Our impact
Every young person deserves a safe, happy childhood. One where they can make friends, get an education, and feel good about themselves, their lives, and their futures. That’s why we fight alongside young people, our partners, and our supporters for local and national change. For more than 140 years, we’ve been here for young people when they need us most. Together, we’re a powerful community. Together, we can create a society that works for all children.
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The Children's Society's impact on children and young people
We work with young people across the country to help them transform their lives. Our services are as varied as the experiences of the young people we meet. We listen to them, so that we can make sure they get the right support at the right time – boosting their wellbeing, protecting them from harm, and making sure they can access the essentials.
We’re here when they need us, and through our campaigning and influencing work, we’re fighting for the local and national change we need to create a society that works for all children.
You make all this possible – our volunteers, campaigners, and supporters. Whether you give your time, lend your voice to our campaigns, or support us financially, you’re making a real difference for young people.
Every young person deserves a safe, happy childhood. One where they can make friends, get an education, and feel good about themselves, their lives, and their futures. We’re a powerful community. And we’ll keep going until we’ve built a brighter future for all young people.
facts about our impact
72,016
young people were reached through our services in 2022/23 (an increase of 12.9%).
177,318
people stood alongside young people through volunteering, donating, fundraising, and campaigning.
13,696
supporters took campaign actions with us to call for change for young people.
our impact with young refugees
"I had someone that listened. I feel much better." "I had someone that listened. I feel much better."
– young person
Our work during a cost of living crisis
We’ve all faced big challenges over the past few years and, as the cost of living crisis continues, children and their families are under huge pressure. It’s more important than ever before that our services are here for young people – now, when they need us most.
Children are facing increased risks of exploitation, abuse, and neglect as families struggle to afford the essentials. Our Good Childhood Reports show that life is still getting harder for too many children. Their wellbeing and happiness are suffering.
This isn’t right. Children’s lives should be getting easier, not harder. That’s why we’re continuing to do all that we can to support the UK’s young people, today and tomorrow.
The services we offer are as varied as the young people we work with, incorporating everything from one-to-one therapy to group sessions, sports to drama, education to participation. At every stage, we listen to young people when they tell us what they need.
facts about our work in lockdown
5,865
parents and carers supported by our services.
3,200+
people joined our work by volunteering.
4,300+
people took up our calls to action on key issues like the cost of living crisis and mental health.
There is a light
There is a light
When Rosie was 11 her dad was gone from her life almost entirely. To cope, Rosie turned to self-harm. She even tried to take own life. After getting the help she needed from one of our specialist practitioners she turned a corner. Now she feels like a new person.
Children's health and emotional wellbeing
Across the country, too many young people are suffering unseen and unheard. They’re facing overwhelming challenges. In the wake of the pandemic and amidst high living costs and global instability, support services are struggling to meet young people’s needs.
Hundreds of thousands of children in England sought help for mental health challenges in the year ending March 2024. According to the latest available figures, close to a third of children in the UK are living in poverty. The Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse estimates that at least one in 10 children in England and Wales are sexually abused before the age of 16, and every year thousands of young people classed as in need are exploited by criminals. Children cannot wait any longer for support. Their childhoods are being destroyed and their futures are under threat.
A brighter future is possible. For more than 140 years, we have been here for young people, helping them to thrive, not just survive. Now, it’s time for all of us to step up, speak out, and stand alongside young people. Together, we can build a society for all children.
facts about system change
3,721
children and young people supported through one-to-one and small group work by crisis support services.
7,892
children and young people reached through events delivered by crisis support services.
our impact with exploitation
She listened to everything I said and took it in. She listened to everything I said and took it in.
– young person
Direct support
We aim for young people to leave our services feeling happier, more confident, and more hopeful about their futures, as well as knowing that they have been listened to. We help them to better understand and cope with their emotions and to move towards their goals. And we work to make sure that they’re safe and able to recognise people and situations that might be dangerous.
In all our work, we listen to young people’s experiences and views as we shape our services, improving continuously by building on their feedback and insights. We work in partnership with them and with local and national organisations like the police, social services, community groups, charities, and others, taking a multi-agency approach to make sure that our services offer the most effective support possible.
facts about young refugees
97%
of children supported by our services reported that they were happy with the support they received
92%
said the service had helped or improved their situation
Access to the essentials
We are improving professionals’ understanding and practice so young people’s needs are recognised and responded to. We’re shaping formal guidance and procedures so that children’s rights are protected in decision-making.
And we’re advocating for more financial resources to be allocated for young people, to ease pressure on individual families and make sure that relevant services can cope with need.
Our high-quality, well-respected research informs and underpins this work, pageas do the insights and experiences shared with us by young people and practitioners. Taken together, these provide the foundations for strong and deep partnership work at both local and national levels. Our new impact measurement framework will also help us improve how we understand the systemic change we make.
facts about children's mental health
1,242
awareness raising events delivered by services.
£8 million
secured in government funding to support the expansion of early support hubs nationwide for children and young people.
It felt like I could talk to my support worker about anything. It felt like I could talk to my support worker about anything.
Building a brighter future
Our work is grounded in our relationships – with partners, professionals, government, young people themselves, and, crucially, our supporters. Every year, they stand alongside young people with incredible generosity, funding our work, staffing our shops, raising vital funds, and joining our campaigns. They truly do make our work possible and we know just how powerful they can be.
By building on our existing supporter base to create a groundswell of support for young people, we can shift public attitudes and mobilise people and organisations nationwide to take action on children’s behalf.
We do this in a range of ways – through campaigns and fundraising, volunteering, digital and traditional media, and more. In every instance, we aim to build our audiences’ awareness and understanding of young people’s needs and experiences.
Campaigning is a vital part of this work, mobilising our supporters to join our calls for change. This year, we launched campaign actions for three campaigns: A Fairer Start for Care Leavers;44 Children at the Table; and #SaveCrisisSupport. We have big plans to continue to grow our supporter base and impact in 2024/25.
