Every young person’s experience of the pandemic and lockdown has been different. Some have been confronted with new challenges during this period and are finding new ways to cope. Others may have limited contact with a trusted adult or someone with a safeguarding responsibility who they can turn to for support.

We invited Kirsty Donnelly and Robert Burns who both work for Childline to talk to us about what children and young people have been telling them in counselling sessions and online message boards. You’ll hear about:




children’s thoughts and worries over the last couple of months
a change in the way children and young people have been contacting Childline
how Childline has adapted and adjusted their online and counselling services and dealt with new issues they haven’t had to consider or tackle before
how children have been supporting each other through Childline’s online communities
the child protection issues that may emerge as we transition back to the ‘new normal’.

Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

💬 About the speakers

Robert Burns started as a volunteer counsellor at Childline to complement his work as a secondary school teacher. He is now a supervisor and looks at how children and young people are using Childline.

Kirsty Donnelly is a Community Manager at Childline and a part of the Online Services team. She is responsible for various digital channels and is involved in maintaining the safeguarding policies and procedures for user-generated content on these platforms, moderating this content and liaising with external agencies when required.​

📚 Related resources

> View our Childline briefing for an insight into issues raised in counselling sessions between January and April 2020

> Read about online safety during coronavirus

> See all our resources for safeguarding during the pandemic

> Visit and share the Childline website with children and young people you work with


Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

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