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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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!
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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.