Anger over referral of vulnerable boy, 11, to counter-radicalisation scheme

Boy, who was struggling with homework, referred to Prevent after he was accused of saying he wished school would burn down

An 11-year-old schoolboy who was struggling with his homework was referred to the Prevent counter-radicalisation programme after a fellow pupil reported him saying during a fire drill that he wished his school would burn down.

The boy is deemed to be vulnerable and is on the school's special educational needs register owing to suffering from anxiety after witnessing domestic violence in the family home at the age of four and having to move to a safe house for a year with his mother and sibling. The boy is Muslim and of Asian heritage.