Early years settings to join Encompass child support scheme

Over a hundred early years settings, including nurseries and pre-schools are set to join the highly successful ‘Encompass’ scheme launched in Plymouth to support children experiencing domestic abuse in their homes.

The work is led by a partnership between the police, involving schools and Plymouth City Council, to ensure that teachers are informed of any reported domestic abuse incidents out of school hours that could affect a child’s performance or behaviour during school.

Since its launch last year, Encompass has made an average of five calls per day to various schools across the city to alert teachers about potential problems before they happen.

Now this same very simple, yet exceptionally effective principle is being introduced to early years settings across Plymouth. Training for nominated key adults has begun and will continue for four weeks until mid-June. 

Encompass asks schools and early years settings to nominate a ‘key adult’ who is trained to liaise with the police to use information that has been shared, in confidence, whilst ensuring that staff are able to understand and support children in the best way possible.

This may be something as simple as letting a child bring a favourite toy into the early years setting on that day, or making arrangements if a child is tired because they have been kept awake due to an incident.

Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Councillor Nicky Williams, said: “Encompass is as powerful as it is simple, and can make a real difference to a child’s day. It has the wellbeing and safety of children at its very core. It helps to set the scene for a child’s day, indeed, it can build up a picture of a child’s life so that staff better understand a child’s circumstances and respond in the best way for that child.

“We are extremely proud to be at the forefront of protecting and supporting children who are subject to domestic abuse in the home. No matter where a child lives in the city or what domestic abuse they’ve experienced, they can be safe in the knowledge that their school or nursery will be ready the very next day to provide whatever support they want or need – silent or overt.

“Encompass lives and breathes our partnership ethos – we are all working together for the benefit of children in the city. We are using intelligence from the police to shape how we work with children on a daily basis. Schools have told us this early reporting is having a meaningful impact on the lives of their pupils. In particular, those children who do not talk about their experiences are discreetly offered support so they know they are not alone.”

Encompass began life as Operation Encompass - the brain-child of Devonport neighbourhood officer Sgt David Carney-Haworth – and was considered such a success by police and schools that it quickly gained support from the Council, local MPs and the Plymouth Children and Young Person's Trust, who supported the roll out to every city school last February.

Inspector Sally Hutchings of Crownhill Police Station, said: “Plymouth Police are committed to working in partnership to achieve the best possible outcomes for children. By sharing this information and building stronger relationships with schools and now extending this to the early years settings, we hope we can make a real difference to children who are experiencing domestic abuse in their homes.”

Encompass now operates in 16 secondary schools, 68 primary schools and seven special schools in Plymouth and will be rolled out to 107 early years settings over the next month.