Parent Advice Line

Advice and support for parents and carers

*The Parent Advice Line will be open on Monday 25th and Wednesday 27th September, but closed on Tuesday 26th. This is because of staff training.*

We offer friendly, impartial, non-judgemental information, advice and support to parents, carers, family members or professionals who are concerned about a child  - either because they are being bullied, or because they may be involved in bullying others. Bullying can happen anywhere: inside and outside of school, in the community, in the home, and online. 

Kidscape are members of the Helpline Partnership.

"I felt that I had been listened to, which was incredibly important and a huge relief."  Parent Advice Line caller

Parent Advice Line contact details

The Parent Advice Line is open on Mondays and Tuesdays, 9:30am - 2:30pm. If we are not available at the time you call, please leave a message with your name and best contact number, or send us an email, and we will soon be in touch. We can also call you back to ensure that we are covering the cost of the call.

Parent Advice Line: 07496 682785

WhatsApp: 07496 682785

 

Email us

 

If someone is in immediate danger in the UK, please call the police by dialling 999.

"I wish that I had called the Parent Advice Line sooner. I instantly felt at ease."  Parent Advice Line caller 

"It is fantastic that your service is available to parents struggling such as myself with the education system."  Parent Advice Line caller

What can I expect when I contact you?

We will be led by you. This means that you are in charge of what you want to share. We will listen and explore the situation with you and offer advice and support. If you have used our telephone based service (when this is available) you will be charged at normal rates.

We will give you:

• A friendly, empathetic response

• Professional guidance on school responsibilities

• Advice on communicating effectively with your child’s school

• Tips on how best to support your child

• Information about other relevant Kidscape services

• Details of other organisations that can help

We cannot:

• Take on your individual case or act as your advocate

• Contact a school or other involved agencies (unless there are serious safeguarding concerns)

• Comment on the actions of individual school staff or professionals involved in your situation

• Offer a counselling service (we can signpost to relevant organisations)

• Give specific legal advice (we can tell you the legislation relating to bullying)

• Offer advice to anyone residing outside of England and Wales

• Accept liability for third party information such as websites that we may refer you to

• Offer advice in regards to bullying of adults (we can signpost you to a more relevant organisation)

How can I prepare?

It may be useful to have a pen and paper to hand, to jot down any notes you wish to take. It is best to be in a quiet place so you can speak to the adviser without worrying about background noise.

Is my contact with the Parent Advice Line confidential?

We want to reassure you that your call or email to us will be treated in confidence.

We may ask for some personal information, such as your child’s age and your location but you are under no obligation to provide this. We only ask for this information to enable us to direct you to appropriate services and to help us better understand those who use our service.

Discussions between you and the Parent Support Adviser will be confidential, unless we deem a child, young person or vulnerable adult may be experiencing, or is at risk of experiencing significant harm. We will also need to pass on any concerns we have of an individual intent on harming others. We will always discuss passing on these concerns with you unless it isn't safe to do so.

A record of your contact with the Parent Support Adviser will be stored as anonymised data on a secure database to allow us to target our service appropriately. You can request that we delete your anonymised personal data by emailing mydata@kidscape.org.uk. Kidscape will never sell your personal information to third parties. For more information, please read our privacy policy.

Can a child call you for help?

Our helpline is there to support parents, carers and family members who are concerned about a child. If your child wishes to speak to someone about their situation then please encourage them to contact Childline on 0800 1111 (24 hours), or they can chat 1-2-1 with a counsellor online.

What other help is out there?

Our ZAP workshops are free of charge to every child and parent/ carer going through a bullying situation. 

The Counselling Directory also has a range of blogs on bullying, which you may find helpful.

Can I give you my opinion of how I found the service?

We always welcome your feedback as this helps us evaluate our service. You can share your thoughts here.