Child protection charity NSPCC tackles record number of calls during lockdown

Concerns about children's welfare triggered a record number of calls to the NSPCC helpline during May. Photo by Pixabay.

Adults with concerns about the wellbeing of a child hit an all-time monthly record in May with 8,287 contacts to the NSPCC charity.

More than 22,000 people around the country rang the helpline between April and June. This was an increase of nearly a third on the monthly average for the three months leading up to lockdown.

The helpline made 2,291 referrals to agencies in the Midlands such as local authorities or police in April, May and June. Of these, 761 took place in June.

The main issues confronting NSPCC child safety experts across this period were parental behaviour, physical and emotional abuse and neglect.

Around 40% of the contacts received were referred on to local authorities or the police for further action, which is also a slight increase on pre-lockdown levels.

During the lockdown, the charity has received support from the Government to expand and raise awareness of the helpline, and signed a partnership with Deliveroo to train their delivery drivers to spot the signs of child abuse.

The data release comes after the Education Secretary set out plans to get young people back to school full-time.

The NSPCC is urging the Government to ensure the recovery plan addresses the full range of children’s needs. Schools must be equipped to recognise and respond sensitively to children who have experienced physical or mental harm, trauma or adverse experiences when they return to the classroom.

A research report released by the charity underlines how parental and family stress, reductions in protective services and the intensification of pressures on children’s emotional wellbeing caused by lockdown can increase the risk of abuse and neglect.

These traumatic experiences can have a devastating impact on children’s health and wellbeing and can stop them from learning, with the long-term effects following them into adulthood.

However, the NSPCC said that their expertise in delivering children’s services showed that with the right support young people can recover and be helped to move on with their lives.