Tag: NSPCC

Social media platforms failing to protect girls from harm at every stage

  • New NSPCC research has found that even the most popular social media platforms are failing girls at every stage, making them vulnerable to grooming, abuse, and harassment.
  • This comes as polling by the children’s charity also shows that a strong majority of adults across GB and in Scotland (86%) believe tech companies are not doing enough to protect girls from harm on social media. 
  • Parents of girls aged 4-17 across GB highlighted contact from strangers (41%), online grooming (40%), bullying from other children (37%), and sexual abuse or harassment (36%) as their top four concerns when it came to their daughter’s experiences online. 

The NSPCC is calling on tech companies to rethink how social media platforms are designed and prioritise creating age-appropriate experiences for young girls online. 

Social media platforms, messaging apps and gaming platforms are failing to protect girls at every stage, according to new research from the NSPCC.  

The children’s charity commissioned PA Consulting to conduct a new report, Targeting of Girls Online, which identified a wide range of risks girls face across ten popular online platforms including grooming, harassment and abuse.  

As part of the research, fake profiles of a teenage girl were created on these sites. 

The report found that the detailed nature of the profiles made it too easy for adult strangers to pick out girls and send unsolicited messages to their accounts.  

Findings also highlighted how many of the features and functionalities employed by tech companies subliminally encourage young girls to increase their online networks, online consumption, and online activity – often at the expense of their own safety. 

In response the NSPCC is urging Ofcom to address the significant gaps in its Illegal Harms Codes which fail to take into account specific risks which would be mitigated by solutions found in the report. 

This comes as new YouGov polling for the children’s charity of 3,593 adults from across Great Britain, including 326 adults from Scotland, found that most respondents in both GB (86%) and in Scotland (86%) believe tech companies are doing too little to protect girls under the age of 18 on their platforms.  

The survey also polled parents with daughters (431 from across GB), who listed contact from strangers (41%), online grooming (40%), bullying from other children (37%), and sexual abuse or harassment (36%) as their top four concerns related to their child’s experience online.  

Half of the parents surveyed (52%) expressed concern over their daughter’s online experiences. 

The Targeting of Girls Online report analysed features and design choices of these platforms which expose girls to harm online – including abuse, harassment and exploitation from strangers. 

Proposed solutions include:   

  • all services conducting their own ‘abusability studies’ to identify risky features and functionalities, as well as testing any new feature before rolling it out. These tests must include a gendered analysis of likely risk 
  • social media apps should integrate screenshot capabilities into a reporting function, along with automatically detecting identifiable information in bios.  
  • social media apps should implement a “cooling off” period once a connection is made between users, resulting in increased restrictions on interactions. 
  • increased measures to prevent non trusted adults from being able to video call young users.  

In particular, Ofcom should develop best practice guidance for regulated services, which outlines how safety settings and other protections can be adapted based on children’s age.  

The regulator should then work with service providers, especially those most popular with children, to implement this guidance. 

Without these necessary safeguards, young users – in particular girls – remain highly vulnerable to unsafe online interactions. 

The NSPCC has long heard from young girls about their negative experiences online through Childline which encouraged them to undertake this research.  

One 15-year-old who contacted Childline said: “I’ve been sent lots of inappropriate images online recently, like pictures of naked people that I don’t want to see.

“At first, I thought they were coming from just one person, so I blocked them. But then I realised the stuff was coming from loads of random people I don’t know. I’m going to try disable ways people can add me, so hopefully I’ll stop getting this stuff.”* 

Rani Govender, Policy Manager for Child Safety Online, said: “Parents are absolutely right to be concerned about the risks their daughters’ are being exposed to online, with this research making it crystal clear that tech companies are not doing nearly enough to create age-appropriate experiences for girls. 

“We know both on and offline girls face disproportionate risks of harassment, sexual abuse, and exploitation. That’s why it’s so worrying that these platforms are fundamentally unsafe by design – employing features and dark patterns that are putting girls in potentially dangerous situations.  

“There needs to be a complete overhaul of how these platforms are built. This requires tech companies and Ofcom to step up and address how poor design can lead to unsafe spaces for girls. 

“At the same time Government must layout in their upcoming Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy steps to help prevent child sexual offences and tackle the design failures of social media companies that put girls in harm’s way.” 

Young people looking for support on any of the issues mentioned, can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or visit Childline.org.uk. Childline is available to all young people until their 19th birthday.

