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Impact Report 2024/25

Action for Children supports vulnerable children, young people and families across 342 UK services. In 2024-25, 551,400 people were reached — including 484,650 through family support, 50,869 for mental health and wellbeing, and 10,740 disabled children. 88% of parents improved parenting skills, 91% of children in care had improved home stability, and £17.9m was raised by supporters. Total income was £163.4m.

Report snapshot
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About

Family support (children's centres, family hubs, Parent Talk, young carers, early intervention, criminal exploitation); children in care (fostering, children's homes, youth housing); disabled children short breaks and residential care; mental health (Blues Programme, Bouncing Back, Sidekick app); policy and campaigning

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 551,400 children, young people and families supported across 342 UK services in 2024-25
Key Metric 2 £17.9m raised through fundraising; 84p in every £1 spent directly on children and families
Key Metric 3 50,869 children and young people supported with mental health and wellbeing; 10,740 disabled children and young people supported

Key Outcomes

  • 88% of parents improved parenting skills and confidence; 89% of families managing better financially with support
  • 91% of children and young people in care had improved stability in home lives; 200 care leavers helped to move on successfully in 2024-25
  • 87% of young people in Bouncing Back programme felt more confident; 83% of Blues Programme participants can now talk about their mental health

Geography

UK-Wide

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
440,000+ young people aged 4-18 active members across 7,000 Groups
Key Metric 2
140,000 volunteers supporting the movement across the UK
Key Metric 3
373 Sections opened or re-energised in England between April 2024 and March 2025
0.3% overall growth in young people (ages 4-18), driven by 31% increase in Squirrel Scouts (5,200 young people)
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
55,000 foster carers and 370 fostering service providers as members across the UK
Key Metric 2
45 new Fostering Friendly Employers recruited, bringing the scheme to over 680,000 employees across the UK
Key Metric 3
95 Fostering Wellbeing Pioneers in Wales offering peer support and mentoring to fellow foster carers
191 children and young people engaged in outdoor adventure weeks through the Fostering Attainment and Achievement programme in Northern Ireland
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
91,000 young people supported across 24 countries in 2024/25, including 67,368 in the UK
Key Metric 2
Over 70% of the 25,500 young people who completed Employment and Enterprise programmes achieved a positive outcome
Key Metric 3
Education programmes engaged 63,000 young people (69% of the total), the largest share of delivery
In the UK, 71% of Employment and Enterprise completers achieved a positive outcome, including 39% into employment or self-employment
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
851 students supported through the In2STEM programme in 2024, from 2,036 applications
Key Metric 2
27,447 hours of in-person STEM placement experience provided to participants
Key Metric 3
94% of participants know what it means to work in STEM after the programme, up from 69% beforehand
97% of alumni who applied to university were successfully offered a place, based on UCAS data from 1,760 alumni