Action for Children

History

The first "Children's Home" was founded in 1868 by Methodist minister Thomas Bowman Stephenson who had been moved by the fate of street children in London. The first home was a renovated stable in Church Street, Waterloo. The first two boys were admitted on 9 July 1869. In 1871 the home was moved to Bonner Road, Lambeth, and girls were admitted. The home was approved by the Wesleyan Methodist Conference in the same year. A year later, in 1872, a second home was opened in Edgworth, Lancashire. An emigration scheme was set up in 1873 and a branch in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada opened.

The homes were divided into small family units run by a "house mother" and "house father" which was in marked contrast to the large institutions and workhouses common at the time. Training was also an important aspect. A childcare course was set up in 1878 and the graduates of this program were called "the Sisterhood" or "the Sisters of the children" went on to work in the Children's Home.

An Industrial School at Milton, Gravesend was taken over in 1875 and a children's refuge in Ramsey on the Isle of Man was taken over in 1882. With the opening of the Princess Alice Orphanage in Birmingham the Home was renamed to "Children's Home and Orphanage".

Further properties in Alverstoke, Hampshire, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, Frodsham in Cheshire, Bramhope, near Leeds were acquired and by 1908, the charity had grown to become the "National Children's Home and Orphanage".

In 1913 work began on a large site in Harpenden which would be home to over 200 children, with a print works for apprentices. It became the Head Office.

Many other new branches and schools were founded, including the first residential nursery branch in Sutton Coldfield in 1929 and the First Scottish branch in Glasgow in 1955.

It became an adoption agency in 1926 and expanded to work outside the UK in 1969, supporting children's social care development in southern Africa, the Caribbean and Central America.

The charity changed its name to "NCH Action for Children " in 1994 and to "Action for Children" in September 2008. The name changes reflected a shift away from providing children's homes (most of which have now closed) to a wider range of services.

Projects and services

Action for Children works in partnership with statutory bodies to deliver services for children, young people and their families in five main areas:

Family support

Action for Children is a major provider of family support services, and works in partnership with local authorities across the UK. The aim is to facilitate early intervention and then offer long term help, so families can stay together if possible. This is provided through children's and family centres, parenting programmes and targeted intervention initiatives, often with the hardest to reach groups in the community.

Disability

Action for Children runs specialist projects for disabled children and those with learning and behavioural difficulties. These include residential care, short breaks and respite care services, keyworker support for families and carers, and advocacy work to help young disabled people transition into adulthood.

Children in care

Action for Children is a registered adoption agency and also provides fostering schemes. Its intensive fostering services act as an alternative to custodial sentences for young people, challenging their behaviour and often enabling them ultimately to return to their birth families. The charity also runs a growing number of small residential units for children and young people, as well as supporting young people leaving care and moving into independent living.

Support for young people

Action for Children works with the most disadvantaged young people in society. Issues these youngsters may face include alcohol and substance misuse, anti-social behaviour, homelessness, unemployment and poor educational attainment. Other services offer support for young carers, teenage parents, victims of sexual abuse and those leaving young offenders institutions. This support is provided through a range of services which offer counselling, help with housing and benefits, access to training and education, basic skills tuition, mediation and mentoring.

Education

Action for Children runs a number of schools for children and young people with disabilities, profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) and challenging behaviour (including social or emotional problems). The charity's aim is to offer a secure environment in which to facilitate educational, social and personal development adapted to pupils' individual abilities. The schools offer both residential placements and day care.

Research

Action for Children carries out and commissions research into issues around children, young people and families.

Recent reports include Child neglect in 2011, The Red Book, and Children and the Big Society. The charity also produces a yearly Impact Report which details research findings on the outcomes and cost effectiveness of the its work supporting children and young people.

Campaigning

Action for Children campaigns and lobbies governments on behalf of vulnerable, disadvantaged and neglected children and young people and their families.

Currently, the charity's main campaign is called "Take your action for children" and aims to raise public awareness of child neglect, an issue which studies suggest affects up to 10 per cent of all UK children.

Another recent campaign was On our own two feet, which aimed to reinstate savings accounts for children in care following the abolition of the Child Trust Fund.

The campaign was successful, directly leading to the establishment of the coalition government's Junior ISA (Individual Savings Account) scheme, which commits the government to invest £16.75 million up to 2015 to ensure that every child in care for more than a year has a Junior ISA opened on their behalf. More than 55,000 children and young people will benefit in the first year.

As a consequence of its success, the campaign won the John Antcliffe Award for best public affairs campaign.

Fundraising

Action for Children raises money through corporate partnerships, fundraising events (such as sponsored runs) and through its partnership with the British Methodist Church.

The charity is also involved with several large fundraising events, including Byte Night – an IT industry event which raises money to prevent youth homelessness, and Never Mind The Business – a music-based quiz night for businesspeople.

The Big Egg Hunt is the charity's latest fundraising activity. The largest ever Easter egg hunt took place in London in the Spring of 2012, in partnership with Faberge and Elephant Family.

200 artists, celebrities and designers have created and painted meter high fibreglass eggs, which was placed in selected locations around central London. The public were then encouraged to find the eggs and text their location. Auctions of the eggs following the end of the hunt were designed to also benefit the charity.

Partnerships & Affiliations

Action for Children is a founding member of Fostering Through Social Enterprise (FtSE), a consortium of voluntary and non profit fostering agencies that advocate for children in respect of regulation, as well as representing its membership at central government level.