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Last week PC Marcus Kudliskis, our Safer Schools Police Officer (pictured), presented a series of workshops on Extremism and Radicalisation to students in years 9, 10 and the Sixth Form.

The workshops sensitively and openly explored a range of issues associated with fundamentalism in religion, immigration and the environment, and looked at the radicalisation of individuals. Students learned about their rights and also their responsibilities in relation to fundamentalism and radicalisation, as members of a pluralist society.

The discussions touched on the sensitives of the philosophies of various fundamentalist groups and gave young people the chance to engage in frank discussions whilst acknowledging the sensitives of all those involved. Indeed, these workshops provided students with an opportunity to examine topics that may have been more typically ‘ignored’ because of the sensitive nature of the content.

Freedom of speech

Social commentators argue that we live in a postmodern world in which the certainties of the past are eroding and being replaced by ambiguity. This seismic shift into the ‘unknown’ has left some individuals and, indeed, social groups with a sense of ‘loss’. In an attempt to assert order into what appears to them as chaos, fundamentalist movements have emerged to ‘protect’ humanity from this perceived loss, and what seems like irreversible change.

The workshops looked at why in a free, democratic country we need to ensure freedom of speech and freedom of expression, but also ensure that such freedom is not compromised through violent acts perpetuated by fundamentalist groups that serve to promote only a narrow view, to the detriment of others.

Following the workshops, 100% of students said they would know what to do if they were suspicious of a person who could be involved in extremism and radicalisation, with most saying they would inform the police, a teacher or an adult immediately.