Operation Encompass

The definition of domestic abuse is: 

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 specifies that behaviour of a person (“A”) towards another person (“B”) as “domestic abuse” if A and B are each aged 16 or over and are personally connected to each other and the behaviour is abusive. 

‘Abusive behaviour’ is defined as any of the following: 

• physical or sexual abuse
• violent or threatening behaviour
• controlling or coercive behaviour
• economic abuse
• psychological, emotional, or other abuse 

‘Personally connected’ is defined in the act as parties who:

• are married to each other
• are civil partners of each other
• have agreed to marry one another (whether or not the agreement has been terminated)
• have entered into a civil partnership agreement (whether or not the agreement has been terminated)
• are or have been in an intimate personal relationship with each other
• have, or there has been a time when they each have had, a parental relationship in relation to the same child
• are relatives

The numbers:

• on average, there are 35 incidents of Domestic Abuse before a call is made to the police
• over 20000 notifications have been communicated to Schools and EY providers in Worcestershire since Operation Encompass was launched in the County 

West Mercia Domestic Abuse data (for the year ending March 2025): 

• over 10,000 Domestic Abuse related incidents and crimes were recorded in Worcestershire
• approximately 25% of all recorded crimes were classified as Domestic Abuse related 

Source: West Mercia Police quater 4 2024 to 2025 Performance Monitoring Report (PDF)

Operation Encompass gives professionals an insight into what a child is going through at home. 

The links below help provide a better understanding on how to support children and families:

• the impact of domestic violence and abuse on mothering and children (Violence Against Women and Girls)
• what can we do to support children and families who have been impacted by domestic abuse? (NSPCC)
• why is domestic abuse a safeguarding and child protection Issue? (NSPCC)
• Worcestershire Domestic Abuse Strategy 2022 to 2025 (PDF)

West Mercia Police send details to our Operation Encompass team, every weekday morning. This report lists the previous day(s) domestic abuse incidents that include children or children are associated.

To be included a child must either be:

• present at the scene, or usually reside at the address (including unborn babies as they are also a victim)

or:

• have a connection or association to the adults who were present (and therefore maybe impacted by the incident) 

Please be aware: 

• the Operation Encompass team only receive brief details of any incident
• the team do not receive the full confidential incident report that might later be shared with Social Care
• the team can seek additional clarifying information on a needs must basis on a settings behalf
• when the incident report has been received by us, we prepare the data, locate the children included and share securely with the relevant school or Early Years setting
• details of the incident, including the date, time, police incident number and a description of what happened will be shared
• settings may receive multiple notifications as each incident will be provided separately
• if we receive a notification for children not attending an education setting, the children who are not attending will be notified
• if a child attends more than one setting, we will share information with both registered settings
• if a child is adopted or looked after they may automatically be included by default as associated from the Police records that they hold
• police send the incident reports automatically to the NHS Health Team who will share this information with Health Visitors and Midwives for EY's children
• if a child is identified as residing or accessing a provision that is out of Worcestershire county, we pass these back to West Mercia for redirection
• if the incident happened outside of Worcestershire and was reported to a different police force, you will not receive a notification from WCC for OP EN
• all domestic abuse incidents involving a child will be risk rated accordingly, by the police, and automatically referred to Family Front Door Children’s Services

Do's: 

• be vigilant about behaviour changes in the child and support the child's needs, whatever that may be at that time
• ask how the child feeling today, and provide support based on the outcome
• ask the Parent or Carer, how they are today, let them know you have time for them
• communicate with other staff members on a need-to-know basis and be aware a sibling may be in attendance so communicate to others who are caring for the sibling
• log any behaviour changes
• ensure the child understands they have someone to talk to about how they feel and that they are in a safe space
• make appropriate referrals if you think a child needs further support and if you have a serious safeguarding concern, please contact the Family Front door for advice
• if you require further clarity on an incident, contact the Operation Encompass Coordinator
• refresh yourself with the National Training every 3 years
• ensure that all secure notifications are being shared to the setting’s DSL - details of the incident should then be logged on a ‘Call Log’ document by the DSL and this should be filed in the same way Child Protection records are kept, the DSL will share relevant information provided with appropriate staff where needed

