About Barnardo's

Barnardo's helps the UK's most vulnerable children have a better start in life, and therefore the chance of a better future. As the UK's leading children's charity, we work directly with over 120,000 children, young people and their families every year.

We run 370 vital projects across the UK, including:

§         Family centres and play schemes

§         Fostering and adoption services

§         Care and community projects for disabled children

§         Support for young carers

§         Counselling for children who have been abused or who self harm

§         Advice on substance misuse

§         Help for young people who are being sexually exploited

§         Vocational training for young people

§         Practical help for young people leaving care

§         Befrienders for women and children who have suffered from domestic violence

Every Barnardo’s project is different but each has the same goal: protecting, nurturing and providing opportunities for the most vulnerable children and young people, over the long term, enabling them to transform their lives and fulfil their potential. 

Barnardo's vision is that the lives of all children and young people should be free from poverty, abuse and discrimination. We use the knowledge gained from our direct work with children to campaign for better childcare policy and to champion the rights of every child. By researching what works for our wide range of childcare professionals, and responding to young people’s concerns, we help to offer a better start in life for children and young people across the UK.

Our history

In 1870, Thomas Barnardo opened his first home for children in London’s impoverished East End where boys were given an education and the opportunity to learn a trade. Although Barnardo set up homes, he believed that children should ideally be part of a family and introduced the concept of ‘boarding out’ - a forerunner of fostering. He ran emigration schemes where children had a chance to escape London’s squalor and build a healthy new life. In the 1930’s, the organisation had set out to rescue children and look after their welfare. By the 1960’s a working party had been established to look into the problems faced by black children. The organisation was modernised and multi-racial homes were recommended which took into account all children’s backgrounds, cultures and origins.

In 1968, Barnardo’s decided that children’s homes were not the best place for most children and that in the future, residential care would concentrate on children with disabilities or other problems.

Today, Barnardo’s tackles age-old problems such as homelessness and abuse as well as new issues such as HIV/AIDS. It provides a range of services which offer practical support and advice to young people, children and their families in order to build a better future.