Information for children and young people


Child Sexual Exploitation

What is child sexual exploitation?

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a type of child abuse. It happens when a young person is encouraged, or forced, to take part in sexual activity in exchange for something. Child sexual exploitation involves others getting children or young people to do sexual favours either for themselves, or other people, and this might include being encouraged or forced into having sex, watching others have sex or being touched. 


Say Something- Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Campaign

There is a helpline that has been provided by a national charity 'Missing People'. This helpline allows you to talk to someone about the issues or the questions that you may have about CSE. They are a team of trained staff and volunteers that are there for you 24/7, completely anonymous and free. To contact them simply call or text 116000. 

Possible signs of grooming and CSE

  • Using drugs/alcohol
  • Displaying inappropriate sexualised behaviour, such as dressing in a sexualised manner
  • Sending sexualised images by mobile phone "sexting"
  • Unexplained physical harm, like bruises and cigarette burns
  • Unexplained gifts or possessions

You can find out more information including the possible signs of CSE by visiting the NHS Website [External Link].


Where can you find help?

ERASE is a website (Educate and Raise Awareness of Sexual Exploitation) where you can find lots of advice on Sexual Exploitation. The website can be found at [External Link].

Being in a relationship and thinking about having a sexual relationship is normal, but sexual exploitation is not normal and is a form of abuse.

If you are worried for yourself or a friend, please talk to an adult you trust. Remember: if you are in any danger or feel unsafe, get in contact with the police immediately on 999.

If you would like to talk to someone in confidence you can contact ChildLine [External Link]– You can call them free on 0800 1111 and this number won’t appear on a telephone bill. Available 24 hours a day.

You can find out more about sexual exploitation by visiting the Barnado's website [External Link].

Here are their telephone numbers:
  • County Durham ​03000 267979
  • Darlington 01325 346200


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Water Safety

Water can be a hazard for children and teenagers if precautions are not taken. The RNLI Respect the Water Campaign provides information on how to keep yourself and others safe near water.


You should:

  • Be aware of the dangers
  • Know your limits and don't take risks
  • Go with your mates but watch their backs
  • Make sure your phone is charged, so you can call for help.

For further information visit the RNLI website.

RNLI Respect the Water Campaign [External Link]

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Drug Addiction

What is drug addiction?

To put it simply drug addiction is the state in which a person becomes addicted to drugs. The first time that you decide to take drugs may be voluntarily however repeated use of them can lead to a person losing their self control and the inability to make to make ration decisions, in fact they will use all types of irrational thoughts in order to justify their behavior thus meaning that the addict often is willing to believe everything but the drug abuse is the reason for their abuse. Illegal drugs which (there are many of) as they can cause damage to your heart and your circulatory system. A few examples of illegal drugs include Heroin, Cocaine, Ecstasy and LSD. Illegal drugs have been put into 3 different classifications, these being 'Class A' , 'Class B' and 'Class C'. They are in order of being the most dangerous (Class A). 


Where can you find help?

A website called 'Talk to Frank' is where you can find a lot of advice/guidance about drug addiction and overcoming it. The website can be found at [External Link], You can also text message them on 82111, ring Talk to Frank on 0300 123 660 email them or by clicking here [External Link]. Finally, you can live chat with someone, you will find this at [External Link]. FRANK is on hand to give you some confidential advice.  

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Frank logo



What is bullying?

Bully is where the kids who bully use their power, this could be physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or even a large group of people in order to control or harm another child. Bullying is repeated/has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems. 

The 4 types of bullying

  1. Physical bullying is where a person does something to purposely harm you or your belongings.
  2. Verbal bullying is where a person says some really hurtful things to you.
  3. Social bullying often involves a person not allowing someone to join something or denying you from being a part of a particular group.
  4. Cyberbullying often involves someone spreading mean words, lies, and even false rumors online or simply using technology to simply annoy a person.

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A short video that briefly describes some of the statistics of bullying made by [External Link].


Physical Bullying

What is Physical Bullying?

Physical bullying is when one person or a group of people picks on another individual, this is done face to face. Some examples of this consists of hitting, pushing or stealing/destroying a person's items such as books, clothing or lunch money. It can range from a slight action every so often (the aim of this is to demean the person over a short period of time) to a chain of violent and direct actions to hurt the person on purpose quickly. 

