Principal Investigator: Dr Sara Morgan

Project Team: Dr Maddy Greville Harris (Bournemouth University)

Start Date: 1st August 2019

End Date: 21st December 2020

Background

For young people, experience of domestic violence or abuse (DVA) is associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing mental health problems, poor academic attainment and later criminal or violent behaviour. The importance of early identification and support for children experiencing DVA is therefore paramount. One safeguarding scheme that is implemented in the UK is Operation Encompass (OE). This scheme involves partnership working between police and schools, to ensure that school safeguarding leads are informed of incidents of DVA involving children from their schools by the start of the next school day. Whilst the OE scheme has been implemented nationally, there is no existing published research exploring implementation of the scheme.

What we did

This qualitative scoping study carried out semi-structured interviews with 13 police workers and 12 school designated safeguarding leads. Thematic analysis explored three main themes:

1) Information sharing: “the beauty of Encompass is that it’s a conversation”, describing, for example, how OE is invaluable, although seen by some as resource-intensive

2) Facilitators and barriers of the OE scheme, such as staff responsiveness, funding, and resources

3) School support and outcomes: “Now they knew about it, they could go on to help”, such as the usefulness of identifying DVA cases, providing family and wellbeing support. While the OE scheme was considered invaluable in identifying and supporting children following OE, further research into the scheme could assist in a better understanding of how to optimise support for children in schools following a notification of an incidence of DVA. 

What did we find out?

We identified three key themes from our interviews with educators and police involved in delivering Operation Encompass (OE). These were

1. Parameters of the scheme: defining DVA; stages to police implementation; extent and scope of information sharing; expanding and tailoring the scheme.

2. Barriers and facilitators: sustainability; attitudes towards the scheme; compliance and engagement; providing useful, timely contact; systemic promotion, and funding and resources.

3. Outcomes of OE and school support making allowances; check-in and monitoring; providing a safe nurture space; family work, and prioritising wellbeing.

There was overwhelming support for the OE scheme from police workers and school safeguarding leads, although several potential challenges to implementation were discussed. The parameters of the OE scheme across regions were discussed, with debate around the content of OE notifications, and how best this should be shared. Although making contact with schools was sometimes challenging, schools agreed that timely information sharing via the OE scheme was useful for providing support to children and their families. Schools discussed the types of support they offered following and OE notification, such as checking in with the child and/or family, and providing a nurture space.

Several key recommendations were made, such as the potential usefulness of sharing best practice between schools and the importance of promotion and awareness of the OE scheme.

What did we do with this new knowledge?

•Findings from the evaluation have been cited in a recent impact report from Operation Encompass, which goes out to all areas in England and Wales delivering OE OE-impact-Report-2023.pdf

•The findings on the OE scheme have implications on best practice across police, education, social care settings.

•The work was presented through the Association for Children and Adolescent Mental Health Supporting children and families experiencing domestic violence: A Devon and Cornwall perspective - Recording - ACAMH

•The work was also used to inform a further grant application on children experiencing domestic abuse and led to a funded UKRI ESRC-funded PhD project by Miss Rebecca Harris | University of Southampton 

What next?

Through my work evaluating violence prevention programmes, and how to support those experiencing domestic abuse, including this evaluation of OE, I’m looking to pursue further research work that understands how to prevent the intergenerational cycle of domestic abuse and how to prevent victims being revictimized or becoming perpetrators as adults.

This will involve work with the community in non NHS settings, including partnerships with the police, education, social care and the healthcare system.