Hundreds of thousands of Sussex primary school children are being taught how to stand up against child abuse in a new nationwide campaign.

The NSPCC will visit every primary school in the country by 2016 - including more than 600 in Sussex - to help nine to 11-year-olds understand abuse.

The 'Now I Know' appeal, which also aims to raise £20million in funding for the ChildLine School Service, will see children learn about abuse and where to get help if they need it.

The appeal was launched yesterday at Patcham Junior School in Ladies Mile Road, Brighton, where former British Olympic 400m hurdles champion Sally Gunnell was on hand to help kick-start this year's appeal.

She said: “I think it's a fantastic campaign. We all need somebody that we can chat to in life and sometimes kids aren't sure where to turn to.

“But this gives them a real avenue for support. The Childline School Service uses specially trained volunteers to talk to primary school children about abuse and teaches them how to get help.“I think it's time to get this really important message out to parents, to kids and to as many schools in the area as we can.”

Figures from the NSPCC yesterday revealed, on average, at least two children in every classroom of every primary school have suffered abuse or neglect.

But the ChildLine, a service provided by the NSPCC, says the majority of children who contact its helpline are aged 11 and over and often talk about abuse months or even years after it happened.

Amanda Rocca, ChildLine schools service area co-ordinator, said at the Patcham launch yesterday: “The service has proved incredibly popular with parents and teachers.

“A total of 99 per cent of schools across the UK who provided feedback last year claimed their pupils' knowledge of child abuse and bullying was enhanced as a result, while 91 per cent said their pupils were now more aware of who to talk to if they felt unsafe.

“We want children to be able to say 'now I know' and not 'I wish I had known.'”

Schools wanting to find out more information about the service should contact Amanda Rocca on 07795 475 827 or email Amanda.rocca@nspcc.org.uk