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2025-03-31-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT 2024.25 gARNAADQS

CHANGING CHILDHOODS. CHANGING LIVES.

2 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

CONTENTS

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Welcome from our Chair and Chief Executive 4
Report of the Board of Trustees 6
Strategic Report 7
Impact report: How we made a difference in 2024-2025 7
Financial review 59
Our principal risks and uncertainties 70
Plans for future periods 77
Our Structure, Governance and Management 78
Our Sustainability Report 85
How we meet section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 88
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities 89
Independent Auditor’s Report 91
Financial Statements 96
Consolidated statement of financial activities 97
Balance sheets 98
Consolidated statement of cash flows 99
Consolidated summary income and expenditure account 100
Notes to the Financial Statements 101
Gifts and Grants Received 132
Board of Trustees and Officers 136
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Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 3

Foreword

We are proud to present our Annual Report for 2024-25, which marks the first full year of our current Strategy.

During the year, we reached almost 360,000 children, young people, parents and carers through 669 services and partnerships across the UK.

The report outlines the progress we have made in delivering on our three strategic goals: providing excellent, inclusive services; improving practice, policy and systems; and driving change in attitudes towards childhood – all in the service of children and young people.

With almost one in three children living in poverty, we were sharply focused throughout the year on supporting families who were struggling to afford the basics. For the third year running we opened a special fund for children and parents in our services who needed help to afford food and clothing – or to replace a broken washing machine – life’s essentials which were otherwise out of reach for many. Meanwhile, we published new research on the impact of poverty on children’s health and wellbeing, and we took every opportunity to call for the major changes we know are needed to lift children out of poverty and to transform opportunities for a whole generation.

Beyond this, we continued to provide a wide range of vital, often life-changing services, working hand-in-hand with local authorities, the NHS, central government and corporate partners. The majority of our direct work is focused on community-based help for families – stepping in long before they reach crisis point. We also support children in foster care and residential care, as well as young people leaving the care system, children and young people struggling with their mental health, those who have sought sanctuary in the UK, and those at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation.

In everything we do, we work alongside children and young people – rather than just acting on their behalf – by creating opportunities for those we support to share their views and experiences and to influence the world around them.

In 2024-25 we were honoured to receive the single largest donation in the charity’s history, from the Katherine Martin Charitable Trust, which is specifically for the creation of 50 vital homes for young people leaving foster care or children’s homes, alongside delivering other vital services in the North of England.

This year we continued to operate in an increasingly difficult and complex environment, with high costs, and particular challenges in the retail sector affecting the profitability of our stores. Despite this, 2024-25 also marked our highest ever level of income.

4 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

One of our core values at Barnardo’s is responsible stewardship, and as leaders of the charity, we see ourselves as custodians for the future. We know that in the current environment we must continue to adapt and change to meet the evolving needs of children and young people. We remain focussed on our impact as a charity, and we also know we need to make sure we are efficient and innovative in our ways of working, which is why we will be embracing new tools like AI wherever we can, whilst also keeping a sharp eye on our progress and performance through a new reporting dashboard developed this year.

We are extremely grateful to our partners, supporters and champions, as well as our deeply committed Board of Trustees, and our passionate and talented colleagues. All are united by their belief in Barnardo’s Purpose – to Change Childhoods and Change Lives. It is only thanks to this wider Barnardo’s community that we can continue our vital work, so that children can be safer, happier, healthier and more hopeful.

Mark Wood Chair

Lynn Perry MBE Chief Executive

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 5

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

This includes the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report.

6 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

Strategic Report

Impact Report: How we made a difference in 2024-2025

Progress against our Strategy

Overview

In April 2024, we began a new three-year Strategy, focused on delivering our Purpose and helping to make sure children in the UK are safer, healthier, happier, and more hopeful.

Our new Strategy sets out three interconnected strategic goals that we will deliver for seven overlapping populations of children.

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Improve practice,
Run excellent, inclusive policy–making and Drive change in attitudes
services that improve systems so that they towards childhood,
the lives of children really work for all children working closely with
and young people and young people partners and supporters
Children and young
people struggling
with their mental
health and wellbeing
Children and Children and
families seeking young people
sanctuary at greater risk
in the UK of poor health
Children and young
Children, young
people at risk of
people and families
sexual abuse and
living in poverty
exploitation
Families needing
Children in care support to give their
and care leavers children the best
possible life chances
£
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In 2024-25, the first year of our Strategy, we made significant progress on behalf of all seven populations of children.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 7

Children, young people and families living in poverty

We distributed support through our Child Poverty Fund of £527k, to help meet the most urgent needs of children, young people and families in our services. In addition, recognising the overwhelming importance of this issue for communities we support, especially with the cost of living remaining so high, we continued to enhance our year-round integrated campaign – with child poverty the number one thing we talked about to supporters and the public all year round. Within this, we continued to focus on fundraising in the run up to Christmas, recognising this is the time of year when people feel more motivated to support those in need. A key focus of our influencing work was on the UK Government’s Child Poverty Strategy (now expected to be published in 2025-26) – which is a unique opportunity to end the stubborn stagnation in progress to lift children out of poverty.

----- Start of picture text -----
Almost
one in three1
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children (4.5 million) in the UK are living in poverty based on the latest official figures. That’s three times the population of Birmingham.

Children and young people at greater risk of poor health

2.6 million2 children in the UK are living in food-insecure homes. Almost one in four (24%) five year olds are experiencing dental decay.

In our Strategy, we committed to becoming a truly health and social care children’s charity – recognising that children and families’ needs often straddle both. Our health delivery

work has continued to grow, and we are also establishing the charity as a thought leader – working closely in partnership with others – especially on the social determinants of health and health inequalities. In 2024-25, we continued work on our Children and Young People’s Health Equity Collaborative (CHEC), which seeks to understand the challenges facing children’s health at a local level, and what needs to be done to tackle health inequalities for children and young people, regardless of their circumstances. The Collaborative is a partnership between Barnardo’s, the UCL Institute of Health Equity and three Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) – Birmingham and Solihull, Cheshire and Merseyside, and South Yorkshire. In 2024-25 we also released a new policy report on the impact of poverty on nutrition and the impact of nutrition on poor health – which builds on work we are doing in local communities, and on an earlier project led by our SEEN programme on access to food in Black and Minoritised Ethnic communities.

  1. UK Government (2025), Households below average income: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/households-belowaverage-income-hbai--2

      1. Food Foundation (2025), Food Insecurity Tracking: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/food insecurity tracking#tabs/ Round-16

8 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Families needing support to give their children the best possible life chances

With the large majority of our delivery work focusing on family support (including children’s centres and family hubs), and with our strong belief in the power of prevention and early intervention, we have continued to make the case for greater investment in helping families before they reach crisis. In advance of the UK Government’s Spending Review, we produced new cost benefit analysis of aspects of this work in Sandwell (West Midlands) alongside new service modelling. Our calculations suggest that the Welcome to Parenthood service we deliver in Sandwell achieves £2.44 in benefits for every £1 spent, or £3,624 per course participant, suggesting potentially significant savings to the state if the government were to fund this work more widely. These new tools and analysis are helping us to describe, promote, and celebrate the impact we can deliver for children and families.

Spending on early intervention services has increased by over £300 million3 since 2020 but is still 42% lower than it was in 2010-11.

Children in care and care leavers

In 2024-25, we continued to honour our history of innovative support and advocacy for careexperienced young people. We are moving ahead with our Gap Homes programme, providing safe and supported accommodation for care leavers, thanks to our largest ever donation from the Katherine Martin Charitable Trust. Meanwhile, we are delivering evidencebased programmes like the Mockingbird fostering service in Scotland. With outcomes for children in care and care leavers persistently lower than their peers’, we are strongly focused on driving policy change and have created numerous opportunities for care leavers to speak directly to decision makers – including giving evidence to Parliamentary committees at Westminster.

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There are
80,0004
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children in local authority care in England, an increase of 28% since 2010-11. There are also nearly 400,000 children identified as ‘in need’ of support.

  1. Barnardo’s (2025), Building Families, Building Futures: https://www.barnardos.org.uk/research/building-families-building-futurescase-family-hubs-every-community

  2. UK Government (2024), Children looked after in England including adoptions: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/ find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2024

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 9

Children and young people at risk of child sexual abuse and exploitation

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Evidence suggests
one in 105
in England and Wales
experience sexual abuse
before the age of 16.
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Alongside our services for children at risk of sexual abuse and for victims and survivors, our Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (hosted by Barnardo’s and funded through the Home Office), continued to produce vital and authoritative research and guidance for professionals. Through this work we are increasing understanding amongst professionals and the public about the scale and nature of child sexual abuse, whether in the home, within institutions, carried out by groups, or where harmful sexual behaviour is taking place between children. The Independent Review of Pornography published in March 2025 echoed our recommendations for pornography sites and social media to be regulated in the same way as tv on demand, to help protect children from harmful content.

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Children and young people struggling with their mental health
and wellbeing
including through our Co-op partnership,
More than where we co-created positive content
6 for social media alongside young people,
one in five empowering our young content creators
to provide a counterweight to so much
children and young people in
negativity online.
England have a diagnosable
mental health condition.
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Throughout the year we maintained a strong focus on children and young people’s mental health. We worked on further developing our service model, in anticipation of the rollout of mental health support teams (MHSTs) to all schools across England. We also looked for new and creative ways to promote wellbeing, including through our Co-op partnership, where we co-created positive content for social media alongside young people, empowering our young content creators to provide a counterweight to so much negativity online.

    1. Centre of Expertise for Child Sexual Abuse (2025), Trends in Official Data: https://www.csacentre.org.uk/research resources/ research-evidence/scale-nature-of-abuse/trends-in-official-data/

  • NHS England (2024), England’s NHS mental health services treat record 3.8 million people last year: https://www.england.nhs. uk/2024/10/englands-nhs-mental-health-services-treat-record-3-8-million-people-last-year/

10 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Children seeking sanctuary in the UK

In 2024-25, 3,7077 unaccompanied children applied for asylum in the UK.

Throughout the year, Barnardo’s continued to deliver vital services for children seeking sanctuary in the UK, including through our Independent Child Trafficking Service (funded by the Home Office) and from January 2025, a new service called Ubuntu operating in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Hertfordshire, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, which is a long-term programme to help families to thrive in the UK. In June, we were proud to participate in Refugee Week, which is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions and resilience of people seeking sanctuary.

  1. UK Government (2025), How many people claim asylum in the UK?: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-march-2025/how-many-people-claim-asylum-in-the-uk

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 11

Understanding our reach

Throughout the year Barnardo’s continued to provide vital services for children, young people and families, whilst also working to drive longerterm change for future generations.

