Operation Encompass: Safeguarding Partnership Rolls out across Northern Ireland

One in five children in the UK has witnessed or experienced domestic abuse. A truly alarming statistic.

Experiencing domestic abuse has been identified as an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE). Children exposed to it can suffer severe repercussions in their later life without early intervention.  

Operation Encompass seeks to intervene in these situations and ensure that children are safeguarded. 

Recently introduced legislation means the safeguarding partnership Operation Encompass is now rolling out across Northern Ireland. 

What is Operation Encompass? 

Operation Encompass is a UK-wide initiative which aims to improve the support and protection of children and young people who have been exposed to domestic abuse.  

At its core, it is a safeguarding partnership between the police and education providers. It allows the sharing of information between schools and the police, so that schools are aware of any incidents of domestic abuse that have occurred in a child's home,  

When police attend a domestic abuse incident where there are children present, they must notify the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) at that child’s school before 9am the following day.  

This enables the DSL and others to provide appropriate support to the child who has experienced the abuse.  

Operation Encompass was started in Plymouth back in 2011 by Elisabeth and David Carney-Haworth OBE. Elisabeth, a former headteacher, and David, a former Devonport police sergeant, conceived the idea following an incident with a Year 2 pupil who had been exposed to a domestic abuse situation.  

The initiative was first rolled out by the Devon and Cornwall Police in 2011. The program was later adopted by the police in Dorset and then by the Metropolitan Police in London. Following the success in these areas, it wasn’t long before it was implemented as a national initiative. 

How do I get advice? 

If you’re an educator who has received an Operation Encompass call, it can be hard to know the best way to handle the situation.  

For free advice from an Educational or Clinical Psychologist about how best to support them, you can call the Operation Encompass Professionals’ National Advice and Guidance line. 

You can get in touch with the guidance line on 0204 513 9990, Monday to Friday, 8am-1pm.