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  • 243165
    Disadvantaged children engaged
  • £ 7.18 M
    Raised to fund projects
  • 209
    Projects delivered
Data from past 12 months

Our Vision

We believe that every child should have a healthy, happy and safe childhood so that all children are well prepared for life, breaking the cycle of poverty.

 

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Child Poverty

Child poverty in London is about more than income. For many children, poverty can mean uncertainty, stress, hunger, loneliness, boredom, poor health and a lack of opportunities. The most disadvantaged children fall at least two years behind their peers when they come to sit their GCSEs.

Our work is focused on helping children living in poverty to overcome the many disadvantages caused by poverty. London children are much more likely to live in poor households and are less likely to be able to afford everyday items than children in the rest of England. 55% of poor children in London are materially deprived compared to 44% in the rest of England.

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Refugee Children in London - Supporting children from Ukraine

The charity sector in London is prepared, ready and waiting to welcome and support children from Ukraine however, the UK Government’s slow pace of issuing visas means that thousands of children are forced to wait weeks and months to enter the UK and receive support, whilst charities in London are ready now. Our new research documents the preparedness of the charity sector in London to receive and support children from the Ukraine, and highlights the critical role our work plays in meeting the needs of refugee children and young people.

Our research surveyed 21 of our charity partners, currently supporting a total of 34,765 children, of which 2,127 are refugees. Of these, on average 18% of the children they support are refugees from 28 different countries. This reflects the current global socio-political climate, with just over half of all supported children originating from Afghanistan, with a high proportion of children from Eritrea, Syria, Ethiopa, Somalia, Iran and Iraq also finding sanctuary in London.

Read The Report

Young filmmakers highlight food poverty and London's housing crisis

As part of our mission to promote the voices of children and young people, we worked in partnership with the Octavia Foundation and a group of young people to produce two films in the summer of 2021. These films highlight some of the many challenges facing children and young people in London such as inadequate housing and food insecurity. The young people wrote, produced, shot, and edited these films with no prior experience. Both films were premiered at our London Child Poverty Summit in October 2021.

Can't Let Them In

18-year-old Ahmed lives with his parents and younger sister in a cramped one-bedroom flat. When an escalating leak seeps into the lower floor, it draws the attention of their furious neighbours as well as the imposing council. Riddled with shame in his circumstance, Ahmed refuses to answer or let them in... But with his innocent and curious sister in the flat with him, the knocking at the door becomes harder to ignore.

In The Music

14-year-old Desha is a timid young girl, obsessed with escaping reality in the world of her mixtapes - and it is with the help of her mixtapes that after getting herself in detention, she puts into action her plan to dress in a convert disguise and steal a keyboard from her school... But why is this shy young girl having to steal a keyboard?

Every child should have a healthy, happy and safe childhood so that all children are well prepared for life, breaking the cycle of poverty.

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Recent News

28,451 presents donated to vulnerable children via our Met Christmas Tree Appeal

The Met Christmas Tree Appeal is run in partnership with the Metropolitan Police over the festive...

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Our Christmas Challenge 2021 raised over £3.75 million for children living in poverty in London

This year’s Christmas Challenge was The Childhood Trust’s biggest campaign, raising over £3.75...

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What is the Christmas Challenge and why is it important?

The Christmas Challenge is one of the two match-funding campaigns that The Childhood Trust runs...

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