LISTEN: Schools to be alerted to domestic abuse incidents in pilot programme

By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

A new pilot programme will see 60 schools in Co Down alerted by police if their pupils have been affected by domestic violence.

Schools in the region around Downpatrick are to take part in Operation Encompass, where police will share information with them when there has been instances of domestic abuse involving a child, allowing officers to pass on relevant information so that the right support can be put in place.

Operation Encompass is a partnership between the PSNI, Safeguarding Board Northern Ireland, the Education Authority and schools aimed at supporting children who witness domestic violence or abuse in the home.

If the police attend a domestic abuse call where children are present, they will contact the child’s school before 9am the next day to share this information with their safeguarding team.

The aim is to help such children access to emotional support in a school environment. The information shared by the police will be treated in confidence.

The pilot, which launches on September 6, will be based at Downpatrick Police station ahead of a planned regional rollout.

This pilot area, covering from Downpatrick up to Killyleagh, across to Saintfield and down to Newcastle, includes around 60 schools of all types – nursery, primary, secondary, special, EOTAS, Irish medium and independent Christian.

Detective Chief Superintendent Anthony McNally from the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Public Protection Branch said: “Domestic abuse across Northern Ireland has risen over the last year with Covid restrictions creating an environment for more abuse to occur in the home.

“The lasting effects on children who are exposed to domestic abuse can sometimes be left out of the narrative and we want to work in partnership to change this and ensure they are properly safeguarded.

“A child who is experiencing and/or witnessing physical, emotional and psychological abuse at home will go to school the next day often requiring emotional help and support, so it is important that our education colleagues are made aware in quick time when a child has suffered or witnessed domestic abuse.”

DCS Superintendent McNally speaking to Q Radio, also pictured above at the launch of a PSNI domestic abuse campaign in 2020

David and Elisabeth Carney-Haworth, who created Operation Encompass as a charitable organisation in 2011 to promote safeguarding in schools, said: “We are delighted that Operation Encompass is being implemented in Northern Ireland so that schools are better able to support children who are living with domestic violence and abuse.

“The use of Operation Encompass reveals just how seriously the police and education leads are taking domestic violence and abuse, and that they understand how damaging it is to the children who are growing up in these homes.

“We know just how much teachers both need and want this information, schools have shared with us the difference that this can make to the children in their care, it enables teachers to understand a child’s behaviour, to offer them the support and nurture that they need.

“Operation Encompass should be in every force, in every school, for every child, no matter where they live, it is simply every child’s right.”