Our New Helpline to Support Victims of Abuse

Authored by: Corporate Communications team

Publish: 31/03/2021 15:40:00

Last update: 12/04/2021 10:35:46

We’ve launched a new dedicated helpline for children and young people who have been victims of abuse at school and for worried adults and professionals that need support and guidance. Our new NSPCC helpline is called Report Abuse in Education.

Working with the Department for Education (DFE), who have commissioned us on this initiative, we will run the bespoke helpline to provide appropriate support and advice regarding onward action, including contacting the police if they wish to

The new helpline is run by our own colleagues from the NSPCC helpline who will be responding to the calls during their shifts and during normal operational hours of the NSPCC helpline.

Our new NSPCC Helpline, Report Abuse in Education will provide support to:

  • All children and young people making current and non-recent disclosures and, where required, we’ll share this information with local police force and Children Services / Local Authorities Designated Officers (LADO). Operation Hydrant (the coordination hub delivering the national policing response, oversight, and coordination of non-recent child sexual abuse investigations) will triage non-urgent police referrals, assessing the information and ensuring this get to the police force.
  • Any children and young people who may want to talk about being involved or witness any incidents.
  • Adults regarding non-recent abuse.
  • Parents and carers in respect of any concerns they have regarding their own or other children.
  • Professionals who may be working in a school requiring support or in any related matter.

We will also signpost to ongoing support services available for all those groups named above including Childline which will be a significant resource for children and young people requiring ongoing support.

The new helpline comes after numerous anonymised testimonials submitted to the website Everyone’s Invited, documenting abuse in all types of schools, colleges, and universities.

Peter Wanless said:

“This is a watershed moment thanks to those who have found the courage to speak out which is why we have been commissioned by the DFE to setup a helpline for children, parents and professionals to seek expert, sensitive advice and safely report abuse.

“At least a third of sexual offences against children are committed by other young people and that must be addressed. All children should be able to grow up in a safe community that is free from sexual violence where their rights are respected.

“Creating a culture that fosters healthy relationships and challenges harassment and abuse is integral to this. With the right support for teachers, compulsory relationships and sex education has a pivotal role to play in achieving this. But this issue goes beyond schools and we all have a role to play in keeping children safe.”

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

“No child or young person should have to experience abuse. But if something isn’t right, they should  speak to someone they trust to raise concerns, whether that’s family, a friend, teacher or social worker, helpline or the police.”

Young people and adults can contact our new NSPCC helpline, Report Abuse in Education on 080 013 6663 or email help@nspcc.org.uk.

As well as the new bespoke NSPCC helpline, we will continue to respond to the needs of children, schools and others affected via our other services, our e-learning and training courses and consultancy for schools. We will continue our influencing work on preventing child abuse (for instance our work on the RSE curriculum) and ensuring children have the support they need (for instance our work on the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy). You can find out more information on our wider work in this area on NSPCC Learning and at the PAPA pages on the Green.

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