Rise in schoolchildren seeking Childline counselling
There has been a 15 per cent rise in young people seeking Childline counselling sessions about suicide, Childline has revealed.
In the 2016/17 Childline annual review, ‘Not Alone Anymore’, children as young as 10 got in touch about having suicidal thoughts and feelings.
It also revealed that 22,456 counselling sessions were delivered to young people dealing with thoughts of ending their own lives - a rise of 15 per cent compared to the previous year.
Childline is now calling for more people to volunteer as counsellors to potentially help save young people’s lives.
NSPCC chief executive, Peter Wanless, said: “We must face the painful reality that many young people feel so overwhelmed by their problems they have considered taking their own, precious lives.
“We have never seen figures like these before and they are a blunt wake up call”
“I would urge any child who is feeling this way to take the first step and talk to Childline; our counsellors are always there for them”.
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