Staying safe if you're a child or young person

If someone's hurting or abusing you or someone you know, or if you're not being cared for properly, don't keep it to yourself. There are people you can talk to.

  • If you're in danger call 999 or 0114 2202020.
  • If you're not at risk of immediate harm call our social care team on 01226 772423 (Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm).
  • If you need to talk to someone urgently in the evening or over the weekend call 01226 787789.

You can also call into any police station and ask to speak to any police officer in private, or call Childline on 0800 1111.

If you're worried about talking to professional, try speaking to someone you know and trust instead -  like a teacher, learning mentor, youth worker, school nurse or even a friend. They'll be able to contact the right people to help you.

Advice and support services for young people

Chilypep is a children and young people's empowerment project working across South Yorkshire. Their Open Up Directory contains a list of wellbeing and youthwork organisations in Barnsley for young people (under 25yrs), including those who can support you with:

  • families and relationships
  • bullying and abuse
  • mental health
  • drugs and alcohol
  • education and careers

The information below gives you more advice about how to stay safe and what to do if you're worried about yourself or someone else.

Being cared for by someone else

If you're living in residential or foster care you have the right to feel safe and be treated properly by the adults who are responsible for you. You can read more about being in care on our children in care website. 

The Become website also has information for children and young people who are living in care, or moving on from care.

Living with someone who isn't a close relative

If you're living with someone you know but who isn't your immediate family for more than 28 days, this is called private fostering. It's important our social services team know about this to make sure that your home is safe and meeting your needs.

Bullying

Bullying can happen anywhere and be about anything. It might happen at school, when you're out with friends or online through social media. 

The charity Childline UK can help you if you're being bullied. They have lots of information on their website about the different kinds of bullying and what you can do to stop it happening. If you want to speak to someone in confidence because you're being bullied, you can call them for free on 0800 1111. You can also contact them if your friend is being bullied, or you're worried you've become a bully yourself.

You might also find these websites useful if you need advice because you're being bullied:

Crime

If you've been affected by crime you can contact Victim Support. You don't have to have reported the crime to the police to get help from them.

As well as a confidential live chat online, they have lots of information about how to cope with crime, what it's like to go to court as a witness, and how to stay safe.

Depression, anxiety and mental health

Sometimes it can feel like we don't have control over what we think and feel. Everyone needs some help at some time to feel better, but you might not know who to ask.

These charities have lots of information online about how to look after yourself, what you can do to make things better, and how to get support if you need it:

  • Kooth - free online support hub for young people aged 11 to 25 in Barnsley, where you can access mental health support from professionals, resources, and a discussion board from the community
  • Chilypep Open Up Directory - interactive guide of services who can support you with your emotional wellbeing
  • Young Minds - advice about looking after yourself and managing changes in your life
  • Stem4 - has an app that can help you to control thoughts of self-harm, as well as information on their website about addiction, depression and eating disorders
  • Chilypep Walk With Us - help and support for those affected and bereaved by suicide
  • Ditch the label - an online support hub

Find more mental health services for children and young people.

Drugs and alcohol

The Talk to Frank website has all the facts about drugs and how they can affect you, with advice about where to go for help if you're using drugs and want to stop. There's also confidential online chat and a free helpline that you can use to speak to a trained drugs counsellor at any time by calling 0300 123 6600.

The Young People's Substance Misuse Service is a voluntary, free and confidential specialist drug and alcohol service for young people up to the age of 18 in Barnsley who are affected by their own, or someone else's substance use, at any level.

Online safety

The internet is a great place for you to play and learn, but if something upsets you or you're worried about a friend it can help to talk to someone.

You should talk to an adult you trust or call Childline free on 0800 1111 if something has upset you or made you uncomfortable whilst you're online.

For tips on staying safe you can visit:

If you've found a sexual image or video of yourself online, use the Childline Report Remove tool to get it removed. You can also report sexual abuse, or the way that someone has been communicating with you (or someone you know) on the Child Exploitation and Online Protection website. 

If you're worried about your gambling online (including buying online content such as loot boxes), you can get advice and support from Big Deal.

Sexual exploitation

You might not know that you're being sexually exploited because you might think you're in a good relationship with the person, or people.

It's not only girls who can sexually exploited, it happens to boys too.   

How to stay safe

  • Don't trust people you don't know - even if they seem friendly.
  • Always make sure you know who you're talking to online.
  • Don't be tricked into doing things that are unsafe - even if they seem like fun at first, it might look exciting but could cause you harm.
  • Trust yourself to know when something is wrong - if it makes you feel unsafe, trapped or frightened, get help straight away.

Think about your different relationships with people

As we grow up we meet new people and we all have to learn how to enjoy healthy relationships. But things can sometimes go wrong, and people might try to take advantage of you or force you into dangerous situations before you know it.

It could be:

  • close friends
  • a boyfriend or girlfriend
  • groups of friends from school or the area you live in
  • a new group of people or an adult you've just met
  • someone you've talked to online

Warning signs

If your new friends are older than you, they may be really nice at first and show you lots of attention - to make you feel special. They might ask groups of young people to come back to their house with adults.

They may offer you drugs and alcohol, a place to chill out, or involve you in activities that seem exciting or fun. They might encourage you to do things you wouldn't be allowed to do at home, or buy you presents like clothes, a mobile phone, or give you money to buy things.

When you've started to trust them they may change how they act around you. They could ask you to do things that make you feel uncomfortable for money, clothes, drugs or alcohol. They may encourage you to have sex with men or women you don't want to, threaten you, and make you feel scared or trapped.

You're not to blame for this happening to you. No adult has the right to have sex with you and they're the people who are doing something wrong.

There is a way out -  and you should talk to someone you trust.

Talk to someone you trust

It's not always easy to talk about things like this, but it's important that you do. Sexual exploitation can happen to anyone from any background, boy or girl - so you need to be careful who you can trust.

If you're worried you should contact someone from social services, a teacher or the police. They'll listen to you and can help.

Young carers

Young carers are children and young people under 18 who look after someone in their family who has an illness, a disability, or is affected by mental ill-health or substance misuse. They take on tasks that would normally be done by an adult.

If you're a young carer, there's support available to help you. Find out more about young carers and support.

What to do if you're worried about a child

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