The Department for Education (DfE) regional CONTEST co-ordinators support the delivery of the department’s contribution to the UK counter terrorism strategy.

The aim of CONTEST is to reduce the risk from terrorism to the UK, its citizens and interests overseas, so people can live freely and with confidence.  It focuses on 4 strands:

• prevent: to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism
• pursue: to stop terrorist attacks happening
• protect: to strengthen our protection against a terrorist attack
• prepare: to minimise the impact of a terrorist attack 

Co-ordinators will also support work to tackle extremism including certain divisive or intolerant narratives which can reasonably be linked to terrorism.

We have 8 DfE regional CONTEST co-ordinators who cover England and support the entire education sector. As a result, they focus on key threats and risks and have developed strategic relationships with key regional partners to use multi-agency partnership working to deliver key responsibilities.

Their key responsibilities are:

• working on a risk based approach helping education providers improve their Prevent delivery, including where monitoring bodies have identified concerns
• co-ordinating activity across regional partners, including the police and local authorities, on the delivery of Prevent improvement programmes in education
• delivering virtual training and good practice webinars for education providers
• supporting education providers and multi-agency partnerships with complex radicalisation or terrorism cases involving children, staff, young people or learners 
• engaging with education providers and police following extremism incidents or terrorism-related issues  
• providing regional communications and updates via newsletters where they highlight training opportunities, regional media articles and key policy updates
• sign posting guidance, resources and local support where required on protective security and preparedness

Prevent regions

Regional CONTEST co-ordinators support and improve Prevent delivery in each region of England. These regions are: 

• North-West (including Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Cumbria, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Merseyside) 
• North-East (including West Yorkshire, Cleveland, Durham, Humberside, Northumbria, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire) 
• West Midlands (including West Midlands, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia) 
• East Midlands (including Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire) 
• South-East (including Thames Valley, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey, Sussex) 
• South-West (including Avon and Somerset, Devon & Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire) 
• East-of-England (including Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk) 
• London 

Virtual training sessions  

Regional CONTEST co-ordinators offer large, virtual training sessions that are available to anyone working within an education setting in England. They focus on the implementation of Prevent and are designed primarily for those in dedicated safeguarding or Prevent roles.roles. 

Prevent in education: training for early years foundation stage staff

This training package has been designed by DfE for staff within the early years foundation stage to understand their responsibilities and the importance of the Prevent duty.

Session date 2026 to 2027	Register on Eventbrite
Wednesday 29 April 2026: 4pm to 5:15pm	Register
Tuesday 16 June 2026: 6pm to 7:15pm	Register
Monday 7 December 2026: 6pm to 7:15pm	Register
Tuesday 26 January 2027: 4pm to 5:15pm	Register
Tuesday 4 May 2027: 6pm to 7:15pm	Register

Prevent in education: training for independent schools

This training package has been designed by DfE for designated safeguarding leads (DSLs) at independent schools to understand their responsibilities and the importance of the Prevent duty.

Session date 2026 to 2027	Register on Eventbrite
Thursday 18 June 2026: 4pm to 5:15pm	Register
Wednesday 4 November 2026: 4pm to 5:15pm	Register

Prevent in education: training for DSLs

This training package has been designed by DfE for designated safeguarding leads to understand their responsibilities and the importance of the Prevent duty.

Session date 2026 to 2027	Register on Eventbrite
Wednesday 22 April 2026: 3:30pm to 4:45pm	Register
Tuesday 23 June 2026: 3:30pm to 4:45pm	Register
Monday 28 September 2026: 3:30pm to 4:45pm	Register
Tuesday 17 November 2026: 3:30pm to 4:45pm	Register
Thursday 14 January 2027: 3:30pm to 4:45pm	Register
Wednesday 28 April 2027: 3:30pm to 4:45pm	Register

Prevent in education: training for governors and trustees in schools

This training package has been designed by DfE for school governors to understand their responsibilities and the importance of the Prevent duty.

