(Image: NSPCC)
EACH year, the NSPCC calls on schools and nurseries across Yorkshire and the whole of the UK to take part in a fun incentive that raises money for the charity.
The Kindness Challenge is an initiative to spread kindness in schools and nurseries and this year runs between Monday, October 5 and Friday, October 9.
As well as sharing positivity and kindness across the country, the challenge also calls on classrooms everywhere to raise vital money for Childline.
This year, we will be encouraging pupils to show off their caring hearts and show support for us by wearing an NSPCC kindness superhero headband which they can download at home.
Research shows that kindness makes children happier, can help to reduce stress levels and improves their self-esteem and wellbeing.
The Kindness Challenge encourages pupils to complete acts of kindness like inviting a new friend to join in during play time, writing a thank you letter or card to a friend, teacher or family member, or - in secondary schools - taking part in initiatives that help reduce waste or promote sustainable practices.
Whether your child’s school takes part in the first week of October or a week that better suits the school, joining in with the challenge will help young people think about the importance of acts of generosity while raising money to support the NSPCC’s Childline service.
Every school or nursery that signs up will be given access to a huge range of free NSPCC resources including activity sheets, assembly plans and posters, all designed to help make organising the challenge really easy.
This year’s Kindness Challenge is also supported by Yorkshire based company YPO, which supplies products and services like stationery to schools across the country.
YPO believes in giving back to the communities it serves and is a key partner of the NSPCC, raising around £114,000 to support our safeguarding work through donations from sales.
The company will also be inviting children at schools in cities including Leeds and Sheffield to choose free classroom stationery as a “pick and mix” stationery shop, full of YPO products children can choose for their classes.
The new school term can often leave children feeling anxious or worried, so events like the Kindness Challenge can be a terrific way to nurture positivity in schools while raising vital funds to ensure Childline can be here for children whenever they need support.
Our Childline counsellors are specially trained and available around the clock on the phone or through the website to support children with whatever they’re going through.
The majority of its funding comes from donations, so fundraising and awareness raising events like the Kindness Challenge are vital to ensuring our counsellors are available to offer support when young people need it most.
If you work at a school or nursery, sit on a Parent Teacher Association, or have a child, grandchild, niece or nephew in school, why not suggest the Kindness Challenge to teachers and encourage them to sign up?
To find out more and sign up to the Kindness Challenge, click here or search online for ‘NSPCC Kindness Challenge’.
NSPCC Safeguarding in Schools
l Through its Speak out, Stay safe and Talk PANTS programmes, the NSPCC delivers interactive safeguarding workshops to primary school children across the country.
Using age-appropriate language and colourful characters like Buddy and Pantosaurus, our teams help children aged between 5 and 11 to understand what abuse is, that it’s never their fault, and where they can turn for help.
We aim to visit every school in Yorkshire and the Humber every three years, to ensure young people feel empowered to speak to safe, trusted adults and the NSPCC’s Childline service if they are worried about topics such as bullying, neglect and abuse.
Primary schools can get in touch with us and find out more about the NSPCC’s Schools Service and how we can work with your school in the new term to help keep children safe.
If you have any questions or want to book a visit to your school, visit the ‘working with schools’ section of the NSPCC website - nspcc.org.uk -to find out more.