SMS#1 | August Small Talk 2023

Small Talk

Together,

Welcome to your latest edition of Small Talk

We couldn’t have managed any of the important work featured in this newsletter without you. You’ve helped the NSPCC continue to advocate for children and protect them in the way only we can.

Because of you, more children this year have received the vital support they need. From practitioners and counsellors to teachers and parents, you’ve helped us form circles of support around their lives.

It’s a challenging time for children. As rising costs put families under pressure, we’ve found that more young people are struggling to talk to their loved ones about their feelings. This may be due to a fear of burdening them or worrying that they won’t understand.

It’s for this reason that we’ve been doing everything we can to ensure children feel heard, supported, and never alone. With your help, we can keep going.

We’ve also been campaigning for new laws to protect children, which you can read more about on page 5. And we’ve been working with local communities to inspire lasting change – see page 11.

These recent bits of news are why we’re starting to feel increasingly positive about the future we’re shaping for children – and that’s all down to kind people like you.

I hope that you enjoy reading this issue, and discovering the ways you’ve helped us surround children with the support they need to live as their happy, carefree selves.

On behalf of everyone we’ve reached this year, thank you.

Sir Peter Wanless Chief Executive of NSPCC

“Thank you for being there for me!”

Childline gives children and young people confidential support when they need it. Thanks to you, these children have someone to turn to.

Regardless of how much I’ve contacted you, you’ve always given me the space to talk and be myself. You’ve supported me better than you’ll ever know.

Boy, 15

I have friends who have contacted Childline before and they said it’s been very helpful, so after the visit I thought I’d get in touch to see what it’s like. Thank you.

Girl, 10

I wanted to say thank you to the counsellor from my previous chat. I didn’t realise Childline could be so helpful and I’ll 100% reach out again!

Girl, 14

After talking things through with a Childline counsellor, I feel so much calmer. They helped me find things to boost my confidence.

Young person, 13

I just wanted to say I was able to call Childline today and I’m feeling so proud of myself. The person on the phone made me feel so relaxed that I was able to push through and talk honestly about how I’m feeling.

Young person, 13

Thank you so much for all the help and advice you gave me last year. There’s definitely been improvement and I feel so much more positive about things.

Girl, 18

Our 2023 so far

Supporting children with loneliness, campaigning for change, and educating adults to speak up.

Day in the Lonely

Every day, Childline counsellors hear from young people struggling with feelings of loneliness. These feelings can be devastating, and it’s vital for children to know that they can access help if they need it.

Our latest video campaign, Day in the Lonely, shows the many ways children can contact Childline for help. Since the launch, the campaign videos have been viewed over 7 million times. You can find out more about the impact this is making on page 9.

Scan here or visit bit.ly/DayInLonely to watch our latest video campaign.

We’re continuing to campaign for new safety laws to protect children. Specifically, for children to have the same legal protection from assault as adults. Our recent survey found that the majority of UK adults agree with this idea. So we’re calling on the Westminster Government to provide it. Other countries, including Wales and Scotland, have already introduced this law.

Meanwhile, we’ve been pushing for the House of Lords to strengthen the Online Safety Bill. Our research shows that 88% of people want a child safety advocate included in the bill. And over 40,000 have signed our open letter to the Government demanding this.

Half a million children suffer abuse and neglect in the UK a year. But there’s something we can do to change all that. At the start of this year, we piloted a brandnew campaign called Listen up, Speak up encouraging adults across the UK to take our 10-minute digital training session to learn where to go if they need a bit of support, and how to speak up for children who need it. Then, they’ll receive emails from experts suggesting more ways to help keep children safe.

Over 23,000 people have signed up so far – and in 2024, we’ll be inviting supporters like you to take the training.

Tamsin’s story

Tamsin first contacted Childline at the age of 14. Thanks to your support, Childline helped her recover from low self-esteem and an eating disorder to become the bright and confident person she is today.

Where it all began

I grew up as an only child, just me, Mum, and Dad. I was a very happy child, and I loved anything creative at school –drawing, painting, things like that.