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We reached
359,392
Children, young people,
parents and carers
across 669 services.
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In 2024-25 we reached 359,392 children, young people, parents and carers, through 669 services and partnerships. This includes 96,100 who we helped on a one-to-one basis.

This means that in 2024-25, we reached more than 100,000 more people than in 2015-16, which is when we first started recording comparable data.

In 2024-25, we reached slightly more people than the year before, an increase of 1% or around 3,192 service users. However, our number of services has reduced, partly due to changes in the external environment, including the financial pressures facing local authorities. Some of the change is also due to an improvement in our data and the way we define a service.

Service user count by year

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Overall Individual
400,000 382,900
373,200
359,400
358,800
350,000
357,000 356,200
301,100
300,000
272,300
294,300
248,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000 95,800 96,100
71,400 75,400 67,000
90,800
84,500 81,000 81,800 82,442
50,000
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
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12 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

This table shows how these numbers break down by the seven populations outlined in our Strategy. We have assigned each of our services a primary ‘population category’ to give an overall sense of how our work delivers on our priorities. However, in practice, many or all of our services will support children from two or more of our population categories and many of the children we support will fit into more than one category too. In particular, children and young people across all our services experience poverty.

In 2024-25, the largest share of our work continued to be support for families, such as through children’s centres and family hubs. This includes our largest service – our Essex Child and Families Wellbeing partnership, which accounts for over 120,000 of our service users.

Data in this table only covers 2024-25 as this is the first year of our three year Strategy, which introduced this new categorisation based on the seven overlapping populations of children we exist to serve. In future years, our Annual Report will include year on year change.

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2024-25
2024-25
Children, young people
Services
Category and families
Children, young people and
96 5,500
families living in poverty
Families needing support to
give their children the best 270 270,100
possible life chances
Children and young people
45 7,200
at risk of poor health
Children in care and care
138 16,800
leavers
Children at risk of sexual abuse
43 6,400
and exploitation
Children and families seeking
5 800
sanctuary in the UK
Children and young people
struggling with their mental 72 52,800
health & wellbeing
Totals 669 359,600
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Note: Figures are rounded.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 13

Barnardo’s support across the UK

669 services across the UK

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UK
Northern Ireland Scotland
49,800 12,200
Children, young people, Children, young
parents and carers people, parents and
supported through carers supported
through
74
services 160
services
England
284,500
Children, young
people, parents and
carers supported
through
388
services
Cymru
6,200
Children, young people,
parents and carers
supported through
47
services
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7,404 18,520 Colleagues Volunteers

14 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

¢ Barnardo'sAnnu81 Report 2024-25 | 15

Barnardo’s Child Poverty Fund

Since October 2022, Barnardo’s has run a specific fund to meet the urgent needs of children and families in our services.

In 2024-25, we spent over £527,000 through our Child Poverty Fund to help over 9,000 people who are living in poverty to meet their immediate needs. This represents 2,600 families with 6,350 children and young people.

We know that our services are most effective at supporting children when we can first make sure they are fed well, living in a warm home and have a decent bed to sleep in. The Fund allows our frontline workers to alleviate some of the stress children are carrying by providing access to practical help and accessible solutions to some of the financial pressures they face.

During the year, we built on learning from our previous Cost of Living Fund, which we ran in 2023-24, spending around £1m and reaching 13,211 people.

In 2024-25, we focused on providing vital support to the children who needed it most. We also worked to leverage other forms of support for families, including by working with partners to donate appliances and other essentials. Our Child Poverty Fund can be accessed by any family supported by Barnardo’s who meet the criteria.

We evaluate the Fund carefully. In 2024-25, 38% of frontline workers who applied to the fund on behalf of families they support completed a feedback survey, with an overall satisfaction score of 9.6 out of 10.

We know that children and families we support are continuing to struggle to afford the basics. We can only continue to provide this vital support thanks to the generosity of our donors, partners and supporters.

Our partnership with Beko

During 2024-25 Beko, a major home appliance brand, donated over £17k worth of products to Barnardo’s. This generous donation has enabled Barnardo’s to supply brand-new white goods such as washing machines and fridge freezers to families in need all over the UK.

Through this donation, we supported 47 households, with 108 children and 17 young adults.

Inclusive and dignified support

Poverty excludes children because it denies them the activities, goods, and services that other families may take for granted. Our Fund is designed to address this so that children and young people in our services have access to the positive experiences we would all want for our own children.

The stigma of poverty can have a lasting effect, that stays with young people long into adulthood. That’s why our Fund provides dignified support

that helps to reduce the shame that poverty can cause. We trust families and young people to exercise choice and agency and our frontline workers make applications to the Fund in collaboration with the families they support, so it’s tailored to meet their needs and the pressures they’re facing. Where young people and families need help with budgeting and other decisions, we provide this with dignity and respect.

16 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Achieving impact

The Child Poverty Fund is helping us deliver our purpose – helping children and young people to be safer, happier, healthier, and more hopeful.

----- Start of picture text -----
MORE
SAFER HAPPIER HEALTHIER hope and confidence. HOPEFUL
So children at So children struggling with So children growing up
So children experiencing
risk of harm are their wellbeing can access with disadvantage can
challenges can move into
better protected. support and feel they belong. experience good physical adulthood with hope and
and mental health. confidence.
Access to Access to Increase Enhancing Access Prevent Access to Access to
safe and essential safety activities to warm hunger suitable employment, training
working furniture spaces clothing and education
appliances
----- End of picture text -----

The table below sets out our spending on each objective of the fund over the last three years, and how this fits with our impact domains.

----- Start of picture text -----
2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
spend spend spend Impact
Each objective of the fund
allocated to allocated to allocated to domain
objective objective objective
Preventing hunger 35% 38% 28% Healthier
Suitable clothing 24% 24% 25% Healthier
Access to warm spaces 21% 14% 9% Healthier
Access to health related appointments 1% 2% N/A Healthier
Access to safe and working appliances 9% 11% 12% Safer
Helping children stay safe 9% 10% 5% Safer
Access to essential furniture N/A N/A 13% Safer
Access to employment 1% 1% <1% More hopeful
NEW OBJECTIVE Enhancing activities N/A N/A 8% Happier
Total 100% 100% 100%
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Our new objective: Enhancing Activities. Following a pilot in Northern Ireland and the North of England in 2023-24, in 2024-25 we introduced a new objective for the Fund: Enhancing Activities. The purpose is to support

families to access simple activities and moments of joy for their children. This could be anything from a trip to the cinema to celebrate a child’s birthday, a food voucher to cover a picnic in the park, or funding to cover a family day out.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 17

Evaluating the difference we made

Families have told us that they find the term poverty riddled with stigma. For this reason, we intentionally adopted a name for the new digital access point to the fund that felt welcoming and respectful, calling it the Barnardo’s Gateway. This was particularly important as we encouraged workers to sit alongside families to complete applications together.

Development of our online application system has allowed us to capture the quality data and impact information we need to continuously improve our Fund. It also reduces administrative activity including cash handling, reduces financial risk, and increases accuracy of financial reporting and spend patterns. Crucially, this gets resources to families in the quickest and most efficient way possible so we can help them to be safer, happier, healthier, and more hopeful.

----- Start of picture text -----
Based on evaluations from
1,260
people and families who
MORE
received support from the SAFER HAPPIER HEALTHIER
HOPEFUL
Fund, we can understand
more about its impact.
Safety Parents Carers
Safety Within Home
Safety Within School Employment
Safety Within Community
Safe From Bullying
Safe From Harassment
Safe from Discrimination
Safe from Abuse Exploitation
Improved Community Network
Increased Support Network
Sense of Belonging
Friendships
Getting to Know People
Money/Finances
Positive Affect
Life Satisfaction
Leisure & Hobbies
Physical Health
Mental Health
Emotional Health & Wellbeing
Reduction in Substance/Alcohol Use
Positive About Future
Plans for Future
Access to Employment
Access to Support for the Future
Trust & Hope
0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000
----- End of picture text -----

18 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Delia’s Story*

Delia* is a single mother from Surrey taking care of three children, aged 6, 12 and 15, and working part time to support the family.

During a visit with their Barnardo’s Support Worker, Zoe, one of Delia’s children explained that their fridge freezer had been broken for several weeks, and their mum was too embarrassed to ask for help. In the meantime, Delia had been buying less fresh food and was using cold water in the sink to keep the essentials chilled while she saved for a new one.

Zoe explained the Fund to Delia and assured her that Barnardo’s was there to help and support the family when things got difficult. Less than a week later, Delia and her family received a new fridge freezer for their home.

Delia explained that accessing the Fund and receiving a new fridge freezer helped to strengthen the family’s relationship with their Support Worker, as they were treated with dignity and kindness. The family were very thankful, both to the Support Worker and to Barnardo’s.

Delia said she felt ‘more hopeful’, as before the new fridge freezer, she felt she was letting her children down. Delia said that for someone to go above and beyond to support the family, showed them that there are “good people in the world”.

*We’ve changed Delia’s name to protect her family’s identity.

This helped ease the financial pressures on the family, meaning it was one less thing to worry about, especially in the run up to Christmas.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 19

Our Child Poverty Campaign

Alongside providing vital support to families who were struggling to afford the basics through our Child Poverty Fund, throughout 2024-25, we ran a campaign to drive long-term change, and to raise vital funds for our work.

During this time, we called on the public to join us in standing up for every child living in poverty, to help them feel seen and heard – and to let them know they belong.

Demonstrating our impact

20 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

September:

EMPTY PLATES AND COLD HOMES: What it’s like to grow up in poverty in 2024

October:

Our TV advert played in millions of homes across the country.

December :

For children spending the festive season cold and hungry, Christmas feels like it’s for other children, not for them. Our Christmas appeal asked supporters to help give Christmas back to a child in poverty.

Our celebrity ambassador, Michelle Collins, supported the campaign by recalling the stigma of qualifying for free school meals.

“A quarter of parents in Britain struggle to provide enough food for their children”, we launched our new findings on child poverty.

November:

We launched our countdown to Christmas, benefitting from pro bono advertising on vehicles across central London.

----- Start of picture text -----
I WONDER IF
SANTA’S TUMMY
RUMBLES
AS MUCH AS MINE
----- End of picture text -----

March :

More than a quarter (26%) of UK parents (of children aged 18 and under) had to buy unhealthy food for their child(ren) because they couldn’t afford healthy ingredients/meals at least once every fortnight.

Our new report findings showed that far too many children and young people are missing out on the nutritious food they need to thrive.

