Sir Peter Wanless: 10 years at NSPCC (Part 1)

Sir Peter Wanless. 10 tears at NSPCC where he has been the Chief Executive since June 2013. The charity’s longstanding purpose is to prevent cruelty to children, something it seeks to achieve through a mixture of service delivery, research, influencing, advocacy and campaigning. Among the NSPCC’s http://nspcc.org.uk direct services are Childline, 0800 1111 a confidential helpline for any young person with nowhere else to turn, the NSPCC Helpline help@nspcc.org.uk for any adult with a worry or concern about a child, the Child protection in Sport Unit and a network of service centres across the UK focused particularly on abuse and neglect in the early years and child sexual abuse. The NSPCC has been particularly prominent of late in building the child protection case for online regulation of social media services.Peter was previously Chief Executive of what was then the Big Lottery Fund and a Director at the Department for Education between 1998 and 2008. He is on the Boards of Somerset County Cricket Club and the Government’s National Leadership Centre. He received a knighthood in the 2021 New Year’s Honours List for services to children and charity.

We talk of the priorities driving the NSPCC in these challenging times. Supporting young people first, keeping staff and volunteers safe and well and looking to maintain the donation base to continue vital work.

Peter outlines the strategic position of the charity and the constant focus on adapting to threats and challenges to young people. Their work in schools, their combatting of online risks and the increasing workload on their well established Childline service. Training and research are cornerstones of the charity and his job in overseeing all aspects include partnerships with all colleague services, both statutory and voluntary.

The conversation ranges from Peter’s assessment of the whole national response to safeguarding children , especially from the recently published National Inquiry, to his personal views on successful progress and continuing challenges.