Heads not terror experts warns Hobby

Hobby acknowledged that schools and school leaders have an important role in alerting parents and appropriate authorities if encountering evidence of extremism, but ensured schools will struggle to perform without authority assistance.

Hobby said: “Where heads have clear evidence that young people may travel to Syria or get involved in extremism they can and must alert parents and the appropriate authorities. But they are not counter-terrorism experts nor do they conduct surveillance on young people."

He continued: “Schools’ duty of protection involves educating people well and sharing what information they do have with other agencies. Beyond that, they need clear guidance and somewhere to turn to for help. We cannot reasonably expect schools to perform police functions.”

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