Our Strategy
We want to rewrite the future of vulnerable children across the UK. Find out how our strategy will help us achieve this
A lot has changed since we began in 1869, but our ambition – to give children safe and happy childhoods – shines just as bright.
We’ve applied all of our experience and expertise to develop our ambitious new strategy to help more vulnerable children, young people and their families.
The strategy focuses on developing our services in four core areas: family support, children in care, disabled children, and mental health and wellbeing.
Our seven goals will help us become stronger and more sustainable, so we can ensure more children are safe and happy.
Our strategic goals
1. Grow our services to help more children and young people
- Deliver targeted growth in our four core service areas, whilst building financial stability:
- Expand our family support services.
- Grow the number of children’s homes.
- Develop our disability services.
- Extend our mental and emotional health services.
2. Increase the impact of our work with children and young people
- Continue to improve our services focusing on impact, quality, and innovation.
- Develop a new impact assessment framework.
- Gain external accreditation for our high standards.
3. Influence policy decisions to improve the lives of children and young people
- Build our evidence base to influence public policy.
- Increase the impact of our campaigns and influencing activities, building public support and political backing both locally and nationally.
- Integrate the voices of children and young people into all our work.
4. Attract, develop, and retain brilliant staff and volunteers
- Become an inclusive and pro-actively anti-racist charity, where all staff and volunteers can proudly be themselves.
- Enable colleagues to achieve their potential supported by professional development.
- Develop our leaders, championing a culture and behaviours which are positive and fair, with a focus on wellbeing and opportunities for all.
- Build our reputation as a great place to work.
5. Inspire greater support for our vision and mission
- Create one Action for Children family ensuring everything we do helps deliver more safe and happy childhoods.
- Work collaboratively to develop campaigns, content, and communications that drive awareness and engagement.
- Engage our staff, supporters and networks to champion our cause and fundraising efforts.
6. Increase our financial contribution from fundraising, nurseries and childcare
- Evolve and develop our fundraising activities, taking a digital first approach, and scale up our campaigns to generate more funds.
- Grow our capabilities to raise income from legacies, major donors, trusts, and partnerships.
- Increase our high quality nursery and childcare services.
7. Deliver best value for children and young people by improving efficiency
- Simplify, automate, and integrate our technology and processes to reduce workload for staff and lower costs.
- Replace our finance, people, and children’s services recording systems.
- Make the best use of our property portfolio.
Our ambition is big. But we believe in the passion and ability of everybody in the Action for Children family to give more vulnerable children a safe and happy childhood.
