Bournemouth Boys meet Dragon Deborah

Deborah Meaden, star of television’s Dragons’ Den, has enlisted a group of sixth form students from Bournemouth School for Boys as ambassadors for the ChildLine online service which was launched nationally on Monday (October 19).

Deborah visited the school to inspire the students to promote ChildLine’s new online features among their peer groups within the school.

“In life there are two types of people, those who do and help to support others, and those who do not. That is in business, in support and in life generally,” she told the group.

“I am here to talk to you today because I am a doer. I want to inspire you to join those of us who support the work of ChildLine and the NSPCC in helping those who look up to you as peers.

“It is really important that we can encourage children and young people to talk about their feelings and, as a group of young men that younger students will look up to, I am sure you can help with that.”

Young people can continue to call ChildLine on 0800 1111, but they can now receive information and support via the website www.childline.org.uk. Children can now make contact with ChildLine through email, online message boards or one-to-one chats with counsellors.

By developing the new tools and channels of communication online, ChildLine is encouraging even more young people to talk about their feelings. Online creative tools allow young people to explore their feelings, and there are also games, videos and a mood tracker to help young people evaluate how they are feeling over a period of time.

The school plans to follow up Deborah’s visit with a series of assemblies in coming days when those who attended will pass on the important messages.

Deputy head Will Pyke said: “We wholeheartedly support the work of ChildLine and we are thrilled that Deborah Meaden came to speak to the boys about the new developments.

“As she said, the challenge is now for the boys to spread the word amongst others and make sure all our pupils are aware that ChildLine is there for them whenever they feel worried or concerned and that no problem is too small.”

Cheryl Marshall, children’s services manager at the Exeter ChildLine base, talked the boys through the website’s new features, and said: “While many children are happy most of the time, it is important that they have a strong network of family and friends to offer them support when they do have problems.“Some children aren’t lucky enough to have this support, or find it difficult to talk about their feelings, so can end up suffering in silence.“ChildLine provides trusted and confidential support for those children who feel isolated, and now thanks to government funding and public support, we have been able to develop the service to do it in the way that suits them best."