All staff, Governors and volunteers at Barnham Broom C of E VA Primary School take safeguarding very seriously.  

Our Ofsted inspection in May 2018 found:

"Safeguarding is effective".

"As the designated safeguarding lead, you place a high priority on keeping pupils safe"

"You have provided suitable training for staff and governors and closely check that all policies are implemented effectively and rigorously."

"You record all concerns carefully and comprehensively...When necessary, you take appropriate actions, including working with external agencies, to make sure that families and children get the help and support required."

"Pupils I spoke to all said that they felt safe. They explained that this was because the adults at school looked after them well."

"Parents and staff in the surveys and discussions I had overwhelmingly agreed that children are safe and well cared for."

Barnham Broom C of E VA Primary School is part of a jointly run operation between Norfolk County Council, Norfolk Police and our school, it is called Operation Encompass. Operation Encompass has been set-up to help schools to provide support to children who have been present at incidents of domestic violence. We know that children can be significantly physically or emotionally harmed when they are involved in, present or witness to domestic violence.

The school should receive a confidential notification from the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Partnership after any domestic incident where a child at their school has been involved in, present or witness to domestic violence.

The school have designated Mrs Benson, Mrs Edmonds, Mrs Wakeman and Mr Fiddy as Key Adults. They have received training from Norfolk County Council to allow them to use the information that has been shared, in confidence, to make sure that the right support is available for children and their families who have been involved in or witnessed a domestic violence incident.

We are keen to offer the best support possible to our pupils and we believe this is going to be extremely beneficial for all those involved.

If you have any concerns or questions then please contact one of the above Key Adults and we will be happy to discuss this further.

Why are we taking part in Operation Encompass?

During October 2016, on average there were 12 domestic incidents reported daily to the police where children are named – there could be multiple children per incident. 

Previously, schools have not been notified of a domestic violence incident involving one of the children at school. Operation Encompass is being rolled out across Norfolk and other counties to make sure that schools, who have had the Operation Encompass training, are notified about such an incident so that they can support the child after such a traumatic event.  

We want to ensure that we can provide support to children if they have been present, witness to or affected by a domestic violence incident as soon as they come back into school.  This support will be offered in a variety of ways to suit the child's needs.

Knowing that the school will know of such an incident can make it easier for the family to come into school following such an event and we can work together to best support the child.  It can also be a reassurance to the child to know that the school already knows and will be there to support them when they arrive.