We know that many of you are worried about the future – which isn’t how it should be. That’s why all of us at Barnardo’s are determined to change the way the system works for you and countless children, young people and families across the UK.
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 policymakers about how they can change children’s lives for the better. But we can't do this alone.
You can make a difference. Check out our campaigns.
Help us make sure the government gives babies and toddlers the foundations they need
We welcomed the ending of the unfair two-child limit on benefit payments and the UK government’s child poverty strategy.
However, with more than four million children still living in poverty, more action is needed to build the foundations that babies and toddlers need to thrive.
We're countering dangerous narratives about misogyny and harmful notions of masculinity
Misogyny isn’t new, but the way children and young people encounter it is.
It’s not ‘just locker room talk’ and it’s not banter – these are quietly normalised, harmful attitudes and behaviours that no child should ever learn to accept. We need to name what the problems are to find real solutions that work. That’s why it’s time to call it what it is.
Help children feel safer, happier, healthier and more hopeful
There are so many ways you can give young people a helping hand. Signing petitions, getting involved in campaigns, donating or just staying in the know about what it’s like to be growing up today. And we’ve made it easy, by putting it all in our monthly community newsletter.
Changing things for the better
Your misogyny isn’t a joke to me
Constant exposure to sexist jokes, harassment, or degrading online content has slowly started to normalise toxic behaviour. It shapes how people think, how they treat others, how safe women and girls feel in everyday life, and how men and boys believe they should act to meet society’s standards.
Hannah, one of our young Call It What It Is campaigners, explains how misogyny is shaping how she’s growing up and what she thinks we need to do about it.
Why we’re calling for a universal baby bundle scheme
The level of child poverty in the UK today remains unacceptably high, with 4 million children still living in poverty. Households where the youngest child is four or under feel this pressure sharply as the arrival of a baby is usually a time when family incomes fall, and costs rise.
Savannah Burney, one of our Senior Policy Advisers, explains how a universal baby bundle scheme to provide essential items and early support could help to transform children’s life chances from day one.
What the Crime and Policing Act means for children’s safety online
Zainab Hannan, our Policy Officer on Online Harms, explains what the Crime and Policing Act does to tackle pornography-related harms, why these changes matter for children, and what further action is needed to help make children safer online.
Find out more
Better childhoods start with better policies
We call for improvements to the law, policy, or practice that will help change young people’s lives (and the systems that shape them) for the better.
Our blog
If you want some advice on supporting a young person, or you want to know what our experts think about the issues affecting children today and how things can change for the better, our blog is a good place to start.
Your donation could change a young person’s life
Donate today, or set up a regular donation to help support us continue our important work.