We believe all children and young people have unique potential and that they should have the support and opportunities they need to reach it. Action for Children helps nearly 156,000 children, young people and their families through nearly 420 projects across the UK. We also promote social justice by lobbying and campaigning for change.
Today, Action for Children is the leading UK provider of family and community centres, children's services in rural areas, services for disabled children and their families, and services for young people leaving care. We provide services in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and we also support work in Southern Africa, the Caribbean and Central America.
Action for Children supports and speaks out for the most vulnerable children and young people in the UK.
Family Support
All families need help at critical moments. We support children and families with the most difficult problems and are the largest provider of family support services in the UK. Families under stress are often trapped in a difficult situation – on their own with little money and no confidence. This can put children at risk. Our long-term approach – supporting and challenging families – gives families opportunities to turn things around together.
Children in care
Children generally do best when they stay with their families but this is not possible for some. Action for Children runs services right across the UK specifically devoted to helping these vulnerable children to overcome the disadvantages of not living with their birth parents. Action for Children is a registered adoption agency and also provides fostering schemes. Our intensive fostering services act as an alternative to custodial sentences for young people, challenging their behaviour and often enabling them ultimately to return to their birth families. We also run a growing number of small residential units for children and young people, as well as several residential schools, which are able to provide a good education and social support for children with special educational needs.
Our schools
Passionate about potential Action for Children schools are committed to helping children and young people with the most challenging and profound needs to achieve their full potential. Working with local authorities and families, we provide an outstanding, awarding-winning learning environment where all children and young people benefit from an individual approach to their needs from our experienced and caring staff team. Our well-resourced surroundings ensure that even those with the most complex and profound needs achieve positive outcomes.
Young people
We work to help vulnerable young people realise their potential and make a successful transition to adulthood. Some of the young people we work with have mental health, drug or alcohol problems. Others are teenage parents. Many fell behind at school or are excluded. They are all on low incomes. Our projects help them to overcome these difficulties, often by working with specialist local agencies to provide total support. Action for Children provides independent visitors for young people in the care system and, for care leavers, provides emotional support and practical assistance with education, training, and finding and keeping accommodation. We also run community-based programmes for young people who have committed crimes, encouraging young people to take responsibility for their actions and diverting them from high-risk behaviour.
Disabled children
Action for Children works with disabled children, young people and their families because they need specialist help and support, and generally suffer from a wide variation in the quality of services they receive. Across the UK, 29 per cent of disabled children live in poverty and the families of disabled children report particularly high levels of stress and isolation. Our disability services provide disabled children and their families with residential and short break care, help families deal with challenging behaviour, provide specialist education and leisure opportunities, and offer innovative programmes such as the Access to IT project, which uses information technology to enhance disabled children's confidence and their educational and social inclusion.