Dont's:

• never approach a parent or child directly about the information you have received or question them or child directly regarding the information
• please don’t assume conversations with families on doorsteps are private, technology such as Alexa, Ring Doorbells have recording functions
• do not share with anyone in your setting that doesn’t need to know, information received from Operation Encompass is highly confidential and is Police Data

Please note:

Only discuss with a parent or Carer, should they reach out to you. Never initiate. Always be mindful of confidentiality of information you have received. If a parent or Carer does seek your support, be alert of your surroundings when having sensitive conversations, as this may put a victim of domestic abuse in more danger. Your posters should be clearly visible, and parents should have received the letters you adapted from the National site, informing them you are part of the sharing partnership. If police were called to an incident and the incident was categorised as DA, they will know you are aware. Involved parties may initiate the conversation. Split families may differ and be more complex. There are occasions due to delicacy that both parents with responsibility may not know of the incident. It is the responsibility of the parent included in the incident to share information to the other parent not present. Any highly rated incidents of delicacy, Family Front Door (FFD) will be involved. If you are uncertain, FFD can accept anonymous duty calls to advise you. If you feel threshold is met and are very concerned please submit a referral. You may have additional context to contribute beyond the incident. Contact your OP EN coordinator for clarity or further details if you believe it is necessary. Lean upon your safeguarding experience and training to make informed appropriate steps if needed.

Here are the details you need to register for Operation Encompass in connection with us, including how to access the training and additional resources. 

To complete the registration for your setting, you will need to:

1. Complete the Key Adult training.

Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) and Deputies (DDSLs), as a minimum, must have completed the Key Adult training online on the Operation Encompass website. You will need to register (for free) to access the training and complete each of the online modules. 

It is strongly recommended that training be refreshed every 3 years. 

2. Complete the Safeguarding Agreement to sign up with us.

Download: 

• The safeguarding agreement (Word)

3. Sign an agreement per setting and send certificates.

Please send the completed Safeguarding Agreement and the training certificates to:

• opencompassSCH@worcestersghire.gov.uk - for schools
• opencompassEYS@worcestershire.gov.uk - for early years settings 

If your school has an Early Years setting on site that has a different registration number:

Early Years settings need to register separately to their school by completing a separate agreement. Please included the relevant DSL’s completed training certificates. These will be saved separately in association to the correct Nursery or Preschool:

• opencompassEYS@worcestershire.gov.uk

Resources available include:

• letter template to notify parents that you are signed up to Operation Encompass
• further printable resources (in various languages)
• poster for your settings

These can be found:

• resources for schools including posters

More resources can be found:

• Operation Encompass

Main contact 

Operation Encompass Schools: 

• email: OpencompassSCH@worcestershire.gov.uk

Operation Encompass Early Years:

• email: OpencompassEYS@worcestershire.gov.uk

Gem Rainsford-Grady, Operation Encompass Coordinator:

• email: GGrady@worcestershire.gov.uk
• telephone: 01905 728530

Safeguarding team

Denise Hannibal, Education Safeguarding Lead:

• email: dhannibal@worcestershire.gov.uk
• telephone: 01905 844436

Hayley Doyle, Educational Area Safeguarding Officer:

• email: HDoyle@worcestershire.gov.uk
• telephone: 01905 845230

As an Operation Encompass setting, parents or carers may talk to you about their situation, possibly looking for help and support. The following services may be useful: 

• West Mercia Women’s Aid
• Hollie Guard - free personal safety app
• Clare's Law - the right to ask and the right to know (What is Clare's Law)
• Sarah's Law - a law for anyone who wants to find out if a person who has contact with a child, has a record of child sexual offences
• Helpline for Male victims of Domestic Abuse (Men’s Advice Line)
• Financial and economic abuse (Women’s Aid)
• Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence
• Dawn Project (Worcester Community Trust)
• West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre
• What is domestic abuse? (Women’s Aid)
• How to Protect Children from Domestic Abuse (NSPCC)
• Raneem’s Law in action: Domestic abuse specialists embedded in West Midlands Police 999 control room