The NSPCC lobbies the government on issues relating to child welfare, and creates campaigns for the general public, with the intention of raising awareness of child protection issues. It also operates both a helpline on 0808 800 5000, for anyone concerned about a child, and ChildLine offering support to children themselves. Childline became a part of the NSPCC in 2006. In addition to the telephone helplines, NSPCC provides an online counselling service for children & young people at ChildLine.

The NSPCC runs local service centres across the UK where it helps children, young people, and families. Since 2009, the NSPCC has run a Child Protection Consultancy service aiming to make organisations safer for children. This offers training and consultancy to organisations which have contact with children, ranging from schools to sporting bodies. The charity works through local safeguarding children's boards (LSCBs), where the police, health, social and education services and others can work together.

The NSPCC's stated core values are based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

They are:

• Children must be protected from all forms of violence and exploitation
• Everyone has a responsibility to support the care and protection of children
• We listen to children and young people, respect their views and respond to them directly
• Children should be encouraged and enabled to fulfil their potential
• We challenge inequalities for children and young people
• Every child must have someone to turn to

Every year the NSPCC produces its annual 'How Safe Are Our Children?' report. For the past six years the report compiled and analysed data from across the UK to show the current child protection landscape. In 2020, for the first time, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) took on this task (ONS, 2020).

The links below give direct access to those previous reports and the key findings from them.

2020

Report

Key findings from 2020

Our 2020 report found:

• rates of police recorded physical, sexual and online abuse offences against adolescents are higher than rates against younger children
• rates of adolescents in care are higher than rates for younger children, with the exception in some nations of infants under the age of one
• rates of adolescents subject to a child protection plan or on a child protection register are lower than rates for younger children
• many of the risk factors associated with abuse and neglect have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, while the support services that would traditionally identify and respond to these concerns have been unable to see many of the children and families they work with face-to-face.

The report also includes expert insight on adolescent brain development, harmful sexual behaviour, sexting, and the importance of relationship and sex education.

2019

Report 

Key findings from 2019

• year on year increases in the numbers and rates of police-recorded online child sexual offences in England and Wales and Northern Ireland
• increases in police-recorded offences of obscene publications or indecent photos in all four UK nations over the last five years
• increases in the number of URLs confirmed by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) as containing child sexual abuse imagery since 2015
• less than half of children aged 12 to 15 say they know how to change their settings to control who can view their social media
• the majority of parents, carers and members of the public agree that social networks should have a legal responsibility to keep children safe on their platforms.

2018

Report

Key Findings from 2018:

• An in-depth look at findings from the NSPCC’s and O2’s annual Net Aware survey, which asked children and young people about their experiences online.
• It also called on the government to legislate to make children safer online.

2017

Report

Key Findings from 2017:

• Findings from the Crime survey for England and Wales about adults’ experiences of abuse in childhood
• Called for a new prevalence survey of children’s experiences of abuse and neglect.

2016

Report

Key Findings from 2016:

• The report highlighted the need for more therapeutic support for children who have experienced abuse and neglect.