AIBU to expect the NSPCC to actually achieve something?

[nametaken]

Apologies from me to Snaf as I went a bit off-topic on her thread when I started moaning about the NSPCC

Anyway, if you're interested, click here to see how the NSPCC spent your £156 million last year.

I probably am BU but they've really annoyed me now I know how much money they raise every year.

ending child cruelty my arse

124 years ago they were established and NOTHINGS IMPROVED since then.

well - corporal punishment and child labour has been made illegal here.. not nothing

also the nspcc helped me out with a child who social services were giving no help to

I tried them once for a 14 yo but they were useless.

Folks, you'll be pleased to see that £7 million pounds of your donations went straight to the pension fund of the NSPCC. That,s just the pension, not salary, perks, or cars.

what makes you say they achive nothing, that has not been my experience, althougb I have known other organisations possibly achieve more but it is so hard to judge.

They do achieve things

I was priveledged enough to be the chosen confidantre once for a girl who had been abused for 4 years by her Dad. The centre she was taken to with me (I was just 18 thankfully) was run by the NSPCC and I have only praise for the way they handled everything- to the extent where she was able to return home (without him, obv, he admitted all and actually died awaiting trial)

I thought the credit for ending child labour went to the labour government of the day?

nametaken the employees of charities need pensions too. its hard working for a charity (have worked for macmillan and homestart), you feel guilty about every single penny you earn, but they want to recruit people with good skills and that means a competitive package

I know I know, I'm just having a moan.

It's just depressing that things don't seem to have improved much since they were established.

I left working for a charity as it couldn't compete with my teachers salary. I would have done a very good job but at the end of the day have a family to support.

I am not a big fan of the NSPCC they spend far too much n fancy adverts and shmoozing slebs.
NCH are far better imo.

I will never support the NSPCC again since they sent me (unsolicited) a file of actual abuse stories 2 weeks after the birth of my dd. I think that is absolutely outrageous to send such strong material to people who are already on such an emotional rollercoaster. Surely new mums are already a fairly captive audience??

sorry but moaning about employees having pensions makes be FECKIN FURIOUS. Places like the NSPCC are full of extremely bright educated people who could easily have gone off and earned salaries 2, 3, 4 or more times what they earn in the charity sector. perish the thought that they should be able to retire on a poxy bloody pension. (and believe me, it will be poxy).

and that's not even going down the route that if you want to attract good people you need to pay at least a decent-ish wage.

You think you could do better? you think charities could do better if they paid even crapper wages and withdrew pensions? do you think it would do better if it were run only by people rich enough to work for free?

I agree hatwoman.

I don't know enough about the activities of the NSPCC to comment, but please don't complain about hard-working employees of charities having pension schemes and the like.

It's hard enough recruiting good people and fortunately lots of good people want to work for charities and forego the much higher salaries they could have earned in the private sector. But scrimping too much makes this impossible and makes retaining good people much harder.

I know, of course they have to pay decent salaries and pensions to attract decent staff. And I don't really begrudge them their pensions.

It's not so much that I'm annoyed at what they spend on their staff, it's more than I'm annoyed that they achieve so little.

I repeat, they have been established for 124 years and child abuse is as bad today as it's always been.

I'm not sure whether I could do better, but I am 100% sure I wouldn't make it more ineffectual than it already is.

hear hear hatwoman

I work in an industry where we supply to charities among others and it always amazes me that it is the charities that want all the bells and whistles for their staff, whereas public sector and commercial customers go for the plaain simple options to keep costs low. Some charities are awash with money - others struggle. I do not now contribute to charities like NSPSCC, Giude dogs for the Blind or STC for that reason, but give to better run and locally acountable organisations.

nametaken-child abuse may be just as bad. that is not the nspccs fault.

however now if a child is abused/cruelly treated whatever there is someone for them to turn to, there is support, there is someone to take legal action etc-which there certainly wasn't 100 years ago.

there are bad people-twas ever thus and twill ever be.

what counts is how we deal with it.

Same as anything though isn't it? Lots of private sector organisations have pots of money, lovely benefits and high salaries.

Many other private sector organisations struggle, pay low salaries and only the basic minimum benefits.

Public sector obviously doesn't vary as much but benefits by and large are much better, especially pensions.

Voluntary sector again some have more money than others, but decisions about what benefits to offer/how much to contribute to pension schemes are broadly taken commercially like anywhere else, with a view to competing in the job market with other similar charities and balancing that against income received and the proportion of income it is thought acceptable and appropriate to spend on that kind of expense.

You know, I am not sure child abuse is as bad as it was 124 years ago. In those days, beating a child so as to cause genuine injuries was still something respectable people could do, something that wouldn't ruin your social status if the neighbours found out. There has been a big change in attitude since.

Of course, there is still lots of hidden abuse going on and it's a terrible thing, but all the evidence suggests that a far smaller proportion of children are affected. The difference is that we react with shock and horror when we see a bruised and bleeding child. 124 years ago that would have been a far more normal sight.

When I was younger living in a flat after being in a refuge the NSPCC kindly donated £1000 worth of toys to the flats we lived in. The other kids broke them, and they went in the bin within a few weeks.
Ive not forgotten it and dont donate to them what a PURE waste of money...with good intent obviously..but

I think child abuse is as bad, but vastly different today

these days people agree that hitting a child is bad (beyond smacking- no agreement there yet), kids have somewhere to go, someone to tell. That people know about sexual abuse at all is massive

Personalli I believe childline made a significant conntrivbution but they have all played their part

what was the stat on the news- 3000 kids helped after neighbours reported abuse to nspcc last year? (number may be out)

thank god