Session date 2026 to 2027	Register on Eventbrite
Tuesday 21 April 2026: 5pm to 6:15pm	Register
Thursday 25 June 2026: 5pm to 6:15pm	Register
Tuesday 19 January 2027: 5pm to 6:15pm	Register
Thursday 17 June 2027: 5pm to 6:15pm	Register

Prevent in education: for staff working in SEND

This training package has been designed by DfE for staff working with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) students to understand their responsibilities and the importance of the Prevent duty.

Session date 2026 to 2027	Register on Eventbrite
Wednesday 30 September 2026: 3:30pm to 4:45pm	Register
Monday 30 November 2026: 3:30pm to 4:45pm	Register
Wednesday 3 February 2027: 3:30pm to 4:45pm	Register
Tuesday 18 May 2027: 3:30pm to 4:45pm	Register

Prevent in further education (FE): planning

The webinar will cover the strategic requirements of providers and emerging good practice in delivering the Prevent duty. It will also address the challenges faced by FE training providers of all types, sizes and locations.

Session date 2026 to 2027	Register on Eventbrite
Tuesday 6 October 2026: 10:30am to 12:00pm	Register
Tuesday 19 January 2027: 10:30am to 12:00pm	Register
Tuesday 20 April 2027: 10:30am to 12:00pm	Register

Prevent in FE: tailored training for staff working in the FE sector

This online workshop will give FE staff a clear understanding of their responsibilities and the current terrorist and extremist threats. Participants can also discuss any questions about the Prevent duty or related issues with an experienced practitioner.

Session date 2026 to 2027	Register on Eventbrite
Tuesday 8 September 2026: 10:30am to 12:00pm	Register
Tuesday 13 October 2026: 4:00pm to 5:30pm	Register
Tuesday 10 November 2026: 10:30am to 12:00pm	Register
Tuesday 8 December 2026: 4:00pm to 5:30pm	Register
Tuesday 12 January 2027: 10:30am to 12:00pm	Register
Tuesday 9 February 2027: 4:00pm to 5:30pm	Register
Tuesday 9 March 2027: 10:30am to 12:00pm	Register
Tuesday 13 April 2027: 10:30am to 12:00pm	Register
Tuesday 11 May 2027: 4:00pm to 5:30pm	Register
Tuesday 15 June 2027: 10:30am to 12:00pm	Register

Regional newsletters and communications 

RPECs regularly share regional updates through their newsletters. Newsletters include information on: 

• regional trends and risk updates 

• new training, guidance and resources 

• updates or changes to the implementation of Prevent 

• relevant news, blogs or other content 

Further support with the implementation of Prevent in education 

Additional support and advice to help implement your Prevent responsibilities includes:  

• e-learning courses on Prevent from the Home Office 

• safeguarding learners susceptible to radicalisation guidance 

• the Department for Education’s Educate Against Hate website  

• Training and support materials for implementing Prevent in higher education (HE) 

Contacting your co-ordinator

 Use the co-ordinator contact form to: 

• learn more about training available in your region 
• sign-up to regional newsletters 
• ask for help with a complex radicalisation case 
• get help with finding a Prevent advocate to speak in a higher education setting
• learn more about understanding the local risk in your area  
• find out if a regional good practice forum is available in your area 

Reporting concerns  

Concerns about individuals

If you have concerns that an individual is susceptible to being drawn into terrorism and would like advice and support, follow the guidance on making a Prevent referral. 

Tell the police immediately, by calling 999, if you think a child, young person or adult learner: 

• is about to put themselves or others in immediate danger 
• appears to be involved in planning to carry out a criminal offence 

Concerns about educational providers

If you have a concern about extremism within an education provider, including allegations against staff or adverse external influences on a provider, use the reporting extremism form. 

If you are a HE provider and have experienced a ‘Prevent-related’ incident, you may need to report it to the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS have published guidance on Prevent-related serious incidents. 

If you are a new HE, FE or independent training provider, and would like access to regional good practice forums, please use the regional Prevent contact form.