This year has offered children glimmers of hope – but 2025 must see tangible change

For children across the UK, 2024 has been another very tough year.

Nine in every classroom are living in poverty, an estimated 1.3 million have a mental health disorder, and record numbers of children are entering local authority care.

We know that children in the UK are getting shorter compared to their peers in other developed countries, that they are experiencing high levels of poor mental health, and that ever-changing risks to safety on and offline are giving parents sleepless nights.

• We descended on Downing Street to demand an end to child poverty. This is what happened
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Over the summer, racist and Islamophobic riots across England and Northern Ireland left many young people feeling unsafe in their communities.

Meanwhile, continuing wars across the world and the impact of climate change add to the sense of uncertainty that has prevailed over the last few years, with children and young people seeing a constant stream of frightening images on their screens.

Although it’s been a year of change, not all of it is unwelcome, including the new government’s commitment to tackling child poverty and improving children’s wellbeing – issues woven into our DNA at Barnardo’s.

So while it’s right that the new government focuses on tackling the root causes of child poverty, we mustn’t lose sight of the need for immediate, tangible change that supports families in the here and now.

While there have been some promising signs, and collaboration across government, we know that real progress will hinge on the spending review expected next spring. Without investment, it just won’t be possible to properly address child poverty, or to give this generation of children and young people the future they deserve.

Research conducted earlier this year for Barnardo’s, along with the other large children’s charities, showed that local councils are now spending far more on crisis support for children and young people than they are on early help for families. That’s unsustainable and the human cost is too high.

If we’re serious about creating opportunities, we must turn this around, and invest in community-based services like family centres and youth work that have the power to transform children’s futures.

Times are challenging for charities too. Funding is increasingly squeezed, just as our costs are rising – especially with the increase in employers National Insurance announced at the budget.

We’re more reliant than ever before on the generosity of our supporters who help us change childhoods and change lives for children up and down the UK.

At Barnardo’s, our colleagues are saying they’ve never seen things this bad. Two-thirds of our frontline workers fear struggling families will be worse off this Christmas than last and more than four in 10 workers are supporting children who don’t have enough food to eat because their families can’t afford it.

For children, poverty means going to school hungry and returning to a cold home come in wintertime, but the impact is far from seasonal. Poverty has long-lasting effects on physical and mental health, which can last long into adulthood.

It steals so much from our children and every year, some children wonder if the festive season is for them. That’s not right and it’s not fair.

All over the UK, here at Barnardo’s, our colleagues are helping to give the festive magic back to children who need it most.

While we support parents with energy bills, food vouchers, beds and essentials, our Christmas gift initiative also provides presents to children so they don’t feel left out of the festive fun.

Young carers who look after ill or disabled family members are having festive trips to the pantomime, going ice skating and visiting Winter Wonderland, while businesses across the country are donating presents.

One young person living in supported accommodation said: “I was so excited to have a sack of presents. I didn’t think I would ever get a sack of presents again. It has brought back the magic of Christmas.”

In the new year, we want to see action from the UK government that will lead to tangible, long-term improvements for families living in poverty.

In particular we want to see the lifting of the two-child limit on key benefits. Four in five two-parent families affected by the cap have at least one working parent and this one action alone could immediately lift close to half a million children out of poverty. It would show children they are seen and heard – that their future matters to those in power.

Barnardo’s will be continuing to support families experiencing poverty, including helping them to access the basics which would otherwise sadly be beyond their reach.

Right now, we’re doing our best to support as many children and families living in poverty as we can – but we can’t do it alone. If you can, please donate to Barnardo’s to keep a child warm and well-fed this festive season.

Lynn Perry is chief executive of Barnardo’s. Find out more about how to support Barnardo’s over the festive season.

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