National Children’s Bureau 22/23 review

As the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) celebrates its 60th year in 2023, we continue to bring people and organisations together to drive change in society and deliver a better childhood across the UK.

This year there were a number of important milestones for NCB centred around our core purpose to amplify the voices of children and young people and deliver lasting change for future generations.

We played a leading role in the reforms to the children’s social care system, delivered training and CPD to Special Educational Needs and Education (SEND) practitioners through our umbrella body the Council for Disabled Children, and helped to deliver a new pilot scheme to train thousands of staff on how to support children and young people who are struggling with their mental health.

We placed the voices and lived experiences of babies, children, young people and families at the heart of service delivery, research and policy.  This included facilitating a meeting between care-experienced young people and the Secretary of State for Education, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Children’s Commissioner for England. We also brought together more than 100 children and young people with SEND to enable them to participate in decision-making at local and national levels.

NCB’s specialist family members also played a key role in paving the way for a better childhood. Our Anti-Bullying Alliance extended their services into Northern Ireland where they will continue to help stop bullying and create safer environments in which children and young people can live, grow, play and learn.

Our Lambeth Early Action Partnership in south London hosted a series of ‘Warm Hubs’ during the winter months, supporting families struggling with the cost-of-living-crisis with a hot meal and the chance to engage in activities with their babies whilst accessing services and support from local providers.

One of our most notable moments from the last year was a once-in-a-generation policy win for our Childhood Bereavement Network who secured a major change to bereavement benefits after a 10-year-long campaign. As a result of their tireless campaigning, around 21,000 families who were previously denied support because the parents weren’t married or in a civil partnership will now be able to make retrospective claims and around 1,800 more grieving families will be able to access support each year.

It is through your donations that we can continue to tackle the multi-faceted challenges faced by children and families. Your support makes a real difference to children, young people and families, so thank you for your generosity which means the world to us.

Lawrence is Head of Development at Childlife member charity, National Children’s Bureau