
• Life skills - work on life skills or social skills generally, such as dealing with peer pressure
• Anger management session formal or informal work dealing with anger
• Cognitive/behavioural contact - cognitive behavioural therapies and general work on attitudes and behaviours
• Constructive pursuits - supervised or managed constructive leisure activities
• Education skills contact - activities focused on education or training
• Careers contact - activities focused on employment
• Family support - activities aimed at supporting family and personal relationships, including formal parenting programmes
• Health awareness - work aimed at assessing or addressing any physical or mental health issues
• Housing support - activities addressing living arrangements, accommodation provision or neighbourhood
• Drugs and alcohol awareness - substance misuse interventions.

Example Kirklees Channel case study A

Example Kirklees Channel case study B

The following definitions are commonly used within Prevent and Channel:

• Radicalisation: "the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and extremist ideologies associated with terrorist groups."
• Extremism: "the vocal or active opposition to fundamental values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also include in our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our armed forces."
• Terrorism: "The use or threat of action designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public, or a section of the public; made for the purposes of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause; and it involves or causes: serious violence against a person; serious damage to a property; a threat to a person's life; a serious risk to the health and safety of the public; or serious interference with or disruption to an electronic system."