Possible signs of Physical Bullying

  • Coming home with bruises, cuts (unexplained injuries)
  • Skipping particular classes
  • Saying they feel picked on
  • Talking about either violent actions towards other or talking about suicide
  • Separating themselves from a group

For more possible signs please visit the Bullying Statistics website [External Link].

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Verbal Bullying

What is Verbal Bullying?

It is common for people to hear some form of verbal bullying (being called names or insulted) at some point in their lives. Many young people hear insults on a daily basis whether they are in school at the time or not. Verbal bullying is when an person uses words to gain power over his or her peers, a few examples of this are things such as name-calling, hurtful comments or in some extremes you may receive threats. Verbal Bullying is harder to detect as there are no visible marks that can be linked towards bullying. It also doesn't usually occur when adults are around to stop it and the effects of it are not clear. Verbal bullying is more subtle and takes long periods of time. This destroys a child’s self image and self respect. This can lead to depression, anxiety and many other problems. 



An interactive anti-bullying video created by BullyingUK [External Link]. 


Social Bullying

What is Social Bullying?

Social bullying also known as relational bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships. An example of this form of bullying is telling another child not to be friends with someone. Social bullying also includes spreading rumours about another person, leaving someone out of an activity/group on purpose or embarrassing a person in public. 

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What is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is when a person or a group of people bully a different individual using technology, this could be using the Internet such as Social Media, mobile phones or even through a games console. Their intention is to either make someone upset, feel threatened, make fun of someone or embarrass someone. People can also get death threats by bullies online also. Often cyberbullying is not a single message. With social media sites and messaging apps anything that is posted about you can be seen by lots of people, these posts can start trending/going viral very quickly. If a person posts things that is not true and does this with the intention of causing someone harm this can be classed as harassment. 

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Bullying: Where can you find help?

If you have done everything you can to try to resolve the situation and nothing has worked there are ways to get help, such as: 

Talking to a trusted friend about what is going on can help release some of the stress you may have. They may have had the same problem and can understand what you are going through. Talking to any adult that you feel comfortable talking to such as:

  • Parent
  • Teacher
  • Community leader
  • School nurse

Family Lives has a free (from landlines and most mobiles) confidential helpline that allows you to contact them if you need guidance, advice or support with family life (including bullying). Their helpline service is open 9am – 9pm, Monday to Friday and 10am – 3pm Saturday and Sunday. Their number is 0808 800 2222 and for more information visit their website [External Link]. They also have a Skype service where you can call them (this is free and confidential). You need to create a Skype account, once your account has been created open the Skype dialler and call 0808 800 2222 and then press the green call button. This will connect you to their helpline. 

If you don't want to file a report about someone being cyberbullied you could always talk to someone in confidence (ChildLine) as it is available 24 hours a day.You can call them free on 0800 1111 and this number won’t appear on a telephone bill. You can also contact ChildLine through emails, all you need to do is to sign up to Childline. This process is very easy and you don't need to give your email address or your real name, so this is very confidential. You can talk to a '1-2-1'counsellor chat and this is once again private, so nobody else can view the chat but ChildLine. 

You can call 999 if there has been a crime or someone is at immediate risk of harm. 

Cyberbullying can create a disruptive environment at school. The school can use the information of cyberbullying to help inform prevention and response strategies to it.

There is a website that is a command of the UK's NCA (National Crime Agency) named CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) this is where you can report the potential online abuse and talk to one of CEOP's experienced Child Protection Advisors. This website can be found at [External Link]. 

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Young Mind's Videos

Useful videos to support young people to gain control over what you think and feel by looking at simple changes to your lifestyle. 


Young Minds logo

What's worrying you

This is a short video that is centered around Jack's Bullying Story. He talks about how bullying and how it has affected his everyday life. 


Eat well, feel better

This video looks at the link between what you eat and how you feel. Improving your diet can help give you:

- positive feelings
- clearer thinking
- more energy
- calmer moods


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No Harm Done

Short video aimed at young people to help them understand self harm. 

'No Harm Done’ is a response to the powerful cry for help from young people, parents and professionals who have told us just how difficult dealing with self-harm is and how they can recover from it.