Around 20 young people from the south-west of the UK, including Jersey, have been meeting this week to have their say on major issues faced by children, and the work of the NSPCC and Childline.

The participants are aged between 11 and 18, and many of them have personal experience of the work that the NSPCC does. The ‘youth participation group’ is involved with the charity throughout the year, helping with job interviews, running campaigns, and assisting decision making.

Over the course of the day that they spent together, the group were challenged to complete a British army assault course, and held a meeting with a variety of children’s services staff members, offering their opinions on how to help children stay safe. Specific topics discussed were protection of children in sport and fundraising. The mascot for the current NSPCC campaign PANTS, which aims to teach young children about how to deal with concerns of sexual abuse, was also at the event.

Young people who attended the event say that it is important that they have the opportunity to make their voices heard in a context which will be taken seriously by adults. 

The NSPCC Children’s Service Practitioner, Jacky Wood, commented: “This is their world and we need to listen to our children and young people, so that we can help get it right and keep them safe and to understand what their challenges are.” She also pointed out that for some children, this event is a great opportunity to build self-esteem and trust.