Adults who are concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline by calling 0808 800 5000, or email: help@NSPCC.org.uk 

Thousands of children are turning to Childline to seek help for anger issues  

  • New Childline data shows the service delivered 2,895 counselling sessions to young people struggling with anger issues, a 6 per cent increase from the previous year 
  • This Mental Health Awareness Week, the NSPCC is encouraging children to process their anger in a healthy way and contact Childline if they need to talk 

Thousands of children and young people have received support from Childline for anger issues over the past year. 

New data shows that the NSPCC-service delivered close to 3,000 counselling sessions to children and young people across the UK about the issue, online and over the phone, which is a 6 per cent increase on the previous 12 months. 

The rise in contacts on the topic has made anger issues a top ten mental health concern for all genders contacting the service. This data gives insight into a generation increasingly struggling to manage and regulate their emotions in the face of a range of pressures at home, school, online and in the community. 

This Mental Health Awareness Week (May 12 to 18), Childline is offering advice in dealing with these emotions in a healthy way.  

One 13-year-old girl from Scotland told Childline: “I get so mad and annoyed about little things. It takes all my energy to control and hide it. I try shutting myself in my room when I feel it happening, but then mum thinks it’s her fault. Is there anything else I can try?”  

Counselling sessions delivered by Childline reveal several recurring themes when children are discussing anger.  

Some are aggressively criticising themselves, while some often experience frustration with parents and peers following disagreements. Others are struggling to regulate their emotions during challenging situations.  

One boy from Scotland, aged 15, confided to Childline: “Games usually help me relax but lately I’m getting really frustrated with them. It makes me feel so stupid, being this angry about a game or wound up over laggy internet.”  

Adeniyi Alade, Childline service head, based in the Aberdeen Childline centre, said: “At Childline, we hear from children every day about the emotional challenges and difficult situations they are facing. Sometimes they tell us they feel stressed and angry, and they need our support to help process their feelings in a constructive way.   

“Young people face so many different pressures in today’s world – from family disagreements at home, to arguments with friends or classmates at school and online. As a result, they can struggle to manage and deal with difficult emotions. 

“This Mental Health Awareness Week, we are here to let children know there are so many healthy ways to express their feelings and our counsellors are here to provide a safe and confidential space to help them to learn vital skills for their mental wellbeing.” 

As well as encouraging children to contact Childline, the service has been working with children’s mental health charity, Place2Be, to release advice to both young people and parents on how to manage anger issues and look after their mental wellbeing.   

 Tips for Children on Looking After Their Mental Health:   

1.   Talk to someone you trust: Whether it’s a parent, teacher, friend or Childline (0800 1111), sharing how you feel can help.   

2.   Find healthy outlets for emotions: Try physical activities, creative expression, journaling, or relaxation techniques.   

3.   Take care of your body: Regular sleep, healthy food, and exercise all support good mental health.   

4.   Practice mindfulness: Take time each day to focus on your breathing and notice how you’re feeling.   

5.   Create a feel-good toolkit: Identify activities, people, and places that help you feel calm and happy when you’re struggling.   

Tips for Parents on Supporting Children’s Mental Health:  

1.   Create regular check-in times: Establish consistent opportunities for conversations about feelings, perhaps during dinner, car rides, or before bedtime.  

2.   Use open-ended questions: Ask “How are you feeling today?” rather than questions that can be answered with just “yes” or “no.”  

3.   Model healthy emotional expression: Show children how you manage your own emotions in a constructive way.  

4.   Look for changes in behaviour: Notice shifts in sleeping patterns, appetite, social withdrawal, or increased irritability which may signal emotional struggles.  

5.   Normalise seeking help: Talk positively about therapy, counselling, and support services.   

Dr Rebecca Kirkbride, Clinical Director at Place2Be, said: “At Place2Be, we know that learning to express and process emotions healthily during childhood builds resilience and establishes positive coping mechanisms that serve young people throughout their lives.

“The rise in children seeking support for issues related to anger, as highlighted by Childline’s data, demonstrates the importance of early intervention and teaching children healthy ways to process emotions.  

“By creating safe spaces where young people feel heard and validated, we can help them develop the emotional vocabulary and self-regulation skills needed to navigate complex feelings, without expressing feelings through angry or aggressive behaviour – which may have implications for themselves or others around them.” 

Children can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or childline.org.uk.

Any adults concerned about a child’s safety or wellbeing can contact the NSPCC helpline at help@nspcc.org.uk or by calling 0808 800 5000.  

Nearly all adults in Scotland believe emotional abuse in childhood can have a lasting psychological effect but one in six cannot spot the signs

  • The NSPCC is releasing this data as part of its Listen up, Speak up campaign, aiming to inspire a million people to take action to keep children safe.
  • The SSC (A Club for the Youth in Scotland) is one of many businesses, community groups and organisations across Scotland who have taken part in Listen up, Speak up workshops.

