A campaign aimed at helping to keep children safe from abuse will be highlighted with a week of activities across Wales.

The first Talk PANTS Cymru Week, organised by NSPCC Cymru, will take place from January 27, with schools, nurseries, professionals and community groups taking part.

Pantosaurus, the charity’s friendly dinosaur mascot, will be visiting a number of schools across Wales and making an appearance on S4C’s Cyw programme, to ensure children are empowered to speak up if anything makes them feel upset or worried.

The week, which follows the NSPCC’s successful Talk PANTS Day Cymru last year, will focus on supporting parents, carers and professionals to have simple and age-appropriate conversations, that can help them keep children safe from sexual abuse.

Rhys Beaven, Local Campaigns Officer at NSPCC Cymru, said: “The idea of holding Talk PANTS Cymru Week is to highlight how Talk PANTS can support everyone with caring responsibilities to help keep children safe.

“Sharing messages to help keep children safe from child sexual abuse might feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.

“Talk PANTS has been created specifically, with the help of parents and professionals, to make sure these conversations are as easy and appropriate as possible for children.”

Around 200 schools, nurseries, professionals and community groups have signed up to take part in the week already.

The presenters of S4C’s Cyw will also be visiting a school for a special reading of the NSPCC’s book, Pantosaurus and the Power of PANTS, which has been translated into Welsh.

The NSPCC has free bilingual lesson plans and resources to help children understand in an age-appropriate way that their body belongs to them, they have the right to say no and they can speak out if anything does not feel right.

Information sessions for professionals are being held in the run up to the week, providing an opportunity to learn more about Talk PANTS resources and how to use them.

The NSPCC is encouraging parents, carers and teachers to go online and check out its free Talk PANTS resources.

The PANTS acronym was created to give parents an easy way to approach the subject. It stands for:

Pantosaurus has supported more than six million parents to Talk PANTS and help keep children safe from sexual abuse across the UK since 2013.

While it is never the responsibility of a child to keep themselves safe from sexual abuse, talking PANTS with the assistance of Pantosaurus helps children recognise when something is not okay, and how to tell a safe adult who they trust.

To learn more about the NSPCC’s Talk PANTS campaign and the Underwear Rule, visit the charity's website and search for ‘Talk PANTS.’

For more information about Talk PANTS Cymru Week, email [email protected].