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Publication date December 2021
Front cover: Talk to Me - helping adults build confidence in having difficult conversations with children

'Talk to Me' was a free, immersive simulation designed to help adults build their confidence in having conversations with children about difficult topics, like abuse, and ensure children always feel listened to.

The simulated scenarios were based in a school setting, with the user taking the role of a teacher. Users interacted with fictional child characters and learnt how to respond to the child, ask the right question at the right time, to build the child's trust and help them talk about their experiences. 

Attensi, specialists in gamified simulation, created the 'Talk to Me' pilot in collaboration with safeguarding experts at NSPCC. It was available from December 2020 to December 2021.

Talk to Me: helping adults build confidence in having difficult conversations with children: a review of the pilot simulations
Download the report (PDF)

Key findings

Users had unlimited access to 'Talk to Me' and those who completed at least one scenario were invited to share their feedback on the tool through a survey. 287 users took part. A small group were also interviewed. In the interviews, it was suggested that 'Talk to Me' could help a broad range of professionals and benefit people in different ways, depending on their role and responsibilities.

We also learned that:

  • 95% of respondents either "agree" or "strongly agree" that the training made them more confident in talking to children about abuse
  • 98% felt the content was relevant to their work
  • 98% of respondents would recommend talk to me.

Citation

Please cite as: NSPCC and Attensi (2021) Talk to Me: helping adults build confidence in having difficult conversations with children: a review of the pilot simulations. [London]: NSPCC.

Talk to Me: helping adults build confidence in having difficult conversations with children: a review of the pilot simulations
Download the report (PDF)

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