New findings reveal that 96% of adults surveyed in Scotland believe that emotional abuse in childhood can have a lasting psychological effect well into adulthood. 

A YouGov survey of 4,242 UK adults, commissioned by the NSPCC – including 352 in Scotland – also gave participants a series of behaviours and asked them to correctly identify what was deemed as emotional abuse.

In Scotland, on average one in six participants (17%), failed to correctly identify examples of emotional abuse. The scenarios where adults failed to identify emotional abuse correctly included:

  • Being overly controlling of a child’s life (25%).
  • Never showing any emotions in interactions with a child (21%).
  • Pushing a child too hard or not recognising their limitations (26%).

The research also found that more than two thirds of adults (69%) of adults in Scotland surveyed had not done any training or reading to help them recognise the signs of emotional abuse.

Emotional abuse – which is any type of abuse that involves the continual emotional mistreatment of a child – can often be difficult to recognise, sometimes showing limited external signs.

Research suggests that 1 in 15 children in the UK will experience emotional abuse, highlighting just how prevalent the issue is, and it is a topic that young people contact Childline about on a regular basis.

Last year the NSPCC service delivered almost 3,000 counselling sessions to children and young people where emotional abuse was the main concern, a 5% increase compared to 2022/23.

One girl, aged 17, told Childline: “Mum’s never hit me, but it still feels abusive. She always tells me she hates me, that I’m selfish, that I’m stupid.

“When she’s angry she breaks my stuff and blames it on me. She controls my friendships too; she says no one would want to be my friend anyway. I feel so defeated and drained living with this every day.”

This new data highlights the importance of free resources, like the NSPCC’s Listen up, Speak up workshops and online tips and advice. The SSC (A Club for the Youth in Scotland) welcomed safeguarding experts to lead these free, educational workshops.

The SSC is a volunteer-run organisation that organizes summer camps and other events for children and young people in Scotland.

Listen up, Speak up provides simple tips and advice on signs a child might be at risk and steps that can be taken to help. The tips can be found online, and anyone can take part in a workshop run for free by local NSPCC teams, either in person or online.  

Through a series of everyday scenarios, participants learn some of the signs that a child might be at risk, showing that not all situations are black and white, how to approach difficult conversations, and who to contact if they are concerned about a child or their family. 

The NSPCC local campaigns team delivered 557 LUSU workshops in Scotland.

As part of their partnership with the NSPCC, The SSC, has committed to ensuring their volunteers and members across the region are familiar with Listen up, Speak up.

Cat Robertson, SSC chairwoman, said: “The Listen up, Speak up training was a great experience for the volunteer youth workers of the SSC.

“We believe that all young people should have access to safe, fun and positive experiences – not only at our summer camps and events but in every aspect of their lives.

“The workshop was accessible, interactive and highly relevant to the role of our team.”

NSPCC’s CEO, Chris Sherwood, said: “It is concerning that on average one in six adults in Scotland are unable to correctly identify emotional abuse. We know that emotional abuse can have a devastating and long-lasting impact on children’s wellbeing and development, affecting their mental health, and relationships well into adulthood.

“The NSPCC is here to support any child who has experienced any kind of abuse. We are also fully committed to creating a nation of adults who are passionate about preventing harm from happening to a child. With our Childline service delivering almost 3,000 counselling sessions about emotional abuse last year alone, we understand the scale and seriousness of this issue across the UK.

“That’s why Listen up, Speak up is so vital. In just 10 minutes, we can help adults learn to recognise both the obvious and subtle signs a child might be at risk and take action to support them. Every adult has the power to make a difference.”

To find out more about Listen up, Speak up, visit www.nspcc.org.uk/speakup 

More than 3,000 child sexual abuse image crimes recorded by Police Scotland in past five years

  • NSPCC sends letter to Home Secretary and DSIT Secretary of State urging action to strengthen Ofcom’s current approach to private messaging.
  • Other signatories include Barnardo’s and the Marie Collins Foundation

The NSPCC is urging the UK Government to ensure children are better protected in private messaging environments, as Scottish Government data reveals that 3,419 child sexual abuse crimes have been recorded by Police Scotland since 2019.

In the last two years they have reached record levels, with more than 700 offences being logged each year (748 in 2023/24 and 765 in 2022/23).

A separate Freedom of Information request submitted to police forces across the UK by the NSPCC showed that where law enforcement recorded the platform used by perpetrators, exactly half (50%) took place on Snapchat and a quarter on Meta products – 11% on Instagram, 7% on Facebook and 6% on WhatsApp[1]. 

