Sleepy Shropshire? Schools warned about radicalisation in county
Words such as extremism and radicalisation are not ones that people would normally connected with Shropshire.
But schools in the county as in the rest of the UK now have to ensure that they comply with the government's new Counter-Terrorism and Security Act.
And one of those leading the training for staff and governors says it is vital to ensure that our schoolchildren are not falling prey to extremism or radicalisation of any description.
Mansel Davies has been a teacher, police office and most recently a safeguarding adviser in education improvement, spending much of his varied career in Shropshire.
He says there are extremists working in Shropshire that could influence young people.
"This is not about any one group but all types of extremism," he said.
"For instance, this is in no way an anti-Muslim bill."
"What it is is ensuring that our young people do not fall prey to any radicalisation. This could be anything from gang, gun or drug culture, football violence or influence from far right or far left wing organisations."
He said despite the county having a reputation as a sleepy rural region it also had a history of extremism.
The English Border Front, a group of Shrewsbury-based football hooligans, was in the 1990s blamed for causing problems at international games while one of those who carried out an attack on Glasgow Airport in 2007 was a Shropshire doctor.
"Very often extremist groups will target the most vulnerable in our society, including vulnerable young people," he said.
"There are many young people who have grown up not without the family life others take for granted. Their contact with these groups may be the first time that someone has shown an interest in them, the first time they have felt that they belong.
"They want to belong but this can lead them toward negative influences."
Mr Davies is delivering courses on the problem and how schools and colleges should respond at the Marches Training department part of the Marches Academy School in Oswestry.
"Staff and governors must make sure that their school falls in line with the statutory requirements and I will explain how they can keep the children in their school safe from these influences, " he said.
"Of course extremism is a minority but it can lead to devastating consequences for the individual that becomes involved."
To discuss a range of training opportunities with The Marches, please contact Kate Aspinall on 01691 664455 or visit www.marchestraining.co.uk.
