School staff have role in protecting children

MANY children have been the hidden victims of the coronavirus pandemic – suffering abuse and neglect at home, further pressures on their mental health and increased risks and vulnerabilities online.

Now children are back at school, the NSPCC expects to see a demand to support children who were at greater risk of sexual exploitation and abuse during lockdown.

The NSPCC’s Protect and Respect service is for young people aged 11 to 19 who have been, or are at risk of being, sexually exploited.

Childline is there for young people to speak in confidence about any issue. Across the UK, the service saw counselling sessions on these issues increase by 18 per cent during lockdown.

We are urging teachers and other education professionals to look out for signs of abuse, as they will often be one of the first adults to identify a concern.

Schools play a huge part in working together to safeguard children and their role is paramount as young people return to education.

Young people will often not recognise themselves as victims of exploitation, due to the nature of grooming.

That is why it’s so important that we empower them to recognise unhealthy relationships and perpetrators’ grooming behaviour.

Childline has been a vital source of support for children during the pandemic, to ensure they have had someone to talk to when they have felt there was nowhere else for them to turn.

As Covid-19 continues to impact on our lives, we will continue to be there on the frontline to help children and young people.

Matthew Brookes, senior supervisor at Childline