In response, a joint letter from charities, including the NSPCC, Marie Collins Foundation, Lucy Faithfull Foundation, Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse, and Barnardo’s, has been sent to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology Peter Kyle.

The letter expresses collective concern regarding Ofcom’s final Illegal Harms Code of Practice published in December 2024. The charities argue that as it stands, children will not be protected from the worst forms of abuse on private messaging services under Ofcom’s plans, despite this being a core aim of the Online Safety Act.

Ofcom has stated that user-to-user services are only required to remove illegal content where it is ‘technically feasible’. This exception creates an unacceptable loophole, allowing some services to avoid delivering the most basic protections for children.

Data from police forces on the number of recorded offences where the platform was known indicates private messaging sites are involved in more crimes than any other type of platform, with perpetrators exploiting the secrecy offered by these spaces to harm children and go undetected.

The NSPCC wants the UK Government to push Ofcom to review and strengthen their most recent codes of practice on tackling this threat to children’s safety online.

The charity is also calling for private messaging services, including those using end-to-end encryption, to make sure there are robust safeguards in place to ensure their platforms do not act as a ‘safe haven’ for perpetrators of child sexual abuse.  

End-to-end encryption is a secure communication system where only communicating users can participate. This means that service providers can be blinded to child sexual abuse material being shared through their platform.

Aoife, 21, from East Kilbride, an NSPCC Lived Experience Advocate, has shared her advice to any children who experience online harms.

Aoife was exploited online when she was 15 by a man, she met online on Yubo. He pretended to be a teenager around her age and convinced her to download another app, Telegram, and then asked her to send him images of herself. Then he blackmailed her with these, threatening to share them with all her friends and family on Facebook, to control her behaviour.

When his demands became increasingly intense and frightening, Aoife recalled being told about the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command (CEOP) at school and reported the images. Through this, her school and then her parents were informed and supported her with reporting what happened to the police. The perpetrator was eventually sentenced in 2022 following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

She said: “If a young person is asked to share an explicit image of themselves with someone online, I would say don’t do it! You might want to and think you know what you are doing, and that you’ll be safe but if you met them online you don’t know who that person is. For all you know they could be the opposite of who they say they are, so I would say – just don’t do it. It’s not worth the risk.

“If a young person has shared an image and they are being threatened tell someone you trust whether that’s a parent, teacher or neighbour because they will look out for you and help.

“I would also say to anyone who experiences this – it’s not your fault. You are the victim. You might be thinking how could I be so silly and put myself in this position but when you are young it’s perfectly normal to make mistakes – you’re still learning – so don’t be hard on yourself. You have been taken advantage of, and they are to blame, not you.”

Insight from NSPCC counselling service, Childline, provides further evidence of how young people are being targeted or blackmailed to share child abuse images via the calculated use of private messaging apps.

Last year, Childline delivered 903 counselling sessions to children and young people relating to blackmail or threats to expose or share sexual images online. This was a 7% increase compared to 2022/23.

Chris Sherwood, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: “It is deeply alarming to see thousands of child sexual abuse image crimes recorded by Police Scotland in the past five years. These offences cause tremendous harm and distress to children, with much of this illegal material being repeatedly shared and viewed online. It is an outrage that in 2025 we are still seeing a blatant disregard from tech companies to prevent this illegal content from proliferating on their sites.

“Having separate rules for private messaging services lets tech bosses off the hook from putting robust protections for children in place.

“This enables crimes to continue to flourish on their platforms even though we now have the Online Safety Act.

“The Government must set out how they will take a bold stand against abuse on private messaging services and hold tech companies accountable for keeping children safe, even if it requires changes to the platform’s design – there can be no excuse for inaction or delay. “

Letters: NSPCC supporting Safer Internet Day

Dear Editor,

We are proud to be supporting Safer Internet Day (Tuesday, February 11) again this year.

Today’s young people enjoy spending time online, and it is a great way for them to learn, socialise and have fun but avoiding online harm has become more complicated in recent years.

This year’s Safer Internet Day theme ‘Protecting yourself and others from scams online’ will look at the prevalence of online scams and invite young people to share their experiences and ideas on how to tackle the issue.

It is great that young people are involved in Safer Internet Day, we think it’s important to ensure their views and experiences are heard so they can help shape decisions that are made about how to keep them safe online.

And that’s why we are running a campaign in partnership with West Dunbartonshire Youth Council and West Dunbartonshire Council called ‘Shameless Youths’ which is being led by the young people themselves.

We hope to encourage more conversations between young people and the adults in their lives about being online and help them to have healthy relationships online and offline.

We are also working with a group of 14 enthusiastic young people from across the UK and Scotland – the NSPCC’s Voice of Online Youth – so they can influence decisions about to make the online world safer for them.

