Keeping children safe
in the West Midlands
in 2016/17
Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Warwickshire and Wolverhampton
We’re here to fight for every childhood. That’s why we help children who’ve been abused to rebuild their lives, we protect those at risk and find the best ways of preventing abuse from happening.
That wouldn’t happen without our supporters – people like you – helping us to change young lives. You help us keep more children safe in the West Midlands and across the UK.
Last year there were 2,606 sexual offences against children under the age of 16 recorded by police in the West Midlands. 3,247 children were subject to a child protection plan and there were 6,045 children in care in the West Midlands.
Here’s how we’re keeping children safe in the West Midlands:
Keeping children in the West Midlands safe from abuse
We aim to visit every primary school in the UK every three years. In 2016/17 our volunteers and staff delivered Speak Out. Stay Safe in 225 schools and spoke to 62,448 children in the West Midlands about their right to be happy and safe. We want a whole generation of children to know what abuse is, that it’s never a child’s fault and who to turn to if they ever need to talk. With your help over the next 3 years we can visit all 1,064 schools in the West Midlands.
Our aim is to reach every child, in every primary school. In 2016/17 we spoke to over 1,630,000 children by visiting over 7,800 schools across the UK and Channel Islands.
Giving children in the West Midlands a voice
In 2016/17 our Childline volunteers delivered over 295,000 counselling sessions to children and young people across the UK on the phone and online. Based on the population of the West Midlands, we can estimate that our volunteers delivered around 16,600 counselling sessions to children living in the West Midlands last year.
Some of them are going through the toughest times of their lives. They face issues such as mental/emotional health, family relationships and bullying. So it’s vital that they have somewhere to turn. Childline (0800 11 11 and www.childline.org.uk) is there for them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
This wouldn’t be possible without our volunteer counsellors across the UK and Channel Islands including those in Birmingham, who give their time to be there.
Worried about a child? We’re here to help
In 2016/17, the NSPCC helpline (0800 800 5000) responded to 864 calls and emails from the West Midlands for advice about keeping children safe, and 2,829 referrals were made from the helpline to local agencies such as the police and children’s services.
Our helpline is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It’s a place adults can turn to for advice or to share concerns about a child, anonymously if they wish. Then by reporting those concerns to the relevant service, together we can protect children in abusive situations.
Transforming society online and offline
We estimate that more than half a million children suffer abuse or neglect in the UK a year. One in three children have been a victim of cyberbullying.
Everyone can play a part to keep children safe from abuse online and offline. And through our campaigns and work with technology companies and government, we’re showing people how.
For example, we are working with O2 to keep children safe online with our O2 and NSPCC online safety helpline (0808 800 5002) which helps adults with advice on privacy settings or parental controls, and Netaware, our guide to the social networks kids use. Our Share Aware campaign also guides parents about talking to their children about staying safe on social networks.
Our PANTS campaign materials help parents talk to their children about staying safe from abuse. This help can come in many forms, in both offline and online resources. In the West Midlands we keep the community and agencies updated on all our resources that help keep children safe.
We know that up to 90 per cent of children who’ve experienced abuse at an early age will develop mental health issues by the time they’re 18. So we stand up for children and put pressure on government with campaigns such as It’s Time, where we demand that children who have been abused have the support they need to turn their life around in the West Midlands and beyond.
We will continue to lobby government and technology companies to help keep children safe online and offline.
Training and sharing advice in the West Midlands
We’re empowering people with expert knowledge and confidence so that together, we can keep more children safe. In 2016/17 we delivered 12 child protection training programmes to organisations in the West Midlands. People from 52 organisations in the West Midlands came to one of our National Training Programmes from a variety of areas such as education, health and youth justice.
Through our resources and guidance we support coaches and the sports clubs, community groups and educational organisations they work with, helping to keep children in sport and community activities safe.
From providing various child protection training courses, to consulting with organisations to help them put essential safeguarding in place – we’re sharing what we know so that more people in the West Midlands and beyond can take action to protect children.
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Helping families in the West Midlands and preventing abuse Even when families are going through incredibly difficult times – like battling addiction or overcoming mental health problems – with the right help, children can thrive. |
There are currently over 58,000 children identified as needing protection from abuse in the UK. |
That’s why we offer face-to-face support at our service centres delivering services such as our Turn the Page service, which helps children and young people overcome feelings that have made them harm another child sexually. We have a service centre in Coventry and directly worked with 40 adults and 59 children in 2016/17 delivering our services including FEDUP, Graded Care Profile, Parents under Pressure and Turn the Page. But it’s not just about those families who we work with directly. Every time we work with a child or a family, we’re learning how to give them the best support, and gathering evidence so we know how best to tackle child abuse in communities like yours across the UK. Every hour spent giving vital support to a child, or a parent who’s going through an unimaginably difficult time, is not only helping to change their life – it’s helping us and others to change childhoods across the UK. We’re building up knowledge, sharing it and working with other organisations, charities and more. We train and support partner organisations to deliver services we have tried and tested so that more children and families can receive the support they need. One such service is Baby Steps which supports vulnerable families through pregnancy and during the first few months after the baby’s birth. |
Fighting for every childhood
Every child in the West Midlands deserves a safe and happy childhood, but we need everyone to play their part. That could mean volunteering your time, supporting our campaigns, looking out for a new parent – or donating vital funds to support our work.
In fact, we rely on supporters for around 90 per cent of our income. Without them, our work simply wouldn’t be possible.
£9
could pay for our Speak out. Stay safe. programme to reach three primary school children – giving them the
knowledge to protect themselves from abuse.
£8
could pay for two children to speak to a Childline counsellor – whatever their worry.
Together we can improve the lives of children in the West
Midlands.
Together we can give every child a safe childhood.
NSPCC data relates to 1 April 2016 – 31 March 2017. Official government data relates to the most recent time period published. Data about sex offences reported to the police comes from official Home Office data.
All figures correct as of August 2017. ©NSPCC 2017. Registered charity England and Wales 216401. Scotland SC037717.