James' story

James was bullied for 6 years when he moved to a new school. Speaking to Childline gave him somewhere to turn and helped him to rebuild his confidence.

I felt guilty because the bullies had chosen me

"When I was 10 my mum and dad had moved house so I went to a new primary school. Up until then, I’d always liked school.

Nothing I did was right and the name-calling, punching and kicking began. They didn’t like my glasses. They didn’t like what I looked like. They didn’t like me being the new kid.

I would wake up every day with a feeling of dread and felt physically sick at the thought of going to school. I used to try and think of every possible excuse to get out of it.

Young boy standing outside in street wearing coat

"I couldn't take the bullying anymore. It was about 2am and I went to the kitchen, got a knife out of the drawer, and went back to my room. I wanted to kill myself as I'd had enough. I just didn't want to be a burden anymore."

The bullying didn’t stop after school. They were all local kids that lived near me. I couldn’t go to the shops, the park or even the town centre. Wherever the bullies saw me, they kept it up. Even when they weren’t there, it was like they were following me.

Secondary school was even worse. Those kids who didn’t know me were clued up by those who did. It got really nasty and I had doors slammed in my face, and my head bashed against a brick wall. I felt sick, scared and exhausted."

Childline was a lifeline when I felt I had no-one to turn to

"I’d seen posters or Childline around the school and decided to call them. The first couple of times I called I couldn’t speak and I hung up. I just couldn’t say the words I needed to say. So I wrote a letter and I let it all out. Childline replied in two days and then I felt able to call them.

They listened and believed everything I said. They gave me advice on how to cope with the bullying such as joining lessons earlier or later and avoiding areas where they congregated. Because I was believed, they also gave me the confidence to tell my mum and dad. Young boy on phone sitting in bus stop

"I started calling twice a week, about the same time, and usually spoke to a counsellor called Craig. He really listened, didn’t tell me what to do, and gave me the time to explain how I was feeling. That was so important to me."

I spoke to Craig on that Wednesday after I took that knife out of the kitchen drawer and I thought the only option was to kill myself. Craig persuaded me to put the knife down and wake up my parents.

On the phone, I could be me and they let me speak about my emotions and channel the negative feelings. Childline helped me realise that I had the strength to overcome the bullying within me. It was always there, I just needed someone to help me find it.”

How Childline helps

Childline is a free service for children and young people - here whenever they need support or advice. Childline delivered an average of around 16,300 counselling sessions a month last year.

Childline is here for every child and young person. Whatever problems or dangers they're facing we’re here to listen – 365 days a year.

"I am so immensely grateful that you were there to listen without telling me I am lying, judging me or making me feel worse about myself and that is the amazing thing about these chats, they can save lives."
Girl, aged 14

Why children and young people need Childline

Children don’t always know who to trust with their worries. Without a safe place to turn, they can put their trust in the wrong person or keep their fears to themselves. Home isn’t a safe place for every child, and the pandemic made even more children feel trapped, lonely, and unsure who to trust.

"I just wanted to say a big thank you to the counsellor I spoke to this morning. I don’t know what I would have done if you had not been there to talk to. You made me feel so much better about myself and gave me hope that maybe I will make it. I am so grateful for everything you have done. I was able to feel like my feelings are valid and that I have worth and a reason to live."
Girl aged 14

Childline gives every child access to free, confidential support whenever they need it. There were almost 200,000 Childline counselling sessions with children last year. Childline is always here to listen, whatever their worry.

The difference Childline makes for children and young people

Childline is here for children and young people wherever and whenever they need us. Feedback from young people has told us:

Childline helps them feel less alone with their problems
Childline helps them see their problems from a new perspective
Talking about problems with Childline helps them open up with other people.

Our Childline staff and over 1,100 volunteer counsellors around the UK delivered almost 200,000 counselling sessions in 2022/23.

Hear from Omar, one of our counsellors, about his experience helping children during the pandemic.

"The volunteers who contribute are exceptional people… [We] are committed to the service continuing because we want to guarantee it is there for children and young people. We realise there is a real need and we are there for them."
Gwenno Huws, Childline volunteer counsellor (Prestatyn)

Children and young people also turn to our website for support online. Our website puts young people first – with games, tools, advice and support about anything from making friends to child abuse. Young people also turn to Childline’s message boards to share their worries with other young people in a safe online space, with nearly 38,000 submissions to the message boards last year.

"I have been seeing a counsellor at school for the last few years which has helped. I only see them once a week so in between I look at the Childline website for tips on managing anger and stress."
Boy, 13, Childline website user

In 2018 we created childline.org.uk/kids specifically for children under-12, to ensure our information is accessible for young people of all ages.

What’s next for Childline?

We want to be there for every child who needs us, no matter what their worry or how they choose to contact us. Children and young people sometimes have to wait for a Childline counsellor to be available. We’re always looking to improve our counselling services and make sure we’re there with them while they wait.

One example of this is the creation of Cubie, our chatbot helper that we've developed with our technology partner O2. Cubie asks important opening questions to children and young people while they wait. It also points them to helpful advice, support and games around the site to try in the meantime.

On average, online counselling sessions take over three times as long as over the phone – and make up around three quarters of our sessions.³ By using a chat bot we can help counsellors and young people by providing them with more information before each session.

It costs £4 to answer a child’s call for help. Over 80% of our income comes from those who choose to give to us⁴

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How you can help

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*DISCLAiMER

Names and identifying features have been changed to protect identity. Photographs have been posed by models.

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References

3. In 2020/21, the average handling time for an online counselling session was over three times as long as the average for a counselling session by phone. This includes the time taken by the counsellor to record information after the counselling session is finished.
4. In 2022/23 our total income was £120.6 million. Income from supporters includes donations and legacies (excluding statutory non-performance related grants) and trading activities. The total income from supporters for 2022/23 was £101.6 million.