Every year in the UK, three million children and young people witness domestic violence. It is believed that 90 per cent of all domestic abuse, which can be emotional, physical, sexual or psychological, takes place with a child either in the same room or close enough by to be aware of what is happening.

Such an impact on children cannot be underestimated. As one child refuge resident in Cheshire says: "No one thinks what effect it has on kids. It doesn't just affect the mother - it is also the kids. Because they are the ones that have to see it and hear it."

Cheshire police annually attend incidents in the homes of 10,000 children, which may well only be the tip of the iceberg as most domestic abuse incidents do not come to the attention of police. For the past eight years the Cheshire Domestic Abuse Partnership has been raising awareness, providing information and carrying out research and training.

One of its most successful and innovative strands has been its work with the education department. "We have been part of the CDAP from day one," says Chris Greenwood, senior safeguarding children in education adviser, who manages the family liaison team. "We felt that within education we had a unique role. The young people of today are the adults of tomorrow and if children can learn our belief systems we might be able to head off domestic abuse in the future."

At first, Greenwood worked on a primary school project based around a story of bullying rather than direct domestic violence. She says: "We found schools latched on to that because bullying is a subject they work with. If we had gone in with a domestic violence project we may well have faced barriers."

Cheshire recognises that children with experience of domestic abuse are classed as a group of vulnerable children in their own right (along with young offenders, children in care, travellers and so on). "This means we are able to bid for funds to provide a range of services including training, one-to-one sessions and some work on emotional literacy and challenging attitudes to violence," says Greenwood.

Part of this has been to raise awareness among teachers of potential indicators of domestic abuse. "One of the rewarding things for me is that the message is getting out there," says Sally Starborg, family liaison worker and CDAP trainer. "Schools are recognising that certain behaviour may be caused by domestic abuse. It also means that children are getting a much more sympathetic response. In turn, schools are also being seen as safe places to disclose."

Jenny Corless, a children's worker at Deva women's refuge, agrees: "We've got some new children in the refuge and the teachers have been so sensitive to and aware of their needs. They got everything ready for them; they told mum that if she didn't want to leave and wanted to watch through the classroom window to make sure that they are settled, she could do. They gave mum the school phone number and said they didn't mind how often she called. It works really well."

Children in refuges, while waiting for more permanent arrangements to be sorted, can travel to their school by taxi. "We have a small pot of money that we can use for that," says Greenwood. "And that's been great because it has helped keep a bit of normality in their lives: once they're out of school the drift sets in."

While recognising that men and partners in same-sex relationships can also be victims of abuse, CDAP understands the pivotal role of the mother. "With all this work with children what we have to remember is that we have no access to them without access through mum - which is either through the refuge or outreach service," says CDAP chair Sue Bridge.

Greenwood agrees: "If the non-abusing parent, which is usually the mother, isn't receiving support, any work we do with the children will just unravel."

Lessons learned 

• Keep things credible. CDAP commissioned a writer to come up with stories and dramas and consulted with people living in a refuge: "We wanted to make sure we were giving out the right messages and ones that children would be receptive to," says Greenwood.
• Highlight the importance of talking. "We're not the school and we're not the parents so we can be someone that the child wants to talk to," says Starborg. "Sometimes they don't want to burden the mother; they don't want to talk to the school because it's private."
• Recognise children affected by domestic violence as a vulnerable group. "Our work narrows the educational gap between certain vulnerable groups of children and the rest of the population," says Greenwood.