Telephoning the NSPCC

You can telephone the NSPCC's helpline service on 0808 800 5000 if you have concerns about a child. Our counsellors are available 24 hours a day, every day.

Calls are free from landlines and a record of the call will not appear on your bill. Calls are also free from (3, T-Mobile, O2, Orange and Vodafone) mobiles.

If you are living outside of the UK, but have concerns about a child resident within the UK, you can telephone on +44 203 188 3500 or +44 203 222 4100. These are not freephone numbers and you will be charged for making an international call. Alternatively, email us or use our online reporting form.

When you call

• A call handler will answer and ask about the nature of your concern.
• If all of our counsellors are busy we will offer you three options: either call back later, request us to call you back, or learn about other ways of getting in touch, such as email.
• Next, you will be put through to a counsellor who will explain our policy about remaining anonymous and ask you to talk about your concerns.
• The counsellor will assess the information, advise you and decide upon a course of action with you.
• If they need to refer the case to the police or children’s services, they will ask you for some details to identify the child. 
• If the counsellor decides a referral is not necessary, they will give you some advice about how you can help the child, if you want to.
• You will always be in control of what you want to say.

Staying anonymous

If you wish, you can remain anonymous when you call. If you do give us your name or address we will not share them with the person or family that you have concerns about. If we need to refer the case to children’s services or the police, and we have your details, we will share them. We will remind these agencies not to share your details with the person or family that you have concerns about.

All calls are recorded and we keep records for 15 years.