Childline is a free, confidential support service for children and young people - here whenever they need support or advice. We've delivered an average of around 17,000 counselling sessions a month since the first national lockdown began. Childline is here for every child and young person. Whatever problems or dangers they're facing, we’re here to listen – 365 days a year.

Volunteers are at the heart of Childline and we couldn't keep the service running without their valuable help. We currently have over 1600 volunteers supporting children and young people across the four nations of the UK. Childline volunteers go through a robust 11-week induction training where they learn about the Childline counselling model and are equipped with the skills and tools they need to support children online or on the phone.

The Childline Induction Training programme was credit rated by SQA Credit Rating Service at SCQF level 6 with 20 credit points.

Childline has been operating for over 36 years and the service has developed year on year to meet the changing needs of children and young people. The training that we provide is a credit to the service and to the young people we serve. Over the years we have trained thousands of volunteers who will have gone on to offer thousands of hours of counselling. In fact, there were over 200,000 Childline counselling sessions with children and young people in the last year.

The SCQF level 6 credit rating has given our induction training a level of credibility that it never had: it highlights us as a centre of excellence and set us up as a credit rated learning provider.

In the last 7 months, around 300 Childline volunteers have completed the initial part of their credit rated training and they will receive their certificates after they have completed 120 hours of counselling. Our current volunteers will be able to achieve the certificate when they complete a refresher course. We have had a great deal of positive feedback from our volunteers about the training. In the coming months we will start to award our first certificates to volunteers and all the staff at the NSPCC and Childline are delighted that we can offer this extra level of recognition for our amazing volunteers.

For more information on becoming a volunteer for Childline, visit the website.