Advice and support about online safety is available for parents, carers, teachers and young people on the NSPCC website.

Children can get in touch with Childline on 0800 1111 or via childline.org.uk  to speak with a counsellor confidentially if they are worried about something. They have a tool called Report Remove for under 18 year olds who have had a nude image of them shared online, to help them get it removed.

Yours sincerely,

Euan MacLaren

NSPCC Scotland Local Campaigns Officer

Over three quarters of people in Scotland want child safety checks on new generative AI products

  • Polling shows 77% of the public in Scotland would opt for child safety checks on new generative AI products, even if this causes delays in releasing products.
  • This comes as new NSPCC-commissioned research identifies seven key safety risks to children including sexual grooming and harassment, bullying, sextortion and the proliferation of harmful content.
  • NSPCC calls on Government to slow down artificial intelligence action plans until they have embedded a statutory duty of care for children.

New research commissioned by the NSPCC highlights the different ways that generative artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to groom, harass and manipulate children and young people.

This comes as polling shows that the UK public are concerned about the rollout of AI. Savanta surveyed 217 people from across Scotland and found that most of the public (86%) have some level of concern that “this type of technology may be unsafe for children”.

The majority of the public (77%) said they would prefer to have safety checks on new generative AI products, even if this caused delays in releasing products over a speedy roll-out without safety checks.

The new NSPCC paper shares key findings from research conducted by AWO, a legal and technology consultancy. The research Viewing Generative AI and children’s safety in the round identifies seven key safety risks associated with generative AI; sexual grooming, sexual harassment, bullying, financially motivated extortion, child sexual abuse & exploitation material, harmful content, and harmful ads & recommendations.

Generative AI is currently being used to generate sexual abuse images of children, enable perpetrators to more effectively commit sexual extortion, groom children and provide misinformation or harmful advice to young people.

From as early as 2019, the NSPCC have been receiving contacts from children via Childline about AI.

One boy aged 14 told the service*: “I’m so ashamed of what I’ve done, I didn’t mean for it to go this far. A girl I was talking to was asking for pictures and I didn’t want to share my true identity, so I sent a picture of my friend’s face on an AI body. Now she’s put that face on a naked body and is saying she’ll post it online if I don’t pay her £50. I don’t even have a way to send money online, I can’t tell my parents, I don’t know what to do.”

One girl, aged 12 asked Childline*: “Can I ask questions about ChatGPT? Like how accurate is it? I was having a conversation with it and asking questions, and it told me I might have anxiety or depression. It’s made me start thinking that I might?”

The NSPCC paper outlines a range of different solutions to address these concerns including stripping out child sexual abuse material from AI training data and doing robust risk assessments on models to ensure they are safe before they are rolled out

A member of the NSPCC Voice of Online Youth, a group of young people aged 13-17 from across the UK, said: “A lot of the problems with Generative AI could potentially be solved if the information [that] tech companies and inventors give [to] the Gen AI was filtered and known to be correct.”

The Government is currently considering new legislation to help regulate AI and there will be a global summit in Paris this February where policy makers, tech companies and third sector organisations, including the NSPCC and their Voice of Online Youth, will come together to discuss the benefits and risks of using AI.

The NSPCC is calling on the Government to adopt specific safeguards for children in its legislation. The charity says four urgent actions are needed by Government to ensure generative AI is safe for children:

  1. Adopt a Duty of Care for Children’s Safety

Gen AI companies must prioritise the safety, protection, and rights of children in the design and development of their products and services.

  1. Embed a Duty of Care in Legislation

It is imperative that the Government enacts legislation that places a statutory duty of care on Gen AI companies, ensuring that they are held accountable for the safety of children.

  1. Place Children at the Heart of Gen AI Decisions

The needs and experiences of children and young people must be central to the design, development, and deployment of Gen AI technologies.

  1. Develop the Research and Evidence Base on Gen AI and Child Safety

The Government, academia, and relevant regulatory bodies should invest in building capacity to study these risks and support the development of evidence-based policies.

Chris Sherwood, CEO at the NSPCC, said: “Generative AI is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it provides opportunities for innovation, creativity and productivity that young people can benefit from; on the other it is having a devastating and corrosive impact on their lives.

“We can’t continue with the status quo where tech platforms ‘move fast and break things’ instead of prioritising children’s safety. For too long, unregulated social media platforms have exposed children to appalling harms that could have been prevented. Now, the Government must learn from these mistakes, move quickly to put safeguards in place and regulate generative AI, before it spirals out of control and damages more young lives.

