Young boy sitting on a lunch table outside a school

Get help if you're worried about a child

Who to contact when you or someone else needs urgent help

Where to get emergency help

If you – or someone you know – are being harmed or in immediate danger of being harmed, call the police on 999.

Help if you're a child or young person

If you need to talk to someone about something that's happening or something you are worried about you can call Childline on 0800 1111.

This is a free and confidential 24-hour helpline where you can talk about anything that's worrying you.​​​​ ChildLine’s Confidentiality policy means you can speak to a counsellor in confidence about a range of different concerns.

Adults worried about a child or young person

If you have concerns about a child's safety or welfare, call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000. Remember, if a child or young person is in immediate danger, call the police on 999.

If you suspect a child may be a victim of trafficking, call the Modern Slavery Helpline on 0800 012 1700

If the child is in immediate danger phone 999 immediately and let the operator know that there is a potential that they are a trafficked child. 

If you are worried about images or videos of a child being online, you can use the NSPCC’s Report Remove tool to get these images taken down. 

Help if you're a parent or carer

If you’re a parent or carer and are struggling and need someone to speak to, you can call any of the listening services listed here

Can Barnardo's help?

We run a range of services across the UK which focus on helping children and young people in a range of situations. If you are in urgent need of support or need emergency help, please contact the numbers above before reaching out to us to ensure you get the help you need on time. To find out if we can support you, search what services we run in your local area, or visit our get support pages to explore our online information, guidance and support. 

For some of our services you will need somebody like a teacher or social worker to refer you or your child, but for others you may be able to call them yourself. See the details on the specific service page to find out.

We also offer some free helplines that may help you. 

Contact the helpline for those fleeing Ukraine.

Contact the helpline for Black, Asian and Minority families

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