Lottery grant to help prevent child sexual abuse in Plymouth
The NSPCC’s crucial prevention work in the city tackling child sexual abuse is set to benefit from a grant of almost £400,000.
The children’s charity’s Together for Childhood programme has been awarded £389,284 from the National Lottery Community Fund, providing three years of funding to support with its community activity.
The partnership programme is being piloted in Ernesettle, reinforcing simple safeguarding messages in communities to build confidence in adults to protect children from abuse.
The money will help support more community members to get involved in the partnership programme, which involves the NSPCC and around 30 partners in the city that includes voluntary groups and schools, as well as Plymouth City Council, Plymouth Safeguarding Children Board, and Devon & Cornwall Police.
Community members, groups, and organisations will be able to bid for part of the funding to develop their own projects that will help keep children safe. The Together for Childhood team will be working with the Ernesettle Neighbourhood Forum to plan how the community funding is distributed.
“We think it’s important that people within the community are enabled to take action, and this pot of funding will make a huge difference, helping them to do that,” says Shelley Shaw, Development and Impact Manager for the NSPCC.
“Community members have been really supporting our efforts so far, and by attending community groups and arranging our own activities when it is safe to do so, we’ll be able to work more closely alongside them to better understand their needs and priorities and find out their ideas for helping to keep children safe.”
Sally Walker from Ernesettle Neighbourhood Forum added: “I am delighted that local community groups and residents will be at the heart of the decision making on where this money will be spent.”
The community has been involved in knitting pants as part of the programme’s Talk PANTS work, contributed to campaigns, and young people have been involved in work around healthy peer-to-peer relationships education.
Tom McCulloch, Head of Funding for the South West at The National Lottery Community Fund, says: “The National Lottery is playing a critical role in supporting people, projects and communities during these challenging times. Charities such as NSPCC are making an amazing contribution to the community-level response. We’re incredibly grateful for their dedication and the hard work of thousands of projects across the UK – we’re humbled by their efforts and delighted that our funding is able to help.”
As part of a project called SUSTAIN, community members will also be supported to network and encouraged to explore how being connected to their community can help the neighbourhood come together to solve local problems or concerns.
Community members will also contribute to developing a plan for supporting Together for Childhood activity, with training provided to help them build their confidence and skills to do so.
For more information about Together for Childhood contact the NSPCC Service Centre in Plymouth on 01752 422577 or viaPlymouth.Servicecentre@nspcc.org.uk.
Any adult concerned about the welfare of a child or young person can call the NSPCC helpline for free and confidential advice on 0808 800 5000 or visit nspcc.org.uk
Children can contact Childline for free on 0800 1111 or childline.org.uk365 days a year, and speak to a counsellor about a worry or concern they may have.
