Safeguarding and Pastoral Care

Operation Encompass

In conjunction with Lancashire Police, this school is involved in a national initiative called Operation Encompass.  The purpose of Operation Encompass is to safeguard and support children and young people who have been involved in, heard or witnessed a domestic abuse incident.

This police and education early information sharing partnership enables schools to offer immediate support for children and young people experiencing domestic abuse. Information is shared by the police with a school's trained Key Adults prior to the start of the next school day after officers have attended a domestic abuse incident thus enabling appropriate support to be given, dependent upon the needs and wishes of the child.

Following an incident, children will often arrive at school distressed, upset, worried and unprepared.  Operation Encompass aims to ensure that appropriate school staff are made aware early enough to help and support children and young people in a way that means they feel safe and included.

Children experiencing domestic abuse are negatively impacted by this exposure; domestic abuse has been identified as an Adverse Childhood Experience and can lead to emotional, physical and psychological harm.  Operation Encompass aims to mitigate this harm by enabling immediate support, making a child's day better and giving them a better tomorrow.

Operation Encompass believes that children are victims of domestic abuse in their own right and should be acknowledged as such.

This is a valuable initiative that means we can help and support students and their families within our school when they need us most.

Signs such as the one here indicate in our school reception that we are part of Operation Encompass.

You can find out more information by visiting the Operation Encompass website or by contacting the school's Key Adults - Assistant Principal, Mrs Crank or SENCo, Mrs Holland.

Have you heard of ‘county lines’?

This is regularly covered in the national news as it’s affecting families and communities up and down the country. ‘County lines’ is when urban gangs use children and vulnerable adults to expand their illegal drugs businesses into other towns. In Lancashire, we see pockets of county lines gangs coming in from Manchester, Merseyside, London, and West Yorkshire. The police are working proactively to dismantle these gangs from the top and protect the young and the vulnerable.

You might know someone who needs your help.  They might be a family member, neighbour, or someone else in your community.

Gangs recruit and force vulnerable adults and children to work as couriers, transporting drugs and cash for them. They often set up a base in towns in other counties, taking over the home of a vulnerable person and sending runners to stay there. These are ways gangs distance themselves from criminal activity so that their victims carry the risk.

Look out for children and teens who are:

• Going missing from home/school without explanation
• Mixing with new friends their parents don’t know
• Using more than one mobile phone
• Appearing nervous, scared, evasive, and/or secretive
• Suffering injuries they can’t explain
• Holding tickets for train or coach travel.

Look out for vulnerable adults who:

• Have withdrawn from family, the community or social services support
• Have lots of different visitors at unusual hours
• Are in a relationship with someone controlling
• Have their curtains or blinds closed most of the time
• Have more anti-social behaviour close to their home.

You can report any concerns anonymously to Crimestoppers at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously

It can be hard to report concerns about someone as they may have committed offences.  Whether you phone them on 0800 555 111 or report your concerns online, Crimestoppers won’t pass on who you are or give any information that might suggest who you could be. They simply receive the information they need to stop these gangs and protect vulnerable people.

Kooth

Kooth.com

Kooth.com is a free, online counselling and emotional wellbeing platform which is available to young people aged 10-16 years across the county.
Kooth allows young people to gain anonymous access to advice, support and guidance on any issue that is affecting their mental health and wellbeing.

Many of the issues young people are talking to them about at the moment include school worries, bereavement, Covid19 and sleep issues which are directly related to these unprecedented times. 

Visit kooth.com where you can register and find out more about the service or take a look at this video clip which explains Kooth in a nutshell >>  https://vimeo.com/318731977 

Safeguarding Newsletters

Other Useful Links

Teen Mental Health – A Guide for Parents

Useful tips and advice for parents to help their teens overcome body image issues, academic anxiety, peer pressure and cyberbullying, including links to other important teen mental health resources.

https://www.mytutor.co.uk/blog/parents/teen-mental-health-a-guide-for-parents/

Pastoral Care Documents