Dear Parent/Carer,
We are pleased to share with you that our school has been given the opportunity to take part in a new Home Office approved project. It is being led by Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Dame Vera Baird and Northumbria Police in partnership with Barnardo’s and Operation Encompass. The project, named Operation Encompass the Next Steps, aims to form part of a wider strategy to break the cycle of Domestic Abuse through education and support.
The project will help all children in Northumbria to learn about friendships, relationships, emotions and rules so that they can live and work together safely.
Our school will also benefit from having one of twelve School Safeguarding Liaison Officers who will:
• Work with our teachers to deliver an age appropriate session exploring aspects of Domestic Abuse/friendships /relationships/emotions
• Be available in school at specified times so that children and parents can talk about issues that they may have around relationships and Domestic Abuse.
We are keen to offer the best support possible to all our pupils and we believe this will be extremely beneficial for children and the whole school community.
Operation Encompass is an innovative project in which schools in Northumberland are participating, and which is run in partnership with Northumberland County Council and Northumbria Police. Many other Local Authorities both nationally and locally have successfully implemented Operation Encompass.
Operation Encompass which commenced on 3rd April 2017, aims to support children and young people who are affected by domestic abuse. Witnessing domestic abuse is really distressing for a child or young person, who often see the abuse, hear it from another room, see a parent’s injuries or distress afterwards or can be physically hurt by trying to stop the abuse.
As a result, following any domestic abuse incident being reported to the police, the Police will make contact with Children’s Social Care who will then communicate relevant and necessary information to nominated school staff. This will ensure that the school is made aware at the earliest possible opportunity and can subsequently provide support to children in a way that means they feel safe and listened to.
Each school has members of staff (key adults) who have been fully trained in liaising with police and Children’s Social Care when required, and will ensure that the necessary support is made available to the child or young person following the disclosure of a domestic abuse incident. Training for all staff was updated on 5th April 2019.
This project demonstrates our school’s commitment to working in partnership to safeguard and protect children, and to providing the best possible care and support for our pupils.
In the meantime, if you would like to speak to someone further about the project or require further information please contact our key adults in school who are Mr Oades and Miss Haslam.
You can also find out more information here http://www.operationencompass.org/ and http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03y9r5h