We urged governments to step up to the plate on providing free school meals. Our parliamentary event aimed at influencing the Children and Wellbeing Bill was well attended by cross-party policy makers.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 21

Tackling the underlying causes of poor health

Barnardo’s Family Support Workers

The programme was delivered in seven Emergency Departments (EDs).

In 2024-25 we ran a new pilot involving Family Support Workers (FSW) in seven Emergency Departments across England.

The role of Family Support Workers

A Family Support Worker is a non-clinical professional who provides practical, emotional and holistic assistance to families. They can help to identify and address challenges and to connect families to resources and services. They can also provide information and support with issues such as child development, parenting skills and family dynamics.

The pilot was commissioned by NHS England with the aim of identifying and supporting children and families who were seeking emergency care for health needs caused by underlying issues such as poor housing.

The pilot supported over 1,850 children. The main reasons for needing support were to boost parents’ health literacy and confidence, access to appropriate housing, and issues relating to special educational needs and disability.

The pilot was based on a three-tiered model, tailoring the support to families’ needs. Families also had access to Barnardo’s Virtual Family Space offering a suite of online sessions to improve health literacy.

----- Start of picture text -----
Seven Emergency
Departments across
England
Bradford
Lincoln
Ormskirk
Stevenage
North Middlesex
Plymouth
Surrey & Sussex
----- End of picture text -----

22 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

The programme’s aims included:

Overarching: Reduce Non-Urgent Attendance at Emergency Departments: Decrease the number of children and young people presenting to Paediatric ED with non-urgent needs through proactive intervention by Family Support Workers supporting access to the right service at the right time.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 23

Impact and outcomes

101 families completed a survey about their experience of the service, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

We also surveyed 70 NHS staff about the service:

82%

said it helped

73%

said it gave them more capacity in their role

Goal based outcomes were used with 223 families who had complex needs, where Family Support Workers provided ‘outreach’ – helping families to access a range of different services, following up face to face or over the phone until the right support was in place. 93% achieved meaningful change, 33% reported completing the goal, and most families were transitioned to other services to continue working on their goals.

The goals families created were categorised into the themes below, which map to our impact domains:

----- Start of picture text -----
Barnardo’s Percentage
Category
Impact Domain of spend
Support to access services Healthier 43%
Improved health literacy Healthier 30%
Support with nursery/education Happier 13%
Access to community support Happier 7%
Housing support Healthier 4%
Improved mental health and wellbeing Happier 3%
Total 100%
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24 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Return on investment

Barnardo’s also carried out a cost benefit analysis for the outreach element of the service and found for every £1 invested there was a £3.05 saving to the state, with specific improvements seen in mental health and parental resilience.

The Smith Family’s Story

The Smith family had come to the Emergency Department on several occasions with rat bites on their hands, feet and heads. The mother, father, their three children and the grandmother (who has diabetes) all lived in the property which they rented.

The Family Support Worker spoke to the family (English was their second language) and arranged an emergency visit to their home the next day. The house was in an area with lots of takeaway restaurants, which the family believed was where the rats were coming from.

The Family Support Worker helped the family to make a plan to address the situation which included;

The family moved out temporarily so that the landlord could carry out this work. The subsequent actions of the landlord, family, local businesses and Environment Agency resolved the issues, and the family haven’t had to return to the Emergency Department to seek treatment for rat bites.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 25

Improving children’s mental health at school

Mental Health Support Teams in schools are funded by the government to help improve children’s mental health and wellbeing in England. They have three core roles:

Eight principles for a ‘whole school’ approach to mental health

----- Start of picture text -----
Curriculum
An ethos and teaching and
environment learning to promote
that promotes resilience and
respect and values support social
diversity and emotional
learning
Targeted Leadership and Enabling
support and student voice
management
appropriate to influence
referral that supports and decisions
champions efforts to
promote emotional
health and
wellbeing Staff
development
Working with
to support their
parents and
carers own wellbeing and that of
Identifying students
need and
monitoring impact
of interventions
----- End of picture text -----

UK Government and Children and Young People’s Mental Heatlth Coalition.

26 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

----- Start of picture text -----
In 2024-25, Barnardo’s ran
10 Mental Health Support Teams
across four local areas, reaching
3,430 children. We also ran a
range of other schools-based
programmes right across the UK.
North Cumbria:
780 service users
• 3 mental health support teams
South Cumbria:
600 service users
• 1 mental health support teams
Solihull:
1,590 service users
• 5 mental health support teams
Isle of Wight:
450 service users
• 1 mental health support teams
----- End of picture text -----

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 27

Outcomes in Cumbria

Our two Mental Health Support Teams in Cumbria closed 713 cases during 2024-25, and children were surveyed both before and after the support they received to understand the impact we achieved.

HAPPIER HEALTHIER

635 children (89%) showed improvement in at least one area, as outlined in the table below.

----- Start of picture text -----
Cases Percentage of
Primary Reason for Referral Total cases
improving cases improving
Anxiety 203 215 94%
General Worries/Fears/Anxiety 163 179 91%
Low mood/withdrawal 103 110 94%
Emotional Regulation 58 74 78%
Emotional Wellbeing Support 41 53 77%
Difficulties Expressing/Controlling Emotions/
18 28 64%
Behaviour Issues
Low self-esteem and confidence 15 17 88%
Significant Life Event 7 8 88%
Negative Thinking/Outlook/Depression 5 5 100%
Panic Attacks 5 5 100%
Phobias 4 4 100%
Relationship Issues 2 3 67%
Self harm behaviours 3 3 100%
Behavioural Disorder 2 2 100%
Obsessive Compulsive/Ritualistic Behaviours 2 2 100%
ADHD 1 1 100%
Bereavement 1 1 100%
Feeling like hurting myself 1 1 100%
School Stress/Exclusion 1 1 100%
Suspected Autism Spectrum Disorder 0 1 0%
Total 635 713 89%
----- End of picture text -----

28 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Ben’s Story

Behavioural Activation (BA)

Low-Intensity CBT Intervention

Ben reported to his Head of Year that he had a feeling of persistent low mood. Ben said he was experiencing very poor sleep which has led to difficulty getting up for school and being on time. Ben expressed his frustration to his Head of Year that he is not able to maintain a productive routine of sleep, schoolwork and regular exercise.

Positive cycle of activity

----- Start of picture text -----
Behavioural
Activation
Feel
better
Do more
Get more
meaningful
out of life
stuff
----- End of picture text -----

Ben attended the recommended eight sessions of Brief BA.

Ben achieved his goals to attend school on time four days a week and to complete four hours of exam revision at home.

In turn, Ben’s sleep habits improved and he started going to a local football team.

Ben’s Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) score reduced from 71 to 39.

Ben’s Head of Year spoke to a MHST practitioner during a consultation and a referral was made for support. Ben met with a practitioner for an initial assessment with an outcome of working through Brief Behavioural Activation for low mood.

STEP 1

Monitoring how you feel. Learning about the relationship between your activity and mood.

STEP 2

Values, thinking about what matters to you.

STEP 3

Simple Activation: Planning and engaging in valued activities and finding a balance.

At first I didn’t expect Behavioural Activation to be effective, my practitioner did a great job at opening my eyes and showing me that what we do can play a massive role in how I felt.”

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 29

Our partnership with Co-op

Co-op and Barnardo’s are working in partnership to support positive futures for young people.

For Co-op this partnership is a strategic and values-driven collaboration.

In 2024-25, our partnership reached and supported over 200,000 children and young people aged 10-25 through face-to-face services and advice and information online.

We established 20 services across the UK, supporting young people aged 10-25 in the communities that need it most.

Each service was developed in consultation with young people from the local area, ensuring that our services directly respond to the needs of that community. In Carlisle, for example, 170 local young people helped us to create ‘Carlisle Youth Connect’. Young people from Carlisle can now attend free, weekly sessions that focus on creating and sharing meals while socialising together. Each service is different, but all support positive futures in providing access to food, mental wellbeing support, and opportunities for the future.

I find it really helpful to connect and communicate with other people that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to.”

Kira, 16, from Carlisle, who attends our ‘Carlisle Youth Connect’ service

Alongside these face-to face services, the partnership provides free advice and information through engaging online content on social media channels, supporting positive futures for young people, no matter their location.

In April 2024, we launched a new TikTok channel, and since then, a group of young content creators have been developing content for young people while gaining vital skills and experience.

Being a Young Content Creator for the Co-op and Barnardo’s partnership has really helped build my own self-confidence. I’ve learned lots about myself and how I can use my skills and my voice to help others.” Troy, 21, from West Yorkshire

In 2024-25 we reached thousands of young people across TikTok and Instagram, with engaging, positive content, providing a vital counterbalance to some of the more negative content many young people are exposed to online.

A conversation between two young people. Becca and Ola, about mental wellbeing achieved 2,310 engagements in February 2025, whilst Saeed’s healthy fruit bowl recipe was watched more than 80,000 times in August 2024 alone.

30 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

The partnership also supports 10-12-year-olds by helping them and their parents to tackle relevant topics together. During the year, we produced three animations in consultation with 10-12-year-olds and their parents, that have been specifically tailored to children who are

----- Start of picture text -----
A recipe for success: How do children and young people want to access food in their communities?
A recipe for success:
How do children and young
people want to access food in
their communities?
September 2024
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
1
----- End of picture text -----

The report found that too many young people are not able to access the nutritious food they need, when and where they need it, with consequences for their health and wellbeing – both now and in the future.

The young people who co-produced the report had the opportunity to present their findings to MPs and other national and local decision makers, including at the 2024 autumn Labour and Conservative Party Conferences, and during meetings in Parliament.

too young for social media, so they can explore issues safely and with adult support. The first encourages parents and children to discuss negative thoughts to find solutions together, whilst the others help young people be kinder to themselves, and learn how to be good listeners.

We’re also supporting positive futures by empowering young people to advocate for themselves and their peers, thereby helping achieve policy change. In September 2024, we published a report developed and designed alongside young people, investigating how they access food in their communities. ‘Recipe For Success’ incorporates the voices of over 55,000 young people, gathered through focus groups, surveys, and Co-op young member polls.

I’ve struggled with access to food since becoming homeless aged 18, but to hear people as young as 13 talking about it was eye-opening.”

Kyson, aged 21, from Manchester. Member of the Youth Advisory Group and Co-author of ‘Recipe for Success’

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 31

The achievements of this partnership would not be possible without the extraordinary fundraising efforts of Co-op colleagues, members, and customers. From in-store events to epic overseas treks, these individuals have dug deep time and time again to support positive futures. In November 2024, 11 Co-op colleagues embarked on a 12-day hike through the Himalayas of Nepal to Everest Base Camp, raising over £66,000.

