WE'RE now well into the new school year, and I hope your young ones are all enjoying and engaging with their classes after more than a year of disruption and worry.

As children return to schools, we have been looking at how we can continue to share essential safeguarding messages to primary school classes. We used to deliver Speak Out Stay Safe assemblies face-to-face in classrooms and assembly halls, and reached more than 90per cent of schools across the UK in 2019/20, our staff and volunteers visited almost 7,000 schools and delivered workshops to almost 1.6 million children. The assemblies use age-appropriate language to help primary school-age children recognise different types of abuse, and give them the confidence to speak out whenever they need to.

During the pandemic, we created a virtual Speak Out Stay Safe assembly that could be viewed in class to share vital information to help keep young people safe, with a little help from Ant and Dec who host the video. So far, more than 330 primary schools in the North have signed up to the online assembly, and that’s a reassuring number - but we’d love to see every school in Yorkshire and the rest of the country take part in the Speak Out Stay Safe campaign.

Schools which sign up are provided with teacher resources which include lots of engaging activities for children, while the assembly and accompanying materials are also available in British Sign Language (BSL) and there is a version available for children with special educational needs.

Covid turned many children’s lives upside down, with some having spent months at home in an unsafe environment. As we move out of the pandemic it's time for us to work together to rebuild our society so it’s better for children, to continue to adapt how we work on the frontline of child protection, and go further. One way is to equip children with tools they need to speak out if they have concerns. Speak Out Stay Safe helps young people understand that Childline is a safe, helpful way to seek support.

Our website, childline.org.uk, has resources children might find useful, including moderated Message Boards where they can speak to other young people about what’s on their mind, and see how others cope with similar situations. There’s also an Art Box, where children can draw pictures or write poems about how they’re feeling..

Children can contact Childline on 0800 1111, and more information is available to parents and schools at nspcc.org.uk/speakout

The NSPCC is encouraging all primary schools across the UK to sign up to access the assembly and accompanying resources by visiting NSPCC Learning, so if you are a member of your child’s Parent & Teacher Association, or want to find out whether their school has signed up, please feel free to ask or suggest it.