AN 'EMPOWERING' talk confronted young classmates with the danger of child abuse and taught them not to suffer in silence.

Pupils at Combe CE Primary School recited a heartfelt chorus after a special NSPCC assembly: "I have the right to speak out and stay safe."

That is the key message at the core of a campaign, which has toured around 240 Oxfordshire schools since 2013 and spread awareness to tens of thousands of potentially vulnerable children.

Combe Primary in West Oxfordshire was the latest to welcome the children's charity's team for assemblies about seeking help to stop child abuse and neglect.

Imogen McCabe, the charity's schools service area coordinator for Oxfordshire, said: "The problem is that children don't know who they can speak to or even know what has happened is abuse.

"We are trying to break down those barriers so they feel empowered to speak up.

"It's also preventative so they can spot signs and make sure it doesn't escalate.

"We want to make sure they know they will be believed and listened to and create a generation of children ready to speak about things."

Miss McCabe led age-appropriate assemblies for Key Stage 1 (ages five-seven) and another for Key Stage 2 (seven-11), then took workshops with older pupils.

She was aided in the assembly by the Speak Out Stay Safe campaign's mascot Buddy, a cartoon-like soft toy shaped as a speech bubble.

Miss McCabe told pupils during an upbeat and interactive assembly: "We don't want children to carry their worries around with them.

"We would really like children to speak out to a grown-up, someone older who they know really well and can trust, to get some help."

Children were taught about the Childline helpline and chanted the phone number (0800 1111) by memory.

Older children were briefed on types of abuse and asked what kind of things might worry a child, with suggestions put forward including 'being scared of someone'.

The school's headteacher Charlie Marshall said: "Our children are very aware of how to keep themselves safe.

"This is about the children and giving them the power back to learn what's right and wrong and know what to do and who to speak to.

"It is so valuable to have someone [visit the school] who is purely there to help and protect them."

Head and deputy head girls and boys Rosie Nicholson, Andrei Lee, Ray Tompkin and Nell Mitchell said they enjoyed the assembly.

Rosie, 11, said: "We learnt a lot from it, because everybody always has a worry and you should always let it out."

The NSPCC tries to visit each partaking school every three years, so children can listen to both assemblies.