In total, Co-op colleagues, members, customers and suppliers have now raised over £4m. Youth Advisory Group members Ola and Kavya were invited to the Co-op’s Pioneer Awards in December, alongside our CEO Lynn Perry, to share updates with Co-op suppliers and thank them in person.

The Pioneer Awards was an incredible experience for me. Being there felt like a dream come true, surrounded by amazing individuals and inspiring achievements. It motivated me to strive for greater heights and reminded me of how important it is to recognise hard work and dedication in our communities.” Ola, 20, from London

It means a lot to see [my daughter] Tiffany on the truck. I’m so proud of her, and she’s so proud of herself. The [Co-op and Barnardo’s] service has given her a lot of confidence, cause she’s quite a shy girl, but it’s really brought her out of herself. She absolutely loves it.”

Kristen, 42, from Telford

This is just one example of the opportunities that this partnership provides. In March, two young people in Telford, Rubi and Tiffany, enjoyed a particularly unique opportunity – helping to raise awareness of our partnership on two double-height Co-op delivery trucks provided by Co-op’s logistics partner, Buffaload.

32 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

SEEN Programme

SEEN is a Barnardo’s initiative which exists to identify, understand and tackle the structural inequalities which limit the opportunities of children and young people of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage in the UK.

SEEN Ambassadors

SEEN are working with a group of 26 children and young people from across the UK who are committed to being ambassadors for the Programme. They have a range of experiences, including lived experience of structural inequality, racism, and intersectional issues. Our ambassadors are a vital part of SEEN, informing our direction, advocating for the rights of children and young people of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage, and supporting us with the co-production of our projects. Our SEEN Ambassadors have been involved in a range of opportunities throughout the year including speaking at the House of Lords alongside on the issue of identity and race as part of a Speakers Trust event, attending a round table with the Jamie Oliver Group to discuss the Mayor’s commitments to improve the London food environment, participating in panel discussions with the Purpose agency around democracy and storytelling and the Kings Fund on health inequalities, supporting Barnardo’s Winter Parliamentary reception, and speaking at Banking on Barnardo’s which led to one of our ambassadors featuring in an article in the Guardian.

Partnerships

SEEN has strategically collaborated with over 40 Black-led grassroots organisations, alongside government bodies and service providers, to maximise impact and drive meaningful change. By fosteringthese partnerships, SEEN has strengthened its advocacy for inclusive and equitable support systems, while reinforcing Barnardo’s reputation as a leader in addressing racial disparities and championing the needs of African, Asian and Caribbean children and young people and their families.

Black Hair and Skin Project

Our innovative Black Hair and Skin project aims to address the long-standing concerns and inequalities faced by children and young people of African and Caribbean heritage by making information, advice, guidance and resources on hair and skin care freely available via online and offline training resources, campaigning, and policy influence.

In February 2025, we launched a new report ‘Crowning Glory: Exploring the Stories of Black Hair and Skin’ in Parliament, where children and young people shared their own experiences directly with national and local decision makers, including members of the House of Lords.

This project has produced a direct change in service provision within the Youth Custody Service now providing a package of support to Black children, including allowing extra shower time, understanding that Black children’s hair takes longer to wash and care for and providing products that meet their specific needs.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 33

Grandmother’s Hands Intergenerational Cookbook

Following SEEN’s report, ‘Driving Healthy Futures: Fuelling Food Equity’ which shared findings from feedback forms, interviews, roadshows and roundtables with children, young people, families and communities on barriers to food equity, SEEN piloted an intergenerational cookbook called Grandmother’s Hands in Northern Ireland. The cookbook aimed to facilitate relationships in the community to reduce isolation, share inter-cultural and inter-generational learning, and provided spaces for communities to create their own solutions to food inequity. The content of the cookbook was based on a competition with children, young people and families in schools and community groups. The winners of the competition were published in a cookbook which will be featured on our Barnardo’s website. Nearly 200 recipes entries were submitted to the competition and over 30 finalists were selected, 10 of which joined celebrity chef Suzie Lee to cook their winning recipes. Over the course of the project, we engaged with approximately 1,000 children and young people through promotional events and 17 community partners including schools, colleges, community groups and food network partners.

An Evaluation of Requisite Parenting, An Optimal Black Parenting Style

SEEN worked with Dr. Cynthia Okpokiri to conduct new research on what a good enough Black parenting model would look like. This research built on her previous studies into how Black parenting is assessed by social care professionals, and the factors leading to overrepresentation of African children and young people in safeguarding interventions. The research was launched in June 2024 and was attended by approximately 40 professionals across the social care field, including leading academics and researchers.

“

I thought the research was fascinating and in direct challenge to the standard, Eurocentric model of parenting. Given that we have family centre services having access to research such as this is fundamental if we are to understand our service users and be able to support them appropriately.”

Participant at the launch event

MUMMA Hub

SEEN was a key partner in the design of an innovative new service, piloting new approaches to addressing maternal health inequalities in Peterborough. The MUMMA Hub was a partnership between the Barnardo’s, Raham Project, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire (CPSL) MIND, Mama’s Embrace and NHS England – East of England, which ended in March 2025.

The MUMMA Hub took a proactive approach to addressing maternal health inequalities among mothers of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage, providing targeted support aimed at reducing the higher rates of preterm births, miscarriage, and maternal mortality experienced by these communities. The service was coproduced with community partners and parents

and the Hub also employed a number of Peer Connectors to support expectant mothers through the antenatal and postnatal pathways.

The MUUMA Hub received 135 referrals, of which 14 families attended a bespoke antenatal programme facilitated by the Raham Project, 20 families attended a mindfulness programme facilitated by Mama’s Embrace, and three families attended a Connecting Mums course run by CPSL Mind.

The Runnymede Trust has completed an evaluation of the project and learning and recommendations from the pilot will be shared, with a view to promoting and replicating best practice at scale.

34 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

The Black Nursery Manager

Barnardo’s SEEN was able to connect with Liz Pemberton (The Black Nursery Manager), who is a recognised contributor and commentator on anti-racist practice in the Early Years sector, making her an ideal partner for this project. The project addressed a gap in anti-racism resources in early years settings produced an animation based on Liz’s 4E’s of Anti-Racist Practice framework, as an introduction for early years practitioners in their anti-racism journeys. The animation is freely available and easily accessible, it speaks to the importance of anti-racist practice being kept at the forefront of the minds and actions of educators who work within the Early Years sector.

Since the launch of the animation in September 2024, attended by 75 delegates, the animation has been viewed 24,600 on Instagram, 465 on YouTube, shared 129 times and reposted 76 times on LinkedIn.

Money Matters

A collaborative initiative to provide accessible financial literacy resources for African, Asian, and Caribbean children and young people, particularly those at risk of exclusion or within the Pupil Referral Unit-to-prison pipeline.

We produced a physical booklet and digital video series – co-created with children and young people – to deliver financial education through an anti-racist, lived-experience lens.

We also partnered with financial professionals (My Financial Harmony) and mentors with experience of the criminal justice system (Mercury Minds) to ensure relevance and accessibility.

We engaged children and young people in resource design, refining content to resonate with groups who are at risk.

Social Care, Social Justice and Social Action Online Conference

The Social Care, Social Justice, and Social Action online conference in March was a collaboration between BASW England (British Association of Social Workers) and Barnardo’s SEEN, working to improve outcomes through systemic change. To celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, this event was designed to directly benefit professionals in the field of social care by sharing innovation, learning and best practice for anti-oppressive and anti-racist social action. Speakers at the event included SEEN Ambassadors Jade Barnett and Leonita Metaj, Nana Bonsu and Taiwo Afuape from The Institute for Family Therapy, Jahan Foster and Mu’minah Iqbal from the Race Equality Foundation, Mohammed Ali Amla from Solution Not Sides, Professor Prospera Tedam from University College Dublin, and two advanced social work practitioners, Kaesha Richardson and Priscilla Bani.

The online conference was attended by 75 professionals across the field of social care. The conference was recorded and shared on social media and across BASW England platforms for those who were unable to attend and has received 3,100 views.

We also developed engaging digital content to amplify impact beyond written materials.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 35

Dear Journalist

“I know that there needs to be a change in the world and if we all don’t collaborate now; How will the world end up later?”

Recent research has highlighted the complex relationship between media consumption – both legacy media and social media – and the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in the UK.

Research and data on the impact of racism in social media on the wellbeing and mental health of children and young people in the UK reveal significant negative consequences. Social media platforms, while offering opportunities for connection and self-expression, can also be spaces where young people are exposed to racial discrimination and hate speech, which can profoundly impact their mental health.

During the summer of 2024 we held communitybased focus groups for children and young people to gather insights into young people’s opinions on the media, including their perceptions, preferences, concerns, and how they engage with it.

Some of the key findings were:

“You can’t trust them all the time”

Many young people expressed some scepticism towards traditional media sources, questioning the credibility and biases of news outlets.

“Who even buys newspapers anymore”

There was a strong preference for digital and social media platforms over traditional media such as television and newspapers.

“Keeping it real”

Young people valued authenticity in the media content they were seeking/watching. They were drawn to ‘influencers’ and ‘content creators’ who share personal stories and experiences, with whom they can connect, and they tended to distrust content that was too ‘corporate’.

“I don’t want to see negativity all the time. There’s good in the world too”

Young people were increasingly aware of the impact that the media was having on people’s mental health. Young people wanted to see more positive stories, and more stories of young people in a positive light in the media.

“I want to see more positive stories of people who look like me in the news”

There was a strong desire for more diverse and inclusive representation. Young people wanted to see a wider range of stories that reflected diversity, including cultures, identities, and experiences – and to see them in a positive light.

“I want to make a difference in the world one day, so I need to know what’s actually going on”

Some of the young people said they used the media to stay informed about world issues, and wanted to engage with content that was educational, particularly around social justice, climate change and human rights, but that it was difficult at times to navigate the space around what information was accurate or not.

Based on the key themes from the focus groups, we developed and hosted a workshop with young people, providing them with a platform to express their views on journalism, how they interact with the news and its impact on their lives.

“Changing the world is not only a simple thing you can say, it must be able to have an impact on people’s lives and minds. And by impacting the news and journalists, it can change and spread positive news so we’re not just blinded by all the bad stuff going on.”

The outcomes included powerful letters from participants, ranging from calls for action on racism and climate change to demands for better mental health representation and gender equality in media.