“The NSPCC and the majority of the public want tech companies to do the right thing for children and make sure the development of AI doesn’t race ahead of child safety. We have the blueprints needed to ensure this technology has children’s wellbeing at its heart, now both Government and tech companies must take the urgent action needed to make Generative AI safe for children and young people.”

You can read Viewing Generative AI and children’s safety in the round on the NSPCC website.

Thousands of lonely children turning to Childline for help and support

  • Childline delivered almost 5,000 counselling sessions across 2023/24 where the main concern was loneliness.
  • Causes include being bullied by peers and seeing their friends having fun on social media and feeling as though they are missing out.
  • This January, Childline continues to be there for young people who need a safe and confidential place to turn to.

Thousands of children and young people across the UK continue to turn to Childline to discuss and seek help for feelings of loneliness.

In 2023/24 the NSPCC service delivered almost 5,000 counselling sessions related to the concern, both online and over the phone from one of their 13 bases around the country, including Aberdeen and Glasgow in Scotland.

Reasons children and young people have cited for feeling lonely in the last year include moving house or school and having to make new friends, their parents working long hours, being bullied by peers, and seeing their friends having fun on social media and feeling as though they are missing out.

One 11-year-old girl from Scotland said to Childline: “I feel so lonely at school, I only really have one friend.

“What’s harder though is I feel I can’t talk about how much it upsets me. My parents seem annoyed or judgemental when I try to talk about my feelings. Speaking to Childline feels like a weight has been lifted.”

The charity is revealing these figures to remind children and young people that they are not alone this January, or any other time of the year, with Childline ready to provide help and support 24/7.  

Adeniyi Alade, Childline Service Head, based in Aberdeen, said: “The dark and cold winter months can be a difficult time for many of us when feelings of loneliness and isolation can become more intense.

“Sadly, a high number of children and young people contact Childline because they feel lonely and isolated. We know this can have a serious impact on their mental wellbeing, often leaving young people feeling depressed and helpless.

“Children don’t have to face these emotions alone. Childline is here for every young person, no matter what their situation. Whether they’re missing a member of their family, struggling with friendships and bullying, or finding it difficult to talk with those around them, our counsellors are ready to listen.

“We’d encourage young people to get support as early as possible because that can help prevent the situation from getting worse.”

Tips for adults to help children and young people who may be experiencing loneliness include:

  1. Communicate openly: Encourage children to talk about their feelings and listen without judgement.
  2. Discover what’s causing the problem: Gently explore why they might be feeling this way and validate their emotions.
  3. Encourage socialising: Help children find opportunities to connect with peers through hobbies, clubs, or activities.
  4. Help them build their confidence: Celebrate their strengths and achievements and remind them of the positive relationships in their lives.
  5. Build a supportive environment: Loneliness isn’t something that can be resolved with one conversation. It is important to create an environment of openness where a child can talk to you about their feelings and any struggles they may be facing.

To support young people who may be dealing with loneliness, the NSPCC also offers an online text befriending service called Building Connections.

This service, available to anyone up to the age of 19, matches young people with a trained befriender for 11 weeks who will help them to build their confidence and better manage their loneliness. To refer a child to the Building Connections service visit: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/services/building-connections?modularPage=make-a-referral

Childline is available for young people via the phone on 0800 1111 and online through the 121 chat on the Childline website. 

Childline ready to be there for thousands of children in need of help and support over the festive period

  • Last year, the NSPCC-service delivered almost 5,500 counselling sessions to children and young people across the UK over the 12 Days of Christmas, averaging more than 450 a day.
  • Recurring festive worries for young people include bereavement, family relationship issues and adults drinking too much.
  • Childline remains open for children and young people throughout December, including Christmas Day, for any questions, concerns or worries they may have.

The NSPCC’s Childline service is anticipating thousands of children and young people reaching out to them for help and support across the upcoming festive period, with counsellors available around the clock throughout the holidays.

Over the 12 Days of Christmas last year (24th December 2023 to 4th January 2024) Childline delivered almost 5,500 counselling sessions to children living across the UK, averaging out at more than 450 a day.

As throughout the rest of the year, problems with mental health and wellbeing is the main reason why children and young people contact Childline.

However, there are also recurring issues and worries arising that are more specific to the festive season including:

  • Young people reflecting on the prospect of Christmas without a loved one
  • Being worried about family conflict and adults consuming alcohol
  • Feeling pressure to eat more than normal/coping with an eating disorder
  • Concerns about family money worries
  • Feelings of guilt or jealousy about the presents they receive

One girl from Scotland aged 18 told Childline: “I’m feeling very on edge right now as all the family is home for Christmas. They’re all in a room laughing and drinking, but any time I try to say anything they just talk right over me, like I don’t exist.

