Campaign with us
Join us, take a stand, and raise your voice for better and brighter childhoods
Right now, we’re seeing a system that continues to fail children. Our frontline services see more children at risk of harm, rising numbers of children taken into care, and an increase in child poverty. This isn’t just bad luck. Young people are in crisis, yet vital support services are being cut.
We won’t stop fighting until every child grows up safe and happy. But, alone, our voice isn’t enough.
Change is only possible with supporters like you behind us. Sign a petition, contact your MP, or share our campaigns with friends and family. When you do, you’re joining a movement improving the lives of children in the UK.
Choose a campaign to join us today. In just a few minutes, you can help us make a difference.
The government can no longer remain blind to the 4.3 million children living in poverty. We're calling on them to act now and give every child a fair start in life.
Families facing problems and children in care deserve quality support to help them thrive. We’re calling for a system reset.
The UK could be the best place in the world to grow up. But right now, it isn’t. Too many children are facing huge challenges – and their voices are going unheard.
That’s why we’ve come together with Barnardo’s, The Children’s Society, the National Children’s Bureau and NSPCC.
We want to make sure the next government has a plan to put Children at the Table. We took 27 young people to Parliament in January to launch the campaign.
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Our thousands of campaigners are making a difference – but there’s more to do. Join them.
Hear about our latest campaigns
Our campaigners have acted to change lives. More children are now protected because of these changes to laws and policies. Here’s what we’ve achieved with your support.
- UK law now recognises children affected by domestic abuse as victims in their own right.
- In England and Wales, sustained emotional abuse against children is now a crime.
- In Wales, young people can choose to stay in foster care for longer.
After a breakup, Natalia was left stranded with nowhere to live. Her daughter, Chloe, was just one week old. Alone with a tiny baby – she found herself in a crisis. Natalia spoke to her health visitor, who referred her to a nearby Action for Children family hub. There she met a support worker, Kirsty.
Kirsty worked with the local council to help Natalia find emergency accommodation in a B&B, and eventually a permanent home. Kirsty helped them furnish it using Action for Children Emergency funds.
Even with a home, and after going back to work two days a week, things were still very difficult. After paying her bills and nursery fees, Natalia was left with around £70 a month to live on.
“It was really difficult budgeting with so little in that time and I was using a foodbank every week to make sure Chloe had enough to eat - I still often go without food to make sure she has enough.”
What Natalia and Chloe had to go through just isn’t right. And they’re not alone. Nearly half (45%) of children in single-parent households are living in poverty. Benefits just aren’t high enough to keep families’ heads above water. And with childcare expensive and hard to get hold of, many single parents can’t get into full-time work.
We are campaigning for an end to child poverty. It’s time for the UK government to lift children out of poverty.
What we do
We protect and support children and young people. We make sure their voices are heard. And we campaign to bring lasting improvements to their lives.
Today, we run 426 services in local communities across the UK, in schools and online.
In our nurseries and children's centres, staff make sure children get the best start in life. Our foster and modern residential services find children and young people safe and loving homes.
We step in to protect children from neglect and abuse and help those who care for others. We're also here for parents, through projects like Parent Talk, our online support service.
Our impact
We’ve been helping children for more than 150 years. In 2022/23, we helped 765,905 children, young people and families. This was only possible with your support.
- We’ve helped more than 10,000 children and families during the coronavirus pandemic through frontline services. We kept 99% of our local services open.
- We've supported 88,689 children and young people with their mental health in in 2022/23. 71% of young people on our Blues Programme had indicated an increase in their self-esteem once they completed it.
- We helped more than 101,488 children and families through our children’s centres, early help, and family hubs in 2022/23.
- We've supported 652,357 parents in 2022/23 through our online parenting advice service.
