Counsellors do not record calls but write downcase notes of calls and sometimes counselling supervisors may also listen in to calls to make sure that they can help the best they can. If there is an immediate serious concern to someone's welfare notes may be passed onto relevant bodies, including the Police and the National Health Service. Callers are not required to provide their name, they can give as little or as much personal information as they wish.
History
In 1986 Esther Rantzen, presenter of That's Life!, a popular consumer TV show, suggested to the BBC that they create "Childwatch", a programme about child abuse that was screened on 30 October 1986 on BBC1, the aim being to try to detect children at risk before their lives were in danger. Viewers were asked if they would take part in the survey in an edition of That's Life!. A helpline was opened after the programme so that any child currently suffering abuse could call for help. Rantzen, together with her BBC producers Sarah Caplin and Ritchie Cogan, therefore suggested they should create a helpline specifically for children in danger or distress, to be open throughout the year, 24/7, and launch it on the programme. The project was made possible by a benefactor Ian Skipper who underwrote the charity for the first three years. ChildLine joined the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in February 2006, and extra resources were pledged in an attempt to ensure that no child's call goes unanswered.
ChildLine has 12 counselling centres around the UK, staffed largely by volunteers. The bases are located in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Manchester, Liverpool, Prestatyn, Birmingham, Nottingham, London, Belfast and Foyle, supported by the online only centres at Leeds and Cardiff. A restructure in 2011 saw the closure of the ChildLine bases in Exeter and Edinburgh, with Swansea relocating to Cardiff. As many as 4,500 children phone ChildLine every day, though only 2,500 of these callers can be answered due to lack of resources. Since the merger with the NSPCC the service has expanded, and depends on public generosity to pay for the children's phone calls. ChildLine raises funds through several channels, including direct donations through the NSPCC, partnerships, events such as The X Factor ChildLine Ball and through third-party fundraising organisations such as Justgiving.
ChildLine Scotland
Following ChildLine's merger with NSPCC in 2006, ChildLine Scotland was run by Children 1st under contract, available to all children and young people in Scotland up to 18 years of age. It had at that time bases in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. The Edinburgh base has since closed. As of March 2012, ChildLine Scotland is run directly by the NSPCC. In 2011 the NSPCC in Scotland began to work with partners to introduce new services for children and families.
International
Similar children's helplines using the name ChildLine have been formed in a number of countries. As of May 2013 these included ChildLine Botswana, ChildLine India, ChildLine Ireland, チャイルドライン, , ChildLine South Africa, National Child Protection Authority of Sri Lanka, Child Helpline Tanzania, ChildLine Trinidad and Tobago, as well as organizations in Namibia, Trinidad and Tobago, Gibraltar, Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Some of these are independent charities; others have been set up by existing children's charities or more general helplines. ChildLine in Ireland is run by the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. It was set up in 1989. In 2006 a text and online service, in association with Zamano, was established to increase the availability of the listening service for children in Ireland. Childline Uganda helps people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS live a better life.
Telephone number
The freephone number, 0800 1111, was one of the first 0800 numbers to be issued in the United Kingdom. Before BT allocated this number to ChildLine, 0800 1111 was used as a test line number by technicians. Other early allocated 0800 numbers were 10 digit, including the prefix. ChildLine's number is one of only a handful of 8 digit 0800 UK numbers to ever have been allocated and the only one still in use. ChildLine is also available on the harmonised European number for child helplines, 116111. Young people can also contact ChildLine through their website. They have a "chat to us button" in which young people can click and chat to a member of their team live.
