Our Strategy is guided by four objectives:

Objective 1

Focus our resources on our core mission

Supporting vulnerable children and young people through our vital front-line services addressing their health, wellbeing and safety needs. 

We will: 

• Continue to deliver services that achieve Stronger Families, Safer Childhoods and Positive Futures. 

Focusing on: 

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  •  Early years and early intervention for families 
  • Mental health and wellbeing 
  • Child sexual abuse and exploitation 
  • Children in and leaving care

With a cross-cutting focus on children and young people from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities. 

  •  Respond to new and emerging challenges facing vulnerable children and families, and to changes in the external environment. 

Objective 2

Generate as much net income as we can, to invest in our vital services supporting vulnerable children 

We will: 

• Continue to grow and diversify our voluntary income, alongside our commissioned work. 

• Actively seek opportunities to deliver integrated health and social care work. 

• Actively pursue new ‘for profit’ trading and commercial opportunities to help drive funds directly into service delivery. 

• Maximise the net income from our retail stores; with a sustained focus on reducing costs and improving our margin. This includes developing new superstores. 

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• Focus our fundraising on what delivers significant and measurable benefits in generating income and creating new supporters – for today and for tomorrow. 

• Run efficient support systems and processes, that help to maximise the charity’s effectiveness whilst minimising operating costs. We will focus on using our income strategically, measuring outcomes, and ensuring we are accountable to our donors, partners, and most importantly our service users, through the Barnardo’s Foundation. 

Objective 3

Work with partners to improve the system surrounding vulnerable children and young people

The scale and complexity of the challenges facing vulnerable children and young people is too great for single organisation to address alone. We know that to achieve better outcomes for more children, and to work towards our vision of a society in which no child is turned away from the help they need, we must work in partnership with others. 

We will: 

• Form strategic partnerships, including in the health sector, to achieve long-term sustainable change for vulnerable children. 

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• Invest our funds strategically in services, programmes and partnerships that deliver measurable results. 

• Create an expectation of external match funding from partners. 

• Inform and influence national and local decision-making, based on evidence from our services, and amplify the voice of vulnerable children and young people. 

Objective 4

Invest in our people to become an ‘employer of choice’ in the sector 

It is imperative we keep pace with a fast-changing world where the demand for our services and support to vulnerable children and young people has never been greater. Barnardo’s positive and life-changing impact through the services we provided is enhanced by the expertise, passion, dedication and commitment of our colleagues and volunteers. It is vital that we nurture and invest in our people, providing new opportunities to strengthen and deepen the skills and experience they need, and to shape a workforce which is equipped to deal with the challenges ahead. 

We will: 

• Provide opportunities for continuous learning, development and progression, supported by 

managers and The BU, Barnardo’s corporate university. 

• Develop ongoing and frequent opportunities for engagement and dialogue with our colleagues across the charity and use this information and feedback to inform decisions. 

• Continue to work towards our goal of being a truly inclusive charity, which values the unique qualities of all our colleagues and volunteers, as well as the children, young people and families we support. 

• Develop and enrich our volunteer experience enabling us to attract and retain a diverse group of volunteers who reflect the communities in which we serve.