The Domestic Abuse Prevention in Schools Programme is commissioned by Public Health in Westminster and aims to build schools’ capacity to embed a whole-school approach to domestic abuse prevention.

A Whole-school Approach

• Leadership
• Policies
• School Ethos, Culture
• Curriculum
• Staff CPD and wellbeing
• Supporting children
• Engaging parents

State funded primary, secondary and special schools can access the below support via this Programme for free:

• Domestic Abuse INSETs and virtual training sessions – see our current offer on the left.
• Development meetings to enhance existing provision, using an audit tool encompassing all 7 levels of the whole-school approach listed above.
• Support to strengthen school safeguarding policy and procedures linked to domestic abuse.
• Support around ensuring that schools meet all statutory requirements linked to domestic abuse such as the DfE Guidance on RSHE, Keeping Children Safe in Education, Domestic Abuse Bill and Domestic Abuse Act 2021 etc.
• Access to a list of resources to inform lesson plans and wider curriculum, for example, lesson ideas on gender equity or misogyny.
• Support to consider school-wide practices and attitudes that form school ethos and culture.
• Access to information on referral pathways for specialist domestic abuse services for both children and adult survivors of domestic abuse.
• Support around ensuring that school staff experiencing domestic abuse are well supported.
• For schools that are engaging with the Healthy Schools London Programme (HSL), support to achieve HSL Silver and Gold awards for the implementation of the whole-school approach to domestic abuse prevention will be offered.

Embedding a whole-school approach to domestic abuse prevention can have a lasting positive impact – not only on the lives of the children but also on the school’s overall performance, ethos, and culture. Through this approach schools may be able to reduce emotionally based absences, behavioural challenges including but not limited to misogynistic attitudes, improve academic attainment and affectively address safeguarding concerns.

If you work within a local state funded primary, secondary or special school in Westminster and would like to be added to our contacts list to receive the latest support offers please email Viktorija.