36 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

The big Barnardo’s rebrand

The launch of our new brand marked a bold and exciting moment for Barnardo’s – a chance to reintroduce ourselves to the public with greater clarity, energy, and purpose.

Throughout 2024-25, we were focused on embedding our new brand – how Barnardo’s looks, sounds and feels to the public – and straightaway we were able to see the positive impact.

Co-created with children and young people, our new brand has helped to deepen emotional connections in a crowded charity landscape. It brings our purpose – changing childhoods, changing lives – into sharper focus, in a way that truly reflects who we are and the difference we’re here to make.

The rebrand has energised our campaigns and communications, helping more people understand who we are and why our work

matters. In 2024-25 our brand TV ad was seen over 50 million times across broadcast and digital platforms in a bid to drive support ahead of our subsequent Winter Child Poverty moment before Christmas. Audience surveys demonstrate that people are increasingly very likely to support Barnardo’s following our rebrand (+2% amongst a nationally representative sample). Ten per cent more parents and carers who are aware of Barnardo’s indicated they were very likely to support us in 2024-25 compared to a nationally representative sample, with other success amongst groups we know are warmest to us and our cause, with further opportunity for growth.

The rebrand has also strengthened our ability to advocate alongside children and young people, placing their voices at the heart of our story. While we’re still at the beginning of this journey, we’re encouraged by these early signs and committed to building on this momentum to help make every child feel like they belong.

----- Start of picture text -----
SAFER
HAPPIER
HEALTHIER MORE
HOPEFUL
----- End of picture text -----

We’ve been changing childhoods and changing lives for over 150 years. We’re here to help you feel safer, happier, healthier and more hopeful from the moment we meet.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 37

38 | Barnardo's Annual Report2024-25

Fundraising

A HUGE thank you. Every gift we receive is working hard to change childhoods and change lives.

A story of shared impact

In 2024-25, we witnessed something truly special: the power of people when they come together. From individual donors and community champions to corporate partners and philanthropists, the impact of your support has been extraordinary.

During the last financial year, by coming together, we raised £58.1m – an increase of £16.4m from the previous year. This incredible support allows us to help children to be safer, happier, healthier and more hopeful – both today and tomorrow.

As the cost of living remained high, bringing ever greater struggles for families living in poverty, our community remained resilient and determined. It’s thanks to your commitment that we’ve been able to reach those who needed us most – with warmth, care, and the chance to thrive.

Behind every meal, every safe night’s sleep, and every child who felt seen, heard and valued –there’s you. You’re at the heart of the Barnardo’s family. And for that, we are truly grateful.

Gifts from wills

Supporters leaving a gift in their will are an important source of income for Barnardo’s, raising £15.7m last year (2023-24: £18.4m). Leaving a legacy is a chance for people to reflect on the experiences that shaped their childhood and life and to be a part of positive change in the lives of others. Through gifts in wills, we’re able to drive positive change for children in the UK today, tomorrow and long into the future.

Support from the public

This part of the report celebrates you, our supporters. It brings together every kind of support – from gifts in wills and corporate partnerships to community events and individual giving – and shows the power of the collective effort of the Barnardo’s family in changing childhoods and changing lives.

In 2024-25, we received £12.8m in direct donations from our amazing supporters (2023-24: £12.3m) – including over £8.1m through regular gifts, which we’re immensely thankful for. We also welcomed 24,867 new regular donors who signed up to donate in this way. This kind of steady support means so much, as it helps us offer long-term solutions for children, young people and their families, and be there for as long as we’re needed.

We’re always inspired by the energy and dedication of people across the UK. In 2024-25, thanks to amazing individuals trekking to Everest Base Camp, crossing the Sahara, and supporting events like the Great North Run, we raised over £900,000.

Remembering John

We celebrate John Shannon, aged 108, who kindly remembered us in his will.

John led an incredible life, becoming the 1st Lieutenant on the very first ship of the Royal Navy Section Belge during the Second World War, a career in teaching, and winning many awards for his voluntary work. The family’s connection to Barnardo’s has run for over 100 years with John’s father, Daniel, being taken in and cared for by the charity in the 1880s.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 39

London Marathon

The London Marathon was a highlight yet again in 2024 with 203 runners raising over £615,000 as part of Team Barnardo’s! This marks our largest team yet, and the highest amount we’ve ever raised.

A special thank you to Chris Deville who was the London Marathon’s top fundraiser raising £222,000 for charities including over £73,000 for Barnardo’s.

We also received almost £900,000 from individuals who support our work through payroll giving, which is also a tax efficient way of making donations through salaries. Thank you.

Support from trusts, foundations and philanthropists

We’re pleased to share the generous support we’ve received from individuals and organisations who help make our work possible.

A major gift to help families thrive

We were delighted to receive a major gift of £43,750 from long-time supporter Neil Kitchener KC for our Child Poverty Fund – a three-year programme supporting families facing financial hardship.

Neil, a passionate advocate for young people in and leaving care, said:

“I’ve been supporting Barnardo’s for many years and am delighted to donate to such a worthwhile and desperately needed initiative.

The Support Gateway touches on all aspects of Barnardo’s work and continues to make

such a difference for children, young people and families.”

We are incredibly grateful for his generosity and the impact it will make.

Healthier communities, happier futures

A huge thank you also to the Greggs Foundation for their continued support of our Safer Choices service in Glasgow. Their commitment is part of a wider movement to build stronger, healthier communities by tackling poverty and hunger at its root.

Standing Against Child Exploitation

We also want to thank the Pointon family for their continued and longstanding support of our Barnardo’s

Against Child Exploitation (BACE) service in Bristol which enables us

to provide early intervention and specialist support to help young people stay safe, and start to heal from the trauma of exploitation.

40 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Support from communities

The power of community fundraising continues to inspire us. Here are just a few of the highlights:

Toddle raises £151,550

In June 2024, more than 28,000 little explorers took part in our safari-themed adventure, The Big Toddle.

We were delighted to be chosen as the beneficiary partner for the 2024 Championing Social Care’s Care Sector Christmas Lunch – an organisation that shares our values surrounding the importance of social care. With thanks to the wonderful Championing Social Care community, an incredible £32,000 (before gift aid) was raised to support our work.

From brave lions to cheeky monkeys, our littlest supporters walked, toddled, and roared their way to raising a mighty £154,500. A huge thank you to every family, nursery and toddler group who got involved!

Helper Groups raise £94,000

Our amazing Barnardo’s Helper Groups raised £94,000 through events like afternoon teas, luncheons, and auctions – all in support of changing childhoods and changing lives.

We felt privileged to be part of such a special celebration and can’t thank the guests enough for their generosity and we warmly look forward to deepening our relationship further with such a likeminded organisation.

Northern Ireland: Powered by Local Generosity

In Northern Ireland, we’re continually inspired by the generosity of local businesses, schools and community groups. Highlights this year include:

We were delighted to receive support from Dr. Derek Johnson in memory of his wife Enid, a primary teacher for many years, who – in his words – saw at first-hand the effects of social and economic deprivation. Derek, who was married to Enid for 62 years, decided to support Barnardo’s as he realised that ‘now is the time to help children on the margins’. We are so grateful to Derek for this wonderful support, in honour of his wife Enid, which will help so many children, young people, and families.

Combined donations from the Myristica Trust, a long-time supporter of Barnardo’s, reached an amazing total of £1.2m in 2024-25, all of which was channelled towards our work with children and young people in Wales. The projects funded included several programmes supporting children on the “edge of care”, as well as several specialist interventions for children and families throughout Blaenau Gwent and Cardiff experiencing a range of additional needs and disabilities.

Improving and modernising our supporter experience

We’re committed to providing an audience centric approach to our Fundraising activities, ensuring supporters interests are reflected in their communication, offering a more personalised approach.

By using our technology more effectively, we can create a smoother, more personal and truly meaningful experience. Our goal is to strengthen relationships and make every supporter feel valued.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 41

Transformational partnerships

We’re proud to work in partnership with businesses across the UK who share our passion, values and ambition to help children, young people and families across the UK to thrive.

People’s Postcode Lottery

Barnardo’s is immensely proud to be a long-term beneficiary of the Postcode Children Trust, which awards funds raised by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery. In 2024-25 we received £3,125,000, bringing our total support since 2018 to over £18.4m. The generous support of the players helps us deliver essential services for children and young people across the UK –making sure they can lead safe, happy, healthy, and hopeful lives. As these donations are unrestricted, we can focus on where the

need is greatest, making a lasting difference to the futures of children and young people.

Co-op

In the last 12 months, Co-op have raised a further £2.4m for our special partnership – an incredible step toward our new £7m target to support positive futures for young people. The partnership has been extended through to 2026 and this success has been made possible through member and customer donations, cause related marketing, events and, most importantly, the fundraising activities of dedicated and highly engaged Co-op colleagues across the business.

Over the past year, Three ‘Go BIG for Barnardo’s’ fundraising weeks brought together Co-op members, colleagues and customers alongside a wide range of colleague-led challenges – including a memorable Everest trek in November. The money raised will help us support 1 million young people across the UK.

42 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Amazon

In 2024-25 Amazon continued to partner with Barnardo’s to lead on the JOBS (Journey Of Becoming Successful) Project. The project supports young people aged 18-29 who are not in education, employment or training, offering them a pathway to success that can include a job offer with Amazon upon completion of the programme. Last year we expanded from seven to 10 sites across the UK, meaning we were able to support and empower even more

Zurich Community Trust

Last year, the Trust continued their support, raising £135,000 for Barnardo’s Education Community (BEC), an online facility that helps teachers and schools support children and young people with their mental health. Their annual donation, part of a three-year pledge to support BEC, supports the running and development costs of this programme.

young people. Since we launched the JOBS project, 480 young people have participated, equipping them with valuable skills and experiences, giving them new opportunities.

Adecco

In 2024, Barnardo’s and the Adecco Group launched a national partnership to help children and young people across the UK build safer, happier futures. United by a shared purpose – to make the future work for everyone – the partnership has already raised over £100,000 in its first year to support Barnardo’s vital services. Together, we’re also tackling youth unemployment by helping young people overcome barriers to finding meaningful work. So far, the Adecco Group has delivered six tailored employment, training, and skills workshops,

designed by their dedicated Emerging Talent team. These sessions offer personalised CV support, interview coaching, and career guidance from hiring specialists across their UK-wide network.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 43

Allianz

2024-25 was the first year of our threeyear partnership with Allianz, one of the largest general insurers in the UK. The partnership aims to deliver real and positive change to the lives of children and young people with hopes to raise £1m across three years (2024-2026). In the first year of our partnership, Allianz employees raised over £370,000 – including matched funding from the company – through a wide range of fundraising and challenge events. Their incredible enthusiasm and commitment have made a powerful impact, helping to support Barnardo’s work with children, young people, and families across the UK. In addition

to fundraising, we’ve worked together to develop volunteering and skills-sharing opportunities, and to raise awareness of our work – helping ensure children, young people, and families are safe, happy, healthy, and hopeful.

