Today’s guest blog comes from the NSPCC, read on for how you can help protect MK school children:

Volunteer support is needed for the charity’s Speak out Stay safe (SOSS) safeguarding programme, which is for children aged 5 to 11 years old and available to all primary schools across the county.

It helps children, in an age-appropriate way, to understand:
- abuse in all its forms and how to recognise signs of abuse
- that abuse is never a child’s fault and that they have the right to be safe
- where to get help and the sources of help available to them, including the NSPCC’s Childline service.

Last year, the NSPCC delivered SOSS online programmes to 20,125 children in more than 80 schools in Buckinghamshire, and is looking for volunteers to train to deliver sessions in person when school starts again in September.

Through assemblies and workshops, children can learn about the different types of abuse in a child-friendly way, so they can get help if or when they need it.

NSPCC staff and volunteers help them identify a safe adult they can talk to if they’re ever worried about themselves or a friend. With the help of mascot Buddy, SOSS covers topics like bullying, neglect and abuse – without using any scary words or adult language.

Sarah Smith a SOSS volunteer from the East of England, said: “I would say that my main enjoyment comes from the interaction with the children. I love their earnest responses and fresh ways of looking at the issues we present.”

Laura Franklin, NSPCC Schools Area Coordinator for Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, said: “Over the past year counsellors at the NSPCC service Childline delivered almost 200,000 counselling sessions to children, with 23,600 of these sessions estimated to have taken place with young people in the East of England. With the help of the SOSS programme many children may speak out sooner.

SOSS is an effective way to support a school’s safeguarding duties and link directly to the curriculum as well as helping reinforce key messages about abuse and neglect as part of a school’s teaching on relationships.”

For further information about how your school can take part please contact
laura.franklin@nspcc.org.uk