“I’m now in my room alone, so I thought I’d come on here for a chat.”

Another girl from Scotland aged 15 told Childline: “I feel like a failure whenever I eat something cos my brain tells me that not eating is the only thing I’m good at – and in a way it’s true.

“I’m worried about Christmas tomorrow as there is obviously going to be lots of food and my parents don’t know that I’ve been struggling a lot with it. I don’t know what to do.”

Childline bases across the UK, including in London, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Cardiff, will be in operation throughout the Christmas period, filled with both full-time staff and volunteers.

Adeniyi Alade, Service Head of Childline and based at the Aberdeen base, said: “Childline will be there, as always, to help the thousands of children who contact us by phone and online over the festive period.

“We know Christmas can be a difficult time for some children and young people when they are spending more time at home.

“This time of year, can cause added stress to family life such as financial worries, arguments, and adults drinking a lot of alcohol.

“Whatever they may be worried about we’d like to reassure children and young people that our trained counsellors will be there to listen and support them on every day of the 12 Days of Christmas and into the New Year.”  

Adam Perry (36) from Glasgow has been a volunteer at the city’s Childline base since January this year.

He’s doing a shift on Christmas Eve for the first time and said: “Children have got all sorts of things going on in their lives, and often they are trying to cope with so much that’s happening to them.

“Someone needs to be there for them to listen, without judgement, and I feel privileged to be able to do that.

“At the end of every shift at Childline you feel like you’ve made a positive difference for at least one child, often more. To be honest there’s not much else I could do in an evening after work that would be as worthwhile.

“While I know it will be tough, I’m happy to volunteer this Christmas Eve. During the festive period, children have less support from their usual networks, such as school and friends, so I’m looking forward to being there to listen to them.”

This Christmas, a child will contact Childline every 45 seconds on average. Help the charity to make sure Childline is ready for every question this festive season by visiting the NSPCC website. Just £4 could help a counsellor answer a call this Christmas.    

The Childline service is here for children every day, even on Christmas Day.

Children can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or childline.org.uk 

Talk PANTS campaign has reached over 4,500 children and adults in Edinburgh during past year

More than 4,500 people in Edinburgh have learned about keeping children safe from sexual abuse through the NSPCC’s Talk PANTS campaign running in the city over the past year.

Staff from NSPCC Scotland and the Edinburgh Child Protection Committee have delivered Talk PANTS workshops across the city since October 2023, giving parents, carers and professionals advice on how to have simple, age-appropriate conversations with children to help keep them safe from sexual abuse.

With the help of a colourful animated dinosaur, called Pantosaurus, the campaign helps children understand that their body belongs to them, that they have a right to say no, and they should tell a safe adult they trust if anything makes them feel upset or worried.

The end of the campaign has been marked with two events over the past week – one for families and one for professionals.

At the family event on November 29 at Gorgie Memorial Hall, children, parents and carers enjoyed snacks, games and a reading of ‘Pantosaurus and the Power of PANTS’ followed by an appearance by Pantosaurus.

The professional event at Edinburgh City Chambers on December 3 featured speeches by Matthew McVarish, actor and co-founder of the global Brave Movement; Laura Brown, Lead Officer of the Edinburgh Child Protection Committee; Lillian Cringles, Independent Chair of the Edinburgh Child Protection Committee, and Carla Malseed, NSPCC Scotland Local Campaigns Manager.

The campaign launched last year at an event for families at McDonald Road Library. Since then, NSPCC Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Council staff have joined Pantosaurus and thousands of families across the city, including at Sighthill and Craigmillar libraries, Edinburgh Zoo and the international book festival. Talk PANTS resources are now available in all 27 libraries across Edinburgh.

Carla Malseed, NSPCC Scotland Local Campaigns Manager, said: “It has been a great year delivering Talk PANTS workshops across Edinburgh. Welcoming children, parents and carers to our events and sharing the messages of Talk PANTS has been wonderful.

“The campaign doesn’t use scary words or talk about sex. Instead, we focus on the PANTS rules that help children understand important messages like their body belongs to them and they should tell an adult if they’re upset or worried about something.

“More parents and carers across Edinburgh are now equipped with the skills to be able to talk about this difficult topic with their children from a young age and can play their part in helping to prevent abuse. And more children now have a greater understanding of their rights, thanks to Pantosaurus and the Talk PANTS campaign.”

Lillian Cringles, Chair of the Edinburgh Child Protection Committee, said: “This campaign has helped families and professional have these important conversations with children about their bodies and help keep them safe.

“This piece of work across the city has demonstrated a strong commitment to partnership, involving numerous agencies and services.  We intend to keep this alive through campaign legacy commitments over the next few years.