Leeds Building Society

We launched a three-year partnership with Leeds Building Society in April 2024, with a shared vision of “Building Brighter Tomorrows”. In 2024-25, the wonderful fundraising efforts of Leeds Building Society colleagues resulted in more than £150,000 being raised towards supporting careexperienced young people. This means Barnardo’s can equip young people with the tools, resources, and support needed to build their path to a brighter future. Through our partnership, we believe we can make a big difference – helping young people find somewhere to live, learn independent living skills, continue their education, or secure

employment. This will ensure they gain knowledge and confidence that lasts long after they leave care.

44 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Our special events

In October 2024, our President Natasha Kaplinsky OBE welcomed 400 guests to the historic Guildhall in the heart of London for the fourth Banking on Barnardo’s – our flagship fundraising dinner for the financial sector. The event brings together leaders from across banking and finance for an inspiring evening of connection, conversation, and giving. Chaired by our Vice President and Lloyds Banking Group CFO William Chalmers, it continues to set the standard for sector-led support that helps us bring hope and brighter futures to children and families across the UK.

Event Leadership & Participation

Impact & Community Building

Since launching in 2016, Banking on Barnardo’s has become a much-loved fixture in the financial calendar– raising over £1.7m to date to support children and families across the UK. At the heart of every event are the powerful voices of young people supported by Barnardo’s, whose moving stories remind us all why this support matters. At our 2024 dinner alone, guests pledged an incredible £91,000, inspired by the impact they heard first-hand.

The evening ended on a high with laughter from headline act comedian Marcus Brigstocke. It’s an unforgettable night where generosity, joy and community come together to create real, lasting change.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 45

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YOUNG
SUPPORTERS
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Young Supporters Concert at the Royal Albert Hall

In November 2024, over 900 young performers from 26 schools across the UK took part in our annual Young Supporters Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, highlighting the power of music to inspire and support mental well-being. The evening featured a special performance of Proud by Barnardo’s ambassador and iconic singer Heather Small, supported by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. With help from sponsors FirstPoint Equity and Allianz, the concert raised over £80,000 as part of our winter child poverty fundraising campaign.

“It was a huge pleasure to perform Proud at the Albert Hall alongside so many wonderful school choirs from across the country to help raise money for Barnardo’s. It’s almost 25 years since [the] song was released so performing it alongside these amazing young people felt even more special.” Heather Small MBE

Your View, Forth Bridge

Now in its sixth year, this popular event offers a rare chance to climb 361 feet up the iconic Forth Bridge for stunning 360-degree views of Edinburgh and the Fife coastline. Thanks to dedicated volunteers and the support of Network Rail, Balfour Beatty, and The Briggers, more than 900 attendees helped raise £75,000 in 2024 to fund vital services across Scotland.

46 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

The Firecracker Ball

In November, nearly 400 guests attended Yorkshire’s annual Firecracker Ball, enjoying an enchanted midnight garden theme, whilst focusing on the impact of Barnardo’s work. Thanks to the tireless volunteer committee, led by event Chair Tom Dempsey, and main sponsors Evans Property group and Tudor Freight International, the event raised £200,000 in 2024, bringing the total to £3.6m since 2002. The event is designed and co-created with our partner The Angel Events.

National Choir Competition

In March, our National Choir Competition at Birmingham Symphony Hall brought together 1,100 young performers from across the UK, showcasing diverse talents to an audience of 1,000 supporters and panel of judges Dan Ludford-Thomas, Karen Gibson MBE, Rob Elliot and Adrian Packer CBE.

As the UK’s largest schools and community choir competition, the event raised £35,000 and was hosted by one of Barnardo’s SEEN Ambassadors.

The Katherine Martin Charitable Trust has donated an extraordinary £17.8m to Barnardo’s; the largest single donation in our history

The £17.8m gift from the Katherine Martin Charitable Trust will fund £12.5m towards Barnardo’s Gap Homes programme – creating 50 homes for young people leaving local authority care across the UK – and £5.3m to support services in the North of England through a new endowment fund.

independent living. The Katherine Martin Charitable Trust has already given over £10m to Barnardo’s, and this latest gift means her legacy will keep changing childhoods for years to come.

Alison*, a young person supported by Barnardo’s, said:

Katherine Martin, a pioneering philanthropist, businesswoman, and racing driver in the 1920s, left a remarkable legacy that lives on through this donation – building on over 60 years of support to Barnardo’s through the trust she established to continue her philanthropic interests.

“I had been living in care for several years before the age of 16 when I moved into Gap Homes and I had stayed in three places in that short space of time. I finally moved to my lovely place where I have been living since November 2023 with the support of the Barnardo’s team. I feel like it’s my home with a beautiful view and a nice calming environment.”

This donation will help fund new homes across Lincolnshire, Birmingham, and Glasgow, adding to the eight existing Gap Homes and giving young people a safe place to prepare for

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 47

Fundraising practices and governance

Our Income Generation Committee meets regularly to provide oversight of this work and our fundraising programmes, and to make sure we’re compliant and using best practice in these areas. We’re members of the Fundraising Regulator and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and we engage widely within the sector to support measures to increase public trust and confidence.

In addition to our staff and volunteer-led fundraising, we use agencies to help deliver face-to-face, telephone and other direct marketing activities (for example direct mail). External agencies who act in this capacity on our behalf are required to do so in a respectful manner and in accordance with our standards and sector regulation such as the Fundraising Code of Practice. We fundraise with corporate partners who are required to comply with the Fundraising Code of Practice and the terms set out in our corporate fundraising/commercial participator agreements.

We have received and responded to 134 fundraising complaints for financial year 2024-25, this is a decrease of 45 complaints from the previous year. The decrease is linked to a reduction in face-to-face fundraising activities. We continue to ensure our face-toface fundraising arrangements adhere to the current guidance from the Fundraising Regulator following their market inquiry into the use of subcontractors in this area.

We continue to address any expression of dissatisfaction on the part of our supporters and other members of the public, and to examine ways to improve the quality of our service to them. Our Supporter Care team looks at each complaint we receive. We aim to resolve complaints speedily and to the satisfaction of our supporters. Our complaints procedure is available on our website with all relevant contact details.

We recognise the need to monitor the performance and compliance of our agencies and providers. We involve ourselves in their training with regular briefing and refresher sessions, also involving our colleagues. Our quality assurance also includes regular reviews of complaints and other feedback, as well as regular audits, appropriate safeguarding measures, mystery shopping and shadowing of agency fundraisers.

We’re particularly aware of the need to protect vulnerable individuals in any fundraising we undertake. Our ‘Vulnerable Persons Guidance’ sets out the high standards we commit to meet and we work regularly with third party agencies and fundraisers to review their policies, procedures and performance.

48 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Retail and Trading

In 2024-25, we focused on developing new and innovative responses to a challenging retail environment.

Our retail and trading operations have always been an important source of income for the charity, and like many other charity retailers, we know we need to adapt to stay fit for the future.

Overall sales across our store network fell compared with 2023-24 by 1.6%. However, at the same time, our Ecommerce sales grew by over 30%, due to market expansion and ongoing trends in consumer behaviour. While this is still a small part of our overall trading, it is a key focus of our development and growth.

Stores

The cost of living remained high throughout this period, which contributed to a decline in the quality of donated goods, given the challenging backdrop faced by consumers. Meanwhile, we faced growing pressure from increased costs.

Total sales of new goods declined by 3.1% to £8.9m, which was mainly due to a reduction in allocated space in stores to allow for the expansion of donated products, which supported performance in the second half of the year. We continue to sell new goods through Barnardo’s Trading Limited and all donated goods through the Barnardo’s charity.

Sales of gift in kind products increased by 12.2% to £3.6m. A key driver was our partnership with Amazon as we now collect from eight fulfilment centres. Reductions in expenditure in this area resulted in net profits from these products increasing by 11.2%.

During the year, we opened a further seven stores, four of which were standard stores and three large format. We regularly review the profitability of our stores and in this period we closed 45 locations as they were not generating a positive financial income contribution towards the charity.

Sustainability

June 2024 saw the official opening of our Re-Fashion Hub, our first-ever upcycling workshop located within our Bradford Superstore. The Re-Fashion Hub is a space for our creative volunteers to reuse, repair and upcycle donated textile items that would usually be sent to our recycling merchants as store colleagues have deemed them unsuitable for resale in their current state.

The Hub enables volunteers to give these donations a new lease of life, whether as the same product with repairs or upcycled into completely new products. These items can then be resold in our stores, which not only supports our sustainability goals by significantly reducing the number of textiles we send for recycling, but also generates additional income.

Innovation

In June 2024, Barnardo’s Ecommerce team won the Charity Retail Association Technology Award for ‘Listopia’. This piece of software was co-designed and developed in close collaboration between Barnardo’s and an external partner. Created by a charity, for charities, Listopia represents an innovative step forward as it evolves into a wider commercial venture.

Developed to support our team of eBay listers, Listopia integrates AI technology to help identify products and generate accurate, high-quality descriptions, significantly improving workflow efficiency. The software has boosted productivity by up to 30% and delivered substantial savings of over £150,000 in user license costs.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 49

Our People & Culture

During this year, Barnardo’s continued to focus on embedding a culture where everyone can belong, grow and thrive.

Pay, Reward and Recognition

This year, we continued to demonstrate our commitment to invest in our colleagues, through our pay approach, based on the core principles: Fair, Attractive, and Progressive.

For 2024-25, we maintained our ongoing commitment to pay all colleagues the Real Living Wage, in line with our principles as a social justice organisation. For other colleagues, the Annual Pay Award was either 2% or 1% dependant on pay grade.

We also rolled out a new approach to performance and growth, following a successful pilot with our management and leadership cohort in the previous year, to help drive excellence on behalf of children and young people.

During this period, we also made changes to our reward offer and our policies including:

50 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

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We remain focused on colleague engagement and participation, holding a survey of all colleagues, which provided key insight and comparisons with similar organisations. We received almost 3,500 responses which continue to inform our offer to colleagues.

Values and behaviours

During the year, we have continued to ensure that our values and behaviours are woven into everything we do – from our policies and projects, new initiatives and how we interact with our colleagues.

