- 1 in 7 parents in the UK say they will struggle to afford a coat/clothing to keep their child warm this winter.
- Barnardo’s believes there could be 300,000 children in the UK facing the coldest months without a winter coat.
- Actress Dame Helen Mirren backs support for Barnardo’s, saying “too many families will be dreading the festive season.”
Barnardo’s believes there could be 300,000 children in the UK without a winter coat – and around 2.2 million parents struggling to afford a warm coat or clothing for their children this winter.
The children’s charity has calculated the figures based on its new YouGov survey which found that around one in seven parents in the UK (15%) say they will struggle to afford a coat or warm clothing that will keep their child or children warm this winter*.
One in 50 children in the UK (2%) aged 6 to 15 say they do not have a winter coat. Meanwhile around one in eight (12%) who do have a coat are worried that it won’t keep them warm this winter.
YouGov surveyed 1,132 parents (of children aged 18 and under) and 1,016 children aged 6-15 in the UK last month. It also found that around one in six parents (18%) worry that their child’s coat or clothing may not keep them warm this winter – but it is all they can afford.
Every year Barnardo’s supports thousands of children and families across the UK who are struggling through its child poverty fund. Between November 2024 and February 2025 half of the applications the charity received for support from the fund were for clothing**.
Examples included:
- A mum and her two girls, aged one and three, who had to flee their South Yorkshire home due to domestic abuse. They had to leave all their belongings behind, and the girls desperately needed warms coats and clothes. Barnardo’s support provided new coats and warm pyjamas.
- A worker in Essex became concerned over the welfare of one five-year-old girl from a family struggling with a low income and mental health problems. The girl had no coat, warm clothing or school shoes and had to make her own way to school. Barnardo’s support meant not only was she warm, but also safe, had more dignity and the chance to play with friends at lunchtime.
In a recent survey of Barnardo’s frontline staff, 400 out of 870 workers (46%) who responded said they had witnessed children, families and parents going without essential clothing.
Scarlet, 17, lives with her siblings and parents in Plymouth. Her mum is disabled and her father is her full time carer. Scarlet is being supported by Barnardo’s and attends cooking sessions where she learns to cook affordable, nutritious meals which she can take home to her family.
She said: “Every year it’s an issue that we don’t have winter coats - because we grow, because we’re young, and because we don’t have many, they get worn constantly, so they get worn out. I remember going to school in a thin cardigan shivering. As you get older the coats get more expensive. The last few years we’ve had coats from charity shops.
“We’ve had loads of hands me downs from my older sister. My younger sister gets all my hands me downs. They get tattier and tattier as they get handed down.
“Last winter was really difficult for heating our home. My mum is disabled and she gets a lot worse in the cold. We had to keep our heating up more than we usually would. We have loads of mould in the house - we also have cracks in the loft that are blowing in cold air down.
“My family and I have used food banks. I volunteered at a food bank in 2023 to 2024. If you go to those kinds of places, you realise how much worse it can be.”
Dame Helen Mirren, actress and Barnardo’s ambassador said:
“When families are living from hand to mouth, as so many families are in the UK even today, it just takes one thing to go wrong, and they can be in a crisis. Parents always try to protect their children and keep them fed and warm. I grew up after the war and for us money was always very, very tight, but I was lucky because my father didn’t get ill and didn’t have to stop working. It’s heartbreaking that so many children will be hungry and cold this winter, and too many families will be dreading the festive season. That’s why Barnardo's is helping families keep the heating on and the fridge full.”
Barnardo’s is calling on the public to help it support children in poverty by donating via https://www.barnardos.org.uk/ and also and dropping off any unwanted, pre-loved children’s winter coats to their local Barnardo’s charity shop.
Barnardo’s chief executive Lynn Perry said:
“It’s simply not right that across the UK, too many children are facing a harsh winter without the basics they need to stay warm, healthy and hopeful.
“Behind the sparkle of the festive season we know there will be children worrying about having enough to eat, making do with a coat that’s too small and feeling left out of the celebrations.
“That’s why this winter and all year round, Barnardo’s supports children and their families to keep the power on and the fridge stocked, helping with the essentials to ease some of the worry. We couldn’t do this without the generous support from the public.
“By donating to Barnardo’s today, you can help to give Christmas back to children living in poverty.”
Notes to Editors:
*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.
Total sample size of children survey was 1,016 children aged 6 to 15. Fieldwork was undertaken between 24th - 30th October 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK children aged 6 to 15.
Total sample size of parents survey was 1,132 parents of children aged 18 and under. Fieldwork was undertaken between 28th - 30th October 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults.
Populations extrapolations are based on the ONS data Families and households in the UK: 2024 published July 2025 using 14,213,000 as the number of children in the UK and 14,688,000 as the number of parents. The figures presented from the online surveys have been analysed independently by Barnardo’s. The views expressed here are not the views of YouGov.
**Barnardo’s has a child poverty fund to help families it already supports to access the essentials. Half (50%) of the 2,235 applications between 11 November 2024 until 24 February 2025 included ‘access to suitable clothing’ as a reason.