“While the campaign has come to an end in Edinburgh, I would still urge as many parents and carers as possible to find out about the Talk PANTS messages, which are available on the NSPCC website.”

A highlight of the Edinburgh Talk PANTS campaign was the creation of sign language resources, which were developed in partnership with the communication charity – Signalong.

The legacy of the campaign will live on thanks to local ‘PANTS champions’ – people usually from a school or nursery trained to deliver the campaign messages to other professionals and families through webinars, workshops and awareness raising events.

And schools and nurseries in Edinburgh have been offered PANTS resource bags to use with children in the months and years to come.

Young people looking for support on any of the issues mentioned, can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or visit Childline.org.uk.

Childline is available to all young people until their 19th birthday.

If you are concerned about a child you can contact the NSPCC Helpline by calling 0808 800 5000 or email: help@NSPCC.org.uk.

NSPCC sees a surge in concerns about children experiencing domestic abuse

  • The NSPCC Helpline fielded almost 4,000 contacts about concerns for children experiencing domestic abuse in the first six months of 24/25.
  • There has been a 19% increase about the issue compared to the same period in 23/24.
  • Coercive or controlling behaviour, emotional domestic abuse and post-separation domestic abuse were concerns repeatedly raised in contacts the adult helpline received about domestic abuse.
  • Childline is reminding all children that the service is ready to support them if they have concerns about domestic abuse, or any other issues, this festive season.

The NSPCC is dealing with an increase in contacts to its Helpline from adults with concerns about children who are experiencing domestic abuse.

In the first six months of 2024/25, the charity received 3,879 contacts relating to the issue, a 19% rise compared to the previous year.

A deeper dive into the domestic abuse data reveals mentions of coercive or controlling behaviour (1,279 contacts) and emotional domestic abuse (1,451) increased by a half, while post-separation domestic abuse more than doubled.

A 12-year-old girl from Scotland told a Childline counsellor: “I can’t handle living around my dad; he puts us all on edge. You never know what he’s going to do next or over what.

“Mum thought she’d lost her phone weeks ago, but really dad hid it to punish her. Mum doesn’t even argue back anymore, it’s like he’s made her give up.”

Children are also directly contacting the charity about this issue, with Childline delivering over 500 counselling sessions on domestic abuse in the same 6-month period.

As we move towards Christmas and into the winter months, the concern now is that these numbers will continue to rise with longer, darker nights seeing children spending more time at home and having several weeks away from school over the festive period.

In response, the NSPCC is launching its annual Christmas campaign designed to remind young people that Childline is available throughout the festive season to support on all concerns, including domestic abuse.

Sadly, there will be thousands of children this Christmas across the UK in search of free and confidential help for a range of worries and concerns. These include how to stay safe from abuse and about feeling completely alone. This Christmas, Childline is ready for every call and contact throughout the festive period.

In the charity’s Christmas TV advert, a young girl who has been neglected during the festive period contacts Childline for help. She speaks to a trained counsellor who listens to what is happening to her and provides support. 

The issue can still persist after a relationship is over. An adult in Scotland who had concerns for a relative’s safety in a domestic abuse setting told the NSPCC Helpline that they saw signs of controlling behaviour after a relationship had ended.

They said: “My sister recently left an abusive situation with her six-month old baby, but her ex-partner is still in control of their finances and emotionally abusing her. Her ex has drained their accounts so she can’t buy what she needs for my niece.

“The ex is bombarding her with threats over text, even saying they will kill themselves if she doesn’t go back or let them see the baby. Where can we get support and protection for my sister and niece?”

Adeniyi Alade, head of NSPCC helplines in Scotland, said: “Christmas should be a time of wonder and excitement for children, but sadly this is not always the case. For some it can be a time in the year when problems at home come to a head and trigger issues like domestic abuse.

“Contacts to the NSPCC Helpline about domestic abuse have been on the rise this year and the concern now is that this will continue over Christmas and into 2025.

“Our mission is to ensure that no child is left to suffer in silence. Our Childline service is open in December and throughout the year to provide free, confidential advice and support.”

This Christmas, a child will contact Childline every 45 seconds on average. Help the charity to make sure Childline is ready for every question this festive season by visiting the NSPCC website. Just £4 could help a counsellor answer a call this Christmas.   

The Childline service is here for children every day, even on Christmas Day. Children can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or childline.org.uk 

Any adult can contact the NSPCC Helpline if they have a concern about a child on 0808 800 5000 or by emailing help@NSPCC.org.uk. For more information on DART (Domestic Abuse, Recovering Together), visit the NSPCC website.