We also launched our new Colleague Voice Forum, which brings together colleagues from across the charity to share their feedback on key initiatives and issues. In 2024-25 we had 57 colleagues taking part of the Forum, which meets regularly and provided key insight and feedback on 15 projects during the year. It is our ambition to continue to grow forum membership, and to focus on closing the feedback loop by providing updates on how the forum has helped to shape initiatives.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 51

Equality, diversity and inclusion

In 2024-25 we continued to make progress against our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan, which makes key commitments to our colleagues, our culture and our communities.

Key activities included continuation of our ‘License to Recruit’ training programme for managers; a focused EDI workstream to improve our recruitment practices, and continued work on our Anti-Racism action plan (linked to our Anti-Racism Commitments), Disability Equality action plan, LGBT+ action plan and Gender Equality commitments. We held a number of

informative and celebratory events on a variety of issues and maintained our presence at key community events, including LGBT+ Pride events.

We also focused on enhancing our data, so we have better visibility and understanding of the characteristics of our colleagues, including our volunteers, and the children, young people, parents and carers we support. We are using this to inform performance indicators and actions across the charity, in line with our EDI objectives. Specifically, this is key to help us work towards delivering excellent, inclusive services.

Diversity amongst the children, young people and families we support

Based on our internal systems, we were able to record information as outlined in the table below.

Note: this data is about the percentage of service users for whom we hold data. For instance, for 87.9% of service users we know whether they have a disability. This is NOT to say that 87.9% of service users are disabled.

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We were able to record 2024-25 2023-24 % change (points)
Service users’ gender 97.4% 98.6% -1.2%
Whether a service user has a disability 87.9% 84.4% 3.5%
Service users’ ethnicity 89.7% 90.6% -0.9%
Service users’ sexual orientation 31.3% 31.8% -0.5%
----- End of picture text -----*

*only including service users aged 14 or over (c.25k)

Barnardo’s can choose the types of information we record on our internal systems. However, the way we deliver services alongside partners such as local authorities, means that we also record data on external systems. We are working internally and with partners to enhance our EDI recording on external systems.

52 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Diversity amongst our colleagues

Following a review of the data we have available about our colleagues, we identified that the percentage identifying as Black or Minoritised Ethnic and as Disabled, was lower than the percentage in the working age general population, as determined by the 2021 census.

We therefore started to track the rolling average for our colleagues, to encourage colleagues to disclose their characteristics, and to try to improve application and successful appointment rates through our recruitment processes.

Based on the data we have available, we have the following representation amongst our colleagues:

----- Start of picture text -----
Representation 2023-24 2024-25 2021 census
Proportion of colleagues who are Black and
11.8% 12.1% 19.3%
Minoritised Ethnic
Proportion of colleagues who are Disabled 6.0% 8.4% 22.0%
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Our ‘This is Me’ data disclosure campaign for colleagues commenced in March 2024, from which we saw the ‘Prefer Not to Say’ and ‘Unknown’ categories reduce. In addition,

we have now enabled our colleagues to disclose whether they are ‘care experienced’. We do not have enough data to report on this for 2024-25 but we aim to do so for future years.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 53

Diversity Pay Gap

In April 2025, we published our April 2024 Diversity Pay Gap report, bringing together data and analysis on our gender, ethnicity, and disability pay gaps, and reporting for the second time on the gap for colleagues who are LGB+.

Our pay gaps for April 2024 are based on snapshot data from 1 April 2024. The number of colleagues captured in our reporting sample for 2024 is slightly higher in every category than in our April 2023 reporting. We believe this may reflect changes to our payroll process that took place in April 2024 and other positive factors, such us our ‘This is Me’ campaign referenced above.

Our analysis shows that with 84% of our colleagues being female, Barnardo’s overall median gender pay gap was 5.09% in favour of men and our mean gender pay gap was 12% in favour of men. Our median gap has reduced by 2.7% this year – continuing our downward trajectory and putting us even further ahead of the national average of 13.1%.

This pay gap has been decreasing overall since reporting began in 2017, excluding the years impacted by the pandemic and furlough scheme. Our goal is, of course, to seek to eliminate our pay gap, and we are focused on the work we need to do to get there.

Ongoing work to achieve our goals

We are continuing to take steps to make sure our pay is fair. This includes more regular checks on our pay gap during the year, and introducing new mechanisms to make sure we identify and act on the causes of our gaps within specific departments, alongside other proactive work to challenge discrimination and promoting equality.

We also continue to deliver on our longer-term commitments and actions including:

We know this is a journey and our ambition is to make progress every year.

Our wider diversity pay gap analysis shows:

(To note, negative values are used where the gap is in favour of the minority group.)

However, we are conscious that for all these characteristics, our sample sizes are smaller, so we are cautious in drawing conclusions until we have data from more years and a clearer understanding of trends.

54 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Learning

During 2024-25, we launched our new approach to learning & development that aims to ensure our colleagues – including our volunteers are safe, capable and able to deliver excellence, and that focus and resources are directed to learning and development that will have the greatest impact towards changing childhoods and changing lives.

The new approach has been designed to improve structure and clarity to development and growth at Barnardo’s and has three key strands:

We partnered with Upfront to offer over 460 women in the charity a place on their last two Upfront Bonds – a social learning opportunity focused on improving women’s confidence. This received fantastic feedback, as well as endorsement from our Women’s Network, and we plan to continue this offer for future cohorts. Each Bond is open to as many of our colleagues and volunteers as want to attend, with no restrictions on number of sign ups.

Similarly, we have introduced social learning circles for colleagues to connect and learn from each other on a wide range of topics, and continue our relationship with the Charity Mentoring Network, with 53 of our colleagues taking part in 2024-25 both as mentors and mentees.

Based on colleague feedback, the approach offers more variety of opportunity, with many bite-sized learning opportunities that can be accessed at any time, to ensure that more colleagues and volunteers are able to benefit from these growth opportunities. The learning approach will be underpinned by a charity-wide skills map, and a new approach to leadership development, supported by our key “leadership enablers”.

We also launched three leadership development programmes, covering different levels and making use of funding via the apprenticeship levy where available. In 2024-25, 112 of our leaders and aspiring leaders were onboarded to these programmes.

I am incredibly grateful to Barnardo’s for investing in my development through the leadership programme. I feel it has given me time to learn and reflect alongside practical tools to become a better and more effective leader. The content of the course has felt highly relevant to my role and it’s given me the opportunity to connect with supportive peers across the charity who are also taking part.” Claire Rushforth, Head of External Communications and Engagement

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 55

Working with our volunteers

Our volunteers continue to bring a rich variety of skills and experiences to Barnardo’s. Last year the number of people volunteering for Barnardo’s grew, with 18,520 people giving over 1.9 million hours of their time across the charity to help change childhoods and change lives.

----- Start of picture text -----
% change
2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
since last year
Number of people volunteered
15,585 16,917 17,350 18,520 +6.7%
at least once for Barnardo’s
Hours contributed by
1.8m 1.8m 1.8m 1.9m +5.6%
volunteers to the charity
Number of regular active
11,613 12,067 13,342 14,154 +6.1%
volunteers
----- End of picture text -----

Volunteer engagement has grown for a fourth consecutive year, with an increase of 6.7%, or 1,170 more people who volunteered at least once. For the first time since 2021, this increase in volunteer involvement has also resulted in a significant uplift of 4.9% in volunteer hours.

While many independent reports warn of a reduction in volunteer engagement across many parts of the UK, Barnardo’s has seen growth throughout the financial year. This can partly be attributed to our focus on volunteer recruitment and retention. It is also significant that 30% of Barnardo’s volunteers are under the age of 18 and that young people who volunteer through Duke of Edinburgh, school work experience, or directly though Barnardo’s make a considerable contribution to the charity, while also gaining experience and skills. Recent reports suggest that volunteering is increasing among under 18s in the UK.

56 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Volunteer Voice Survey

The Volunteer Voice Survey took place in November 2024 alongside the Colleague Voice Survey. We asked volunteers slightly different questions from those asked in the last survey, in order to provide more meaningful insight about the volunteer experience. This does however limit our ability to compare the results.

1,617 volunteers Overall volunteer satisfaction (13%) responded to was high with an average the survey. A 3% score of 8.4 out of 10. Though decrease on the this is a slight reduction of 0.2 previous year. compared to the previous year.

The lowest scoring question received a score of 7.8 out of 10, with the highest scoring question at 9.1.

Positive themes included:

• Flexibility

Volunteers felt that Barnardo’s offers opportunities that can fit around their lives. Flexibility in volunteering opportunities is seen as an important factor across the voluntary sector, and this could be a key driver in the increase in volunteer numbers at Barnardo’s.

• Recognition

There was a 6% increase in volunteers saying they felt valued at Barnardo’s, and many commented on how their volunteer manager plays an important part in this. This follows a project to develop and increase volunteer reward and recognition as part of the Volunteering Development Programme.

• Meaning and purpose

There was a 5% increase in volunteers saying they are inspired by Barnardo’s (86%). Volunteers cited a strong connection to the charity’s purpose. The rebrand and new Strategy are understood to be drivers of this improvement.

There were two main areas for improvement highlighted in the survey responses:

• Induction and learning

Many volunteers felt that there is still work to do to improve the induction, training and development opportunities on offer. A project has been in development to address this through 2024 and 2025, including a refreshed suite of materials.

• Communication

Communication was also a key area that volunteers feel should be an area of focus. This included charity wide comms for volunteers, as well as local communication.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 57

Progress after two years of the Volunteering Development Programme

In 2023 Barnardo’s launched four strategic aims for volunteering development, to be delivered by the end of 2026. Significant progress has been made in 2024-25 toward these aims.

Building a Culture of Volunteering

Representing the Diversity of our Communities

Providing an Excellent Volunteer Experience

Data, Insight and Continuouse Improvement

58 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Financial review

How our finances look

2024-25 has marked a significant financial year for Barnardo’s, as we began our new three-year Strategy, focused on delivering our Purpose – changing childhoods and changing lives, so that children in the UK are safer, happier, healthier and more hopeful. We have also seen the receipt of the £17.8m donation from the Katherine Martin Charitable Trust, the largest single donation in the charity’s history. This gift has in part been set aside as a restricted fund to deliver the Barnardo’s Gap Homes programme, creating 50 homes across the UK, as well as an endowment fund to support vital services in the North of England.

Through this financial year we have commenced the delivery of a number of transformative change projects to ensure that the services that we deliver are in line with the needs of seven overlapping populations of children and the three interconnected strategic goals that are identified within our Strategy.

These changes have been made against a backdrop of an increasingly difficult retail trading environment, inflationary cost increases, a lower level of donated income and the impact of a challenging commissioning and funding environment.