When I was about 14, I think my mental health started getting worse. I was struggling with low self-esteem and body image, and it all started weighing me down.

I also had a hard time during my GCSE exams, with lots of pressure on myself to achieve high grades. That was when my relationship with food got bad.

My eating disorder happened very fast. Something in my brain just suddenly stopped me from eating.

I don’t know what started it, but I do think social media played a part. It was so easy to stumble upon content that made me feel worse.

At this point I was barely eating. I forced myself to go to college, but I still didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t want to burden my family with it or worry them – so I just didn’t say anything.

Contacting Childline

That’s when I started to reach out to Childline. I’d speak to them pretty much every night on their online chat.

I wanted to feel like someone cared. Since my family didn’t know, they couldn’t really be there for me.

Speaking to Childline was good because it was anonymous. I could let out how I was really feeling without worrying about burdening my family. They gave me good advice too. It went on for two or three months.

My Childline advisor understood why I was scared to tell my family, but they encouraged me to talk to a friend instead – and when I did, she encouraged me to get help.

Less than a month later, I was admitted to an in-patient unit 100 miles away from home. It was hard. But I started pushing myself, after thinking, ‘it really can’t get any worse than this.’

That was when things started to change.

An exciting new chapter

When I was discharged, I met a new friend who was also in recovery. She made me get out and do things.

I started meeting friends again and having fun. The two of us went on holiday together, she really pushed me to move forward.

And when I saw a traineeship job come up –a six-month supportive scheme for people with mental health issues – I applied and got the job.

It was like a light switch. I knew I couldn’t go to work feeling like this, so I really worked on myself.

When the scheme ended, I was offered a permanent role as a junior filmmaker, which was just amazing. I moved to London too, and I was so proud of myself for pushing myself out of my comfort zone to create a new network of friends.

Now, I’m a different person. I feel like me again. I definitely wouldn’t have the life I have today if it wasn’t for Childline’s support! I get to work on the creative things I’ve always enjoyed. And I have a great circle of people around me who make me feel happy.

I feel like I’ve gone full circle with my depression. I still have bad days, but nothing like it used to be. I’m so grateful for my job, and for Childline helping me out in such a way.

If it wasn’t for Childline, things would have gotten a lot worse. I never would have told that friend, received any support, or made it to where I am now. I will never forget the help they gave me!

Day in the Lonely

In 2021-22, Childline counsellors received on average 15 contacts a day from children struggling with loneliness. Our latest video campaign, Day in the Lonely, shows children that help is out there, and that loneliness doesn’t have to last.

If you’ve ever experienced loneliness in your life, you’ll know how overwhelming it can feel.

That’s why we’ve launched a new video campaign, Day in the Lonely, to show children that Childline is here to support them through it.

The videos borrow from the popular ‘Day in the Life’ trend on TikTok. Each follows a young person from the moment they wake up, showing them at school, playing games or hanging out with friends. But the videos also show how loneliness can creep into their days and impact them – before signalling how they can get help from Childline.

Day in the Lonely is based on real-life stories from young people who have contacted Childline, and thankfully found the support they need to overcome loneliness.

We hope that by watching the videos, young people will realise that they are not alone in feeling the way they do – and that as long as we’re here, they’ll always have someone to talk to.

Scan here to watch the films or search 'Childline Day in the Lonely.’

As you might expect, counselling sessions on loneliness peaked during the height of the pandemic. Although they’ve since dropped a little, they’re still worryingly high.

Often, our counsellors hear from children struggling with loneliness because they’ve been left out of friendship groups or social media chats. Other children say loneliness stems from negative self-image, or believing that their friends and families won’t understand them.

It’s an incredibly heavy burden to carry alone. We hope that by seeing our Day in the Lonely videos, more children will recognise that they’re not alone and reach out to Childline for support.

Where can children get support?

Send an email and a counsellor will reply within 24 hours.

Call 0800 11 11 to speak to a Childline counsellor for free.

