Gladiator Jodie Ounsley visits Liverpool’s NSPCC hub to support d/Deaf children

Local TV

Athlete and presenter Jodie Ounsley has been meeting children from the d/Deaf community at the NSPCC’s North West hub, learning how Childline and new BSL resources are helping to keep young people safe.

Transcript

00:00The NSPCC's North West Hub has welcomed a special guest, gladiator and former rugby player Josie

00:07Arnesley, who's deaf herself. She met children and young people from the deaf community to talk

00:12about confidence, safety and communication. I think especially for the deaf community and

00:18kids, it can be really isolating and a lot of time you do feel alone in a lot of situations.

00:24So I can see how hard it is for kids to be brave and stand up for themselves and reach

00:30out for help. But then it's also not knowing where to ask for help and, you know, getting

00:35past that barrier of communication in the first place.

00:38Josie had a cochlear implant as a toddler, becoming at the time one of the youngest people in the

00:42country to have the procedure.

00:44I never believe when people say, oh, you're a role model, because to me, I'm just generally

00:49so passionate about it and I love to help people. And I've also been there as a kid,

00:53feeling isolated and not confident. And I found my people who supported me. So I guess

00:59I kind of want to be that person for young kids today.

01:02Josie's visit aims to shine a light on how children who are deaf or who have other disabilities

01:07can reach out for help through Childline. Between April 2024 and March 2025, Childline delivered

01:14158 counselling sessions to young people who identified as deaf or hard of hearing.

01:21So I've been involved with the NSPCC through the Deaf and Resource Centre. So I've been going

01:31to the DRC for many, many years, many years. I do want to be more involved as well. And

01:37I want to make sure things are accessible for deaf children of the future.

01:41The NSPCC says these children are at a higher risk of abuse than their peers, and they often

01:48face additional barriers to being heard. In Liverpool, one of the ways that NSPCC is tackling

01:53this is through a campaign called In Safe Hands. Created with deaf specialists, it includes British

01:58sign language resources designed for parents, carers and young people.

02:02Deaf people seem to have it harder with going up since they have a lack of understanding of

02:07some things. So for us all to come together, hearing and deaf people, it gives us all a

02:13sort of awareness of what, just how much they've gone through and how much we're trying to fight

02:18for. The materials launched at Notty Ash Primary School, which has a specialist deaf unit, were

02:24co-produced with the community to ensure they reflect real experiences. It was like, we had

02:31a really good relationship, we had communication support there. The children, like, you can

02:38become more confident, you can get involved with your friends. We were all just working

02:44together as staff, it was really lovely.

02:47The charity hopes these resources will have a lasting impact, helping children, families

02:52and teachers feel more confident in keeping young people safe online and beyond.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended