NSPCC Wants to Help Everyone Play Their Part to Prevent Child Abuse in Shropshire
For over 130 years, the NSPCC have had the vision that together we can stop child abuse and neglect. Their new strategy launched in 2021 has 3 areas of focus aimed at making the most progress towards this on-going vision:
- Everyone plays their part to prevent child abuse
- Every child is safe online
- Children feel safe, listened to and supported
As part of this vision and strategy, Kate Warner, Schools Coordinator for the NSPCC Schools Service in Shropshire, is continuing to work in partnership with the Shropshire Education and Inclusion Team to deliver the Speak Out, Stay Safe Programme for children aged 5-11 years old. Kate says that every primary school in the county has participated in this on-going safeguarding programme which schools are encouraged to use at least every 3 years, and in addition, the NPSCC are about to embark on a new secondary school safeguarding initiative.
But safeguarding children needs to be a much broader than in schools, Kate says: “we all have a part to play in safeguarding” and she is keen to encourage more voluntary and community organisations, as well as public sector organisations to take up the call for “everyone to play their part” in the effort to prevent child abuse in Shropshire.
While many VCSE organisations may be aware of the NSPCC’s Childline, a website and hotline for under 19s, they may be less aware that the NPSCC also hosts a Childline website and hotline aimed at under 12s, as well as a dedicated app – For Me – designed by young people for young people and a Report Remove tool that allows young people to report an image or video online to see if it’s possible to get it taken down.
The NSPCC Helpline is staffed by trained professionals who can provide expert advice and support. If you’re concerned about a child, if you’re a parent or carer looking for advice, or if you’re a professional in need of information and guidance – call 0808 800 5000.
Kate has also helpfully organised all of the NSPCC's resources into one list for organisations and parents to keep track of:
- Click here to download a full list of the NSPCC’s online resources.
- Click here to download a full list of NPSCC resources for parents, carers and communities to share with your volunteers, staff and beneficiaries.
Perhaps most importantly for the VCSE sector, the NPSCC has incredibly detailed resources for organisations, including an entire portion of their website dedicated to materials and training for voluntary and community groups.
Kate says:
“If we could get our local community and voluntary groups helping to spread the message with children, carers and parents about our helplines and other resources and about our preventative ‘Speak out. Stay safe’ programme (there’s also a version children can watch at home -Speak out. Stay safe assembly at home), we could have such a huge impact in Shropshire.”
If you have any questions, please email Kate Warner.
Photography by Tom Hull Photography 2019. The children and adults pictured are models