Plymouth school children prepare for Pantosaurus visits ahead of NSPCC’s PANTS week

This week, a pant-wearing dinosaur will be pounding the streets of Plymouth as he looks to spread an important message to children in the city.

Pantosaurus is a popular figure among school children in Plymouth as he is mascot for the NSPCC’s Talk PANTS campaign, which aims to educate children and help them talk about abuse without using scary words.

From October 10th-14th the NSPCC and Plymouth’s Together for Childhood partners are further highlighting the campaign with PANTS Week.

The PANTS campaign, with the help of Pantosaurus, provides parents, carers and professionals with a simple and age-appropriate way to talk to children aged 3-11 in their care about sexual abuse, using age-appropriate language.

During the week, NSPCC staff, partners and volunteers will accompany the friendly mascot to a variety of schools, early years venues and a library as part of their activity for the awareness raising week.

The PANTS rule uses a simple acronym:

P - privates are private

A - always remember your body belongs to you

N - no means no

T - talk about secrets that upset you

S - speak up, someone can help

NSPCC’s Local Campaigns Manager, Emma Motherwell said: “This is our second annual PANTS Week in Plymouth and it’s fantastic to see the on-going support from across the city to keep these vital messages top of mind for professionals, parents and children.

“We know the impact that simple conversations can have in helping to keep children safe so we hope this week will get as many people as possible talking PANTS.”

The week is an annual event, after the campaign was launched in Plymouth two years ago and falls under the ongoing Together for Childhood partnership that works to prevent child sexual abuse in the city.

To find out more about the campaign, visit the NSPCC’s websitewww.nspcc.org.uk/pants or sign up for free tips and advice on talking PANTS via email by searching https://bit.ly/PANTSemail.