CYP Now - NSPCC chief: Councils ‘need to be ready’ for soaring children’s services demand

Local authorities “need to be ready” for a spike in referrals to children’s services departments as schools reopen, the chief executive of the NSPCC has said.

Peter Wanless said he was especially worried about the vulnerability of very young children. Picture: NSPCC

Speaking to CYP Now during the charity's How Safe 2021 conference, Peter Wanless said there is a “discrepancy between what the situation is in terms of what local authorities are seeing and the sorts of calls we are taking” on the charity’s Childline and the NSPCC helpline.

Wanless highlighted how during lockdown Childline had seen a rise in the proportion of children receiving counselling for concerns over their mental health and an increase in inter-familial sexual abuse

Between April and November last year the NSPCC helpline also saw a 43 per cent increase in calls about abuse and neglect compared with pre-pandemic levels.

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