Campaign with us

We are building a better future for children and young people across the UK.

Sometimes we need to take a stand on behalf of the children and young people we support. 

This means calling for changes to the law, policy, or practice that will improve children’s lives and the systems around them. 

We listen to the views of the children and young people we support, as well as the insights from our frontline services. We then make recommendations to the Government and other policy-makers about how they can change children’s lives for the better. But we can't do this alone.

Get involved with our campaigns

  • A young girl looks hungrily at some food

    Child poverty

    More than one in four children in the UK are living in poverty and the cost-of-living crisis will make this worse as families struggle to pay their bills. That's about eight children in every classroom. It shouldn't be this way. No child should grow up in poverty. 

  • A teenage girl walking down a school corridor with a Barnardo's support worker

    Ask the government to provide mental health support in all schools

    Supporting children and young people’s mental health is vital to prevent long-term health, social and financial impacts into adulthood. Barnardo’s are calling on the Government to implement mental health support teams (MHSTs) to cover every school and college throughout England.

  • A young woman stares out of a bus window

    Free bus travel for care leavers

    Many care leavers find leaving foster or residential care a lonely and isolating experience. However due to the cost of bus passes, travel to meet with family and friends can feel like a luxury. That’s why we are calling on the government to fund free bus travel for all care leavers aged 18-25 in England.

How your support helps us make change

Signing our online petitions help us show politicians that these are issues you care about. We work to influence politicians to listen to the voices of children and young people we support. You can also help us by sharing our campaigns with others, as well as donating if you’re able, to help us continue to run our life-changing services. 

Our campaign successes

  • Actress Michelle Collins, Barnardo's CEO Lynn Perry and young people Jake and Dasha stand with a petition in front of the door of 10 Downing Street

    Free school meal petition

    We handed in our 32,000 strong petition calling for free school meals for all primary school children in England to Downing Street. We were joined by actress Michelle Collins and Jake and Dasha who have worked with Barnardo's.

  • A group of young people stand by a bus

    Free bus travel for care leavers

    Our petition on free bus travel for care-experienced young people helped secure a debate in parliament, a visit by Transport Minister Richard Holden to find out more about our pilot scheme in Cornwall, and has been successful in persuading councils such as Cornwall and Birmingham to introduce their own local schemes. Next stop the whole of England!

  • A girl sits in the dark holding her head looking at a mobile phone

    Online pornography

    We estimate that children could access pornography over 50 million times in the next three years. We sent a letter to Mindgeek calling for them to do more to keep children safe from harmful pornography. 

  • Our policy work 

    Based on evidence-based research we call for improvements to the law, policy, or practice that will help change children’s lives and the systems around them for the better. Find out more about our latest research.

  • Blog

    Find out more about our services and the work we do. 

  • Donate to support our work

    Donate today, or set up a regular donation to help support us continue our important work.