Log in for a 1-2-1 counsellor chat in a safe, confidential online space.

Talk on our message boards to other young people in similar situations.

Write a letter to Ask Sam. Sam reads every letter and responds to a few publicly each week.

Since the campaign launched in February, the Childline adverts and related social media posts were seen over 65 million times by young people. The campaign has also received some very positive feedback from parents and young people alike

If you know any young people struggling with loneliness, we urge you to share these videos with them, and get in contact with Childline if they need it.

you so much!

Girl, 18

Through this campaign, we want to remind all children that talking to a trusted adult like a parent, teacher or Childline counsellor about being lonely is a brave thing to do. Getting support early on can prevent things from escalating in the future.

You totally got what I was going through. Hopefully, things just get better from here. Thank

Together for Childhood

Our Together for Childhood service works with local communities across the country to help make them safer for children. We caught up with Dianne Porter, Development and Impact Manager for Together for Childhood, to learn more.

Hi Dianne! How would you describe Together for Childhood to someone new?

Together for Childhood is based in four different parts of the UK at the moment. All the work that we do is being evaluated and measured, with the hope that we can expand to more areas of the UK. But right now, I work in Govan managing the Glasgow service, and we also run in Plymouth, Grimsby, and Stoke-on-Trent.

Each of us works with our local community – professionals, parents, young people –who live here and know what the gaps in local services are. That way, we can find out what the community needs, and if there are any services we can create or improve to make life better for children.

So what needs did you find in Glasgow for example?

One need we found was about emotional literacy for children and young people, especially after COVID. I feel like we were all a bit shaken by COVID to be honest, but that was especially true for young people in Govan.

We all want children to talk about how they’re feeling, but when they don’t understand their feelings, or how to find people who are safe to talk to, it becomes very difficult.

So that’s why we started running emotional resilience groups in primary schools.

It was a six-week programme, which we developed with teachers, and it taught children to identify big feelings, small feelings, the feelings in their body – so they could start naming and talking about them.

After that, we introduced mindfulness, breathing techniques, and coping strategies that they can use when they’re on their own. And we gave them Emotional Resilience Kits – with blankets, colouring books, hot chocolate and games to play with friends.

Are those workshops still running today?

Yes – something that’s really important at Together for Childhood is that anything we set up, we make it sustainable, so that it can continue running without us.

So after we’d run our six week programme in seven primary schools in Govan, we taught them how to go out and deliver some of that to other schools, and it all just keeps on going.

We’ve found that lots of children love to stay involved too – some of them have even asked to teach mindfulness classes to the other year groups. They’re loving it, they’re probably doing it almost as well as the practitioners!

After our workshops, children said:

“ Thanks for the awesome 6 weeks with us!”

“ You have been the best, thank you for coming and helping us to learn.”

“Every time we see you we smile, thank you so so so much.”

What’s the best part of your job?

I think what I really love doing is meeting the needs of more than just a couple of children or a couple of families, but lots and lots. It’s my job to really embed our service in the community and understand it. So, no two days are the same, really.

I get to work with brilliant practitioners, social workers, teachers, take our learnings and think, ‘Okay, how can we develop this or make it better?’ It’s a real privilege to do that.

And when people tell us that the stuff we’re doing is working, that’s just brilliant. We recently had this mum who told us about the mindfulness techniques her wee one was doing at home when he was struggling. That’s maybe the greatest part of my job, to hear stories like that.

Fantastic fundraisers!

Some of our favourite fundraising stories from Walk for Children 2022!

Walk for Children is our Christmas fundraising event, where we ask supporters to walk 5k on the longest night of the year, to help keep children safe. We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in Walk for Children 2022 – together you raised an incredible £113,200!

If you’d like to take part in the 2023 event, you can register your interest by visiting nspcc.org.uk/walk or contacting our Supporter Care team on 020 7825 2505 or by emailing christmas@nspcc.org.uk

Spotting sheep and seals

A great big thank you to Alessandra and her 7-year-old son Elijah, who completed their Walk for Children along the coastal path in Llandudno. They got to see lots of sheep and seals along the way, and Elijah even ran for some of the route! Well done to Alessandra and Elijah, who managed to cover a whopping 7.5km and raise double their fundraising target.

