Most Child Referrals to UK's Prevent Programme Closed Without Action

England's Children's Commissioner found 79% of child referrals to Prevent, the UK's anti-radicalisation programme, were closed without action in 2024–25. Of those, 71% had no identifiable ideology. Child referrals have risen from 2,918 in 2016–17 to 4,715. The commissioner wants a separate safeguarding route for violence-fixated children Prevent's ideology-based framework can't serve.