Westacre Middle School is committed to safeguarding and ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of every child. We expect all staff, governors and volunteers to share in this commitment. We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. All school staff receive regular Safeguarding and Child Protection training. Staff are trained to look out for signs of physical/emotional harm or neglect and are required to report these to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).

The procedures which we follow have been laid down by Worcestershire county council safeguarding team and the school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this, for the safety of all. On rare occasions our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult other agencies. We will ensure that all concerns are discussed with parent/carers first, before any referrals are made, unless we believe that such a move may be contrary to a child’s welfare.

Operation Encompass is a police and education early information sharing partnership enabling 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 Adult (DSL) 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.

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.

https://www.operationencompass.org/