All children should be happy at Christmas, I want to help make them happy!

Elijah, 7, Walk for Children participant

Scan to register your interest in Walk for Children 2023!

A three-legged walk!

Sisters Emily and Holly decided to take on an extra challenge when walking their 5k route – they chose to walk the entire distance three-legged!

It must’ve involved a huge amount of patience and teamwork to walk the whole 5k joined together, and they received lots of lovely encouragement from other walkers. We’d like to say a huge thank you to them both.

Volunteer with us

Something for everyone! Do you want to help raise vital funds for the NSPCC? Whether you can spare an hour or two, or want to get involved more often, whatever time you can give is invaluable.

How can I help?

Volunteer as a Childline counsellor and be there for children and young people when they feel they have no one else to turn to.

Deliver Speak out Stay safe workshops in primary schools in your local area, ensuring children know who they can speak to if they feel worried.

Volunteer with our Young Witness service in Northern Ireland and provide support to children and young people giving evidence in court.

Become an events cheerer and help support our amazing #TeamNSPCC fundraisers. No experience required - just a sense of fun, team spirit and a loud voice!

Rally people together

by volunteering in your local community, raising vital funds to help keep children safe.

Help keep children Safe in Sport by representing the NSPCC at sporting events in your community, sharing resources and signposting to support.

I’ve met so many caring and dedicated people.

Norma, volunteer fundraiser

To get involved, you can speak to our friendly Volunteering Team by emailing volunteerrecruitment@nspcc.org.uk or calling 0121 227 7577 (lines open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm) You can also visit nspcc.org.uk to find out more.

Creating change

Your support helps us campaign far and wide to keep children and young people safe. Here’s the latest on our recent work.

Neglect Matters Campaign – Hertfordshire

Over ten weeks, we’ve been working with a fantastic group of young people from Hertfordshire County Council to raise awareness of neglect in their community.

The group were asked to create a logo and toolkit for other young people, teaching them how to spot the signs of neglect and reach out for support.

Their brilliant concept ‘Chain for Change’ contains five key links to getting help, and their leaflet will be shared across schools and youth centres across Hertfordshire. A massive thank you to every young person involved!

‘The Net: Sam’s story’ is a newly commissioned piece of theatre for children, that focuses on the dangers of sharing inappropriate images online.

Following a couple of cases in the city where primary aged children were encouraged to share images of themselves by adults they didn’t know, the NSPCC worked with a range of partners to deliver this show.

In early 2023, we piloted a brand-new campaign called Listen up, Speak up. We’re encouraging adults across the UK and Channel Islands to take a free, 10-minute digital training session. They’ll learn about some signs of child abuse, and steps they can take if they’re concerned about a child. They’ll also learn what to do if they – or someone they know – needs support. They’ll then receive a series of emails with even more ways they can help keep children safe.

And in May, over 1,600 children between the ages of 9-11 years old attended a performance of the show.

As well as the national digital campaign, we ran workshops for members of the public in Newport, Leeds, and Brighton and Hove – including discussions about what stops people from reporting their concerns.

Online Safety Campaign – York

Listen up, Speak up – National

Leave a gift in your Will to the NSPCC

Did you know that around a fifth of our donations come from gifts generously left to us by supporters in their Will? These special kinds of gift are the reason we’ve been able to fight for children’s safety and happiness for over 130 years now. As the challenges children are facing evolve over time, gifts in Wills help us to do the same.

By remembering the NSPCC in your Will, you can give the children of the future the most powerful gift of all – the gift of a safe and happy childhood.

If you’re interested in supporting us in this special way, you can call 020 7825 2505 * , email legacyinfo@nspcc.org.uk or visit nspcc.org.uk/giftsinwills *(Lines open Monday to Friday, from 9am–5pm)