About UK

What we're addressing in the UK?

Save the Children exists to help every child reach their full potential. Growing up in poverty in the UK can have a devastating impact on children’s vital early learning and development years.

We believe that improving the early development of children is the most effective way to strengthen their futures, and understanding the underlying causes of children’s early learning and long-term development is key.

To improve the life chances of children living in poverty, we are focussing on three strands for families: the home learning environment; parental engagement; and the community support children receive growing up.

This will enable us to address embedded challenges and sustainably impact children’s early learning, which is key to their speech, language, and communication and social and emotional development. We will use the evidence gained from tackling the root causes, to refine and scale up to advocate for wider national policy changes and achieve long-term and sustainable change.

South East

We support Save the Children programmes within Margate, Kent. Margate has one of the highest child poverty rates within Kent. Save the Children aims to make a sustainable difference to the lives of children growing up in poverty, by taking a whole-system and evidence-based approach to improving early learning outcomes.

By bringing together and supporting schools, statutory bodies, local charities, parents and children in communities, and looking at the root causes of issues affecting outcomes in these communities. Save the Children seeks to help communities make a sustainable difference to the lives of children growing up in poverty.

Photo credit: Save the Children

Wales

Almost 1 in 3 children still live-in poverty in Wales. Together with Save the Children we’re giving children the support they need to grow, develop, and learn. To ensure children get the best start in life, we support families in some of Wales' most deprived communities. Save the Children teams work with education, health, and social care partners to deliver a range of programmes.

Bettws is an estate on the edge of the city of Newport in South Wales and it’s the base of our Welsh Early Learning Community. It has a high percentage of young families and a strong sense of community and has one of the highest rates of poverty in Wales. Families face many challenges, including accessing services, unemployment and a lack of safe play spaces. There are more children on free school meals compared to the Welsh national average and have additional learning needs, including speech and language, social development, literacy, and maths.

Together with our partners, we’re focusing on improving children’s speech and language outcomes and improving their social and emotional development. This includes involving children in their community, making sure they have safe places to play, helping them transition into school and building their resilience and wellbeing.We’re collecting data and stories from the partners and families we work alongside, to help us learn and build evidence of what works.

Photo credit: Save the Children

North (Sheffield)

Save the Children's work in Sheffield is part of the Early Learning Communities programme, an area-based approach working alongside local partners. By working with disadvantaged communities within Sheffield we want to ensure children have access to local community support, a positive home learning environment and parental engagement which every young child needs.

Photo credit: Save the Children

Scotland

Nearly 1/4 children are affected by poverty. Save the Children aims to give every child the help they need to make their mark, through their programmes and campaigns.

Poverty makes it much harder for a child to achieve their potential at school, and harder for their parents to support their learning. By the time they start school, many children in poverty are already falling behind their classmates. As they grow, this education gap widens and can leave them at an unfair disadvantage. It's a huge challenge for children, teachers and parents.

Through our work with Save the Children we're aiming to give every child in Scotland the support they need to fulfil their potential. The Families Connect programme, for example, empowers parents to create a supportive home environment, so children can achieve their full potential at school and in life.

Photo credit: Save the Children

Belfast

118,000 Northern Irish children live in poverty, over a quarter of the child populace. Together, we are delivering programmes in schools to make a direct impact to children and their families.

We believe all children should have the same chances of succeeding in later life, regardless of their background. Save the Children have been working in Northern Ireland for over 60 years, and we know that poverty is one of the main drivers impacting early learning and development.

Photo credit: Save the Children