A CHARITY is looking for volunteers to go back to the classroom and help deliver its ground-breaking ChildLine Schools Service to local school children.

The scheme aims to give primary school children the awareness they need to recognise abuse, and to seek help sooner if they need it.

In Teesside the Service has already visited 98 schools and talked to more than 8,400 local children since the service began in June 2012.

As a result it is now appealing for more local people to come forward as volunteers to help them reach children at the remaining 162 schools in the area over the next two years.

Louise Willis-Keeler, ChildLine Schools Service area co-orindator for Teesside, said: “Volunteers are vital to the success of the service and we really need local people to come forward to help us reach every primary school across Teesside. This is a great opportunity for people to do something to help protect and educate children.

“Research tells us that child abuse can remain hidden for many years with children suffering in silence and other children continuing to be at risk from perpetrators. Many children don’t recognise their experience as abuse and often do not know where they can go for help.

“Sensitively teaching children about how to recognise abuse and where to get help is vitally important and we need members of the local community to help us do this.”

For more information about volunteering for the ChildLine Schools Service or to apply visit www.nspcc.org.uk/volunteer. If you work for a school that is interested in receiving the ChildLine Schools Service, please contact Louise Willis-Keeler, area coordinator for Teesside at louise.williskeeler@nspcc.org.uk