HUMAN RIGHTS group Scotland Against Criminalising Communities (SACC) has called on the Edinburgh government to suspend “discriminatory” counter-terrorism training for teachers following a damning report by the Rights Watch charity.

The Prevent strategy launched by Theresa May when she was home secretary obliges teachers to report to the police any pupils they suspect of engaging in any sort of terrorist activity or radical behaviour.

Reports to the police under Prevent do not usually involve any suspicion of criminal conduct or intent.

The programme, which has faced much opposition from teaching unions including the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), was rolled out in England and Wales last year and teachers in Scotland are expected to receive training on it next month.

In its report, Rights Watch calls for Prevent to be “repealed and abandoned,” arguing that it is “leaving a generation of young Britons fearful of exercising their rights to freedom of expression and belief and risks being counterproductive by driving children to discuss issues related to terrorism, religion and identity outside the classroom and online, where simplistic narratives are promoted and go unchallenged.”

SACC said the Rights Watch report “confirms and amplifies our own concerns over Prevent,” adding that the programme is “discriminatory” and “undermines the relationship between educators and students, and is more likely to foster terrorism than to prevent it.”

SACC chair Richard Haley said: “Education Scotland is planning to step Prevent up massively in the next academic year. If this goes ahead, the damage to Scotland’s young people and its education system will be very hard to repair.”

He urged Education Scotland to “think again” and called for an “immediate moratorium on all training for school staff in connection with Prevent” in light of the Rights Watch findings.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government’s approach to Prevent is different to the UK Government’s as it sets out to ensure delivery in Scotland reflects our communities. We will continue to engage with community representatives so we can achieve a balanced and proportionate approach to safeguarding vulnerable individuals from the radicalisation process."