LETTER: Thanks from the NSPCC

Thanks to the public giving generously, we have made significant strides for children this year.

At the start of the year we began to roll out the ChildLine Schools Service, particularly focusing on seven to 11 year olds.

The service visits primary schools and aims to help children understand what abuse is, including bullying, how to protect themselves and how to seek help if they need it. By 2016 we aim to visit every primary school in the UK at least every two years. On October 30th, ChildLine celebrated its 25th birthday and launched a year of fund-raising.

Over the past 25 years ChildLine has spoken to over 2.6 million children about concerns ranging from bullying to sexual abuse.

New figures show that the number of ChildLine contacts from children troubled by suicide, depression and self-harm has significantly increased since the introduction of the online service, which means thankfully we are reaching more children and young people who need us. In December 2010, at North-West ChildLine bases located in Liverpool and Manchester, ChildLine counsellors answered 50,700 contacts from children and young people via telephone, email and one-to-one chats.

In November we launched our “All Babies Count” campaign to highlight the vulnerability of babies and to call for better and earlier support for new parents. Babies are more likely to suffer neglect and abuse and are eight times more likely to be killed than any other child.

Make it your New Year’s resolution to vulnerable babies to help us make All Babies Count. Pledge your support at http://allbabiescount.nspcc.org.uk/ or by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.

JANETTE DREW

NSPCC Community Fund-raising Manager

Burnley