In the event that your child, or a child in your care has an experience online that has made them feel uncomfortable, upset or that contained inappropriately offensive or sexual content you may consider making a report to someone who can help. Depending upon the age and ability of the child, they may also wish to make a report.

Who can help

We suggest that the following organisations are best equipped to receive and respond to a report of possible online abuse.

CEOP - the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre - is a long established brach of the UK Police Force established specifically to address the issue of online child exploitation and abuse. CEOP have a collection of guidance available for different age groups, including advice about what to do if you or someone you know has been subjected to abuse online.

NSPCC - the NSPCC work to prevent child abuse and support its victims. With a wealth of understanding form years of working with children, the NSPCC understands the needs of children exposed to abuse and have the necessary resources and experience to assist those in need.

Reporting concerns to CEOP

You can make in immediate report to CEOP report via their reporting page using the button below. CEOP will respond to your report according to the age group of the person affected by the abuse. Note that there is a specific set of guidance and reporting for children under 11 years of age.

CEOP suggest that you make a report if the experience can be described as follows:

If your child has experienced sexual or offensive chat that has made them feel uncomfortable or someone is trying to meet up with them, you can report this directly to us.

This may have happened in a chat room, message board, instant messenger or on a social networking site. It could be on a mobile phone, games console or computer. It could be messages, images or conversations over webcam. The important thing is that if an adult is making sexual advances to your child on the internet you should report it to us.

Reporting abuse to the NSPCC

The NSPCC provide a gateway for reporting abuse as part of their online resources for child safety and welfare.

The NSPCC suggest that if you are concerned about the safety and welfare of a child you make a report and one of the NCPCC advisors will review it within 24 hours.

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