We have therefore been focused on ensuring that our services that are run on behalf of key providers, such as local authorities or the NHS, are adequately funded by commissioned contracts. This approach, along with refocused service provision in line with our Strategy, has meant that the number of services that we operate has reduced, whilst our commissioned income has increased to ensure that our costs

of delivery are adequately being met. This rebalancing of provision is important to ensure the ongoing sustainability of our services and that we can direct our donated funds to key unfunded services and projects in line with our Strategy.

These actions, alongside broader organisational cost efficiency projects, have enabled us to deliver improved financial results, with better year on year operating performance.

We will continue to be focused on this rebalancing of our services over the length of our medium-term budget (which runs to March 2028). This includes multiple actions to help us to continue to deliver on our Strategy, our reserves targets, and our commitment to responsible financial stewardship. These actions will enable us to deliver excellent and inclusive services, as well as driving longer term transformative change for the future.

Results for 2024-25

In 2024-25, Barnardo’s generated a net surplus of £18.8m, which compares to a net deficit of £3.6m for 2023-24. This excludes the £22.7m gain (2024: £9.1m loss) made from the annual actuarial valuation of the Barnardo’s Staff Pension Scheme (see further details below) but does include a £0.7m loss on disposal of fixed assets (2024: £0.6m gain) and a net loss on financial investments of £145k (2024: £6m gain).

Excluding the one-off donation from the Katherine Martin Charitable Trust, the impact of the annual actuarial valuation of the Barnardo’s Staff Pension Scheme, and net gains/losses on investments, the underlying surplus was £1.1m, compared to a deficit of £9.6m in 2023-24.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 59

Our total income for the year was £345.6m, compared with £326.1m in 2023-24, which represents a 6% increase across all our activities. Our income from charitable activities increased to £192.0m, compared with £187.3m in 2023-24, with the largest proportion from direct family support work, which includes children’s centres and family hubs. We continued to secure new contracts during the year in line with our Strategy, which has helped us to grow our commissioned income and demonstrates the strong position we continue to hold in the children’s services sector.

Our retail and trading income reduced during 2024-25 to £91.6m, compared with £93.1m in 2023-24, driven by a reduction in donated goods in our stores. Our e-commerce turnover increased to £6.4m, up from £4.9m in 2023-24, while our new goods sales decreased slightly to £8.9m compared to £9.2m in 2023-24.

Income from donations and legacies was £58.1m, £16.4m higher than the previous year’s total of £41.7m. Excluding the one-off gift from the Katherine Martin Trust, this was an underlying £40.3m, a reduction of £1.4m. This includes £15.7m from legacies, compared with £18.4m in 2023-24.

Total expenditure decreased by £9.1m this year to £326.6m (£335.7m in 2023-24), reflecting a focus on operating efficiency and reductions in support costs. Our most significant area of expenditure is staff costs, which totalled £208.8m (£214.1m in 2023-24). Our total charitable expenditure fell by £14.0m, to £221.9m (a 6% decrease compared with a 6% increase in our charitable income), this reduction in expenditure reflects the impact of lower income from donations and legacies, changes and closures in services as a result of rebalancing of provision in line with our Strategy.

Across fundraising and trading activities, we were still able to generate a net contribution of £46.4m to our frontline charitable work (£35.3m in 2023-24), after the central allocation of support costs. The one-off gift from the Katherine Martin Charitable Trust is included with this amount and has been set aside as restricted income to fund the Barnardo’s Gap Homes programme and an endowment fund to support vital services in the North of England in future years.

Barnardo’s total retail activities produced an operating deficit of £0.4m, compared with a £5.0m surplus in 2024, however this loss includes £9.5m of apportioned support costs (£9.8m in 2023-24) and therefore our retail

operations do continue to generate a substantial contribution to the Charity’s overhead costs. We regularly review the profitability of our stores and in this period, we closed 45 locations as they were not generating a positive contribution towards the charity, whilst opening seven stores in new locations.

60 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

----- Start of picture text -----
Total Total
expenditure income
£326.6m £345.6m
----- End of picture text -----

£221.9m Charitable activities

£92.4m Trading, including shops

£11.3m Fundraising

£1.0m Other costs

----- Start of picture text -----
Donations income
by source
£58.1m
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Fees and
grants income by
strategy area
£192.0m
----- End of picture text -----

£19.3m Donations from companies and trusts

£23.1m Donations and gifts from the general public £15.7m Legacies

Income has been allocated to the most relevant strategic area, but, to note, our services may cover more than one strategic area.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 61

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Our pension schemes

Barnardo’s is the employer sponsor of the Barnardo’s Staff Pension Scheme (BSPS), which is a defined benefit pension plan. It closed to new members in 2007 and stopped the further accrual of benefits to existing members in April 2013. The Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 102 valuation position on 31 March 2025 shows a deficit of £29.2m, compared to £57.7m in 2024. The decrease in deficit, after adjusting for net contributions paid and scheme expenses, was caused by a reduction in the value of the pension liabilities primarily due to a higher discount rate being applied to these liabilities. These factors together led to a £22.7m actuarial gain in year, recognised in the statement of financial activities.

The assumptions used for calculating these FRS 102 pension disclosures are different from those used for the last full scheme triennial valuation, which is carried out separately by the Trustees of the Barnardo’s Staff Pension Scheme. On 31 March 2021, using the technical provisions valuation basis for their last triennial valuation, the scheme Trustees valued the deficit at £146m and the funding level was 84%. Since that date the deficit calculated using the technical provisions basis and the same assumptions has decreased to circa. £62m as at 31 March 2025 with a funding level of 89%. The difference between the two valuations at 31 March 2025 demonstrates the volatility in calculating longterm pension liabilities. It also demonstrates the impact of using different sets of actuarial assumptions. Neither calculation is right or wrong. They are snapshots of the situation at particular moments in time and are highly sensitive to changes in the financial market.

They also highlight the difference between the more conservative assumptions used for the triennial valuation and the ‘best estimate’ assumptions used for the FRS 102 calculations. The FRS 102 valuation uses lower inflation and higher interest and discount rate assumptions and both of these lead to a lower calculation of pension liabilities.

The triennial valuation is used to calculate the payment of the further pension contributions (deficit reduction contributions). This is currently based on the deficit reduction/recovery plan agreed between the Board of Trustees of Barnardo’s and the Trustees of the Barnardo’s Staff Pension Scheme following the 2021 triennial valuation process. The next triennial valuation, based on our assets and liabilities as at 31 March 2024, is currently underway.

In the previous triennial valuation, Barnardo’s agreed to pay £10.7m per annum for 13.5 years from 1 April 2021. This deficit reduction plan, which is soon to be refreshed, should ensure that the deficit reduces over a number of years as additional pension contributions are paid and returns are generated from the Scheme’s assets. The Trustees see the pension scheme deficit as a long-term liability, where the payments required by the pension plan will need to be met from forecast future cash flows. An agreed investment strategy is being implemented by the Pension Scheme Trustees, allowing for a lower risk asset portfolio, but one which still retains potential for investment growth.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 63

Our position at the end of the year

Reserves are represented by the fund balances in the balance sheet on page 98.

The target level of our reserves is determined by balancing two objectives:

This means our reserves level needs to be adequate to allow us to address potential deficits that may arise from our charitable activities, investments, trading and other activities. It also needs to give us sufficient time to adjust our approach to meet changing circumstances without unnecessarily removing funds from addressing our charitable purposes. Recent geo-political events, COVID-19 and the costof-living crisis are examples of the need for us to maintain a healthy reserves balance. Our reserves have made sure we were able to maintain stable operations, whilst continuing to protect front line services for children and young people over the past few years.

The group balance sheet shows a net asset position of £118.3m, compared with £76.8m in 2023-24, after adjusting for the pension liability. It also shows unrestricted reserves (reserves that don’t carry any restrictions on how they can be used) of £89.1m (2023-24: £88.7m).

In carrying out our assessment of available reserves, we exclude our pensions reserve as it relates to a long-term liability and our fixed asset fund, because it relates to tangible and intangible fixed assets that are used in service delivery and fundraising. We also exclude any funds that are designated for a specific purpose. This gets us to our ‘free reserves’; the relatively liquid resources we have available if we need them at short notice.

At end of 2024-25 we had free reserves of £40.1m (2023-24: £33.7m), as explained below:

----- Start of picture text -----
2024-25 2023-24
Unrestricted reserves
before pension deficit
adjustment £89.1m £88.7m
(per balance sheet
on page 98)
Less: fixed asset fund (£30.0m) (£35.2m)
Less: designated
funds set aside by
(£19.0m) (£19.8m)
Trustees for specific
purposes
Total free reserves £40.1m £33.7m
----- End of picture text -----

Free reserves have increased due to the utilisation of designated funds for technology, lower capital expenditure than depreciation, and a review of historic restricted fund balances, with £3.2m transferred to unrestricted funds reflecting that no further restrictions have been identified.

64 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

In the 2022 financial year, the Trustees approved two designated funds which are excluded from the free reserves’ calculations noted above:

  1. A specific risk pension reserve of £16m which will be used to cover deficit reduction payments to the defined benefit pension scheme for at least 18 months in times of emergency and significant financial challenge. This will give the charity breathing space to change its operations without having to immediately cut the provision of vital services. We are yet to make use of this fund.

  2. A £10m technology fund to invest in our digital priorities over a three-year period. We utilised £3.1m of this fund in both 2022-23 and 2023-24 and a further £800k in 2024-25 for the replacement of several significant technology platforms.

The Board of Trustees assesses the risks Barnardo’s could be exposed to and the appropriate level of reserves that we should maintain. With the setting up of a specific risk pension reserve, protecting us against the risk of not being able to make additional deficit reduction payments in time of crisis, we adjusted our target reserves range in 2023-24 to between £37.8m to £50.4m, with a specific target of £42m. This was reviewed and maintained in 2024-25 and means that we ended this financial year within our target reserves range.

We have a medium-term budget strategy in place that sees us move our free reserves further closer to the specific target position (£42m) over the next two financial years.

Our unrestricted reserves assessment also excludes the £58.4m (2024: £45.8m) held in restricted and endowment funds.

We have a total of £19.0m remaining in these two funds at 31 March 2025.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 65

Our investments

Barnardo’s investment portfolio is managed by three investment managers: Sarasin, CCLA and Ruffer LLP. Investments are held in a range of asset classes (a group of investments which are subject to the same regulations) including equities, fixed-income securities, commodities and cash.

Barnardo’s is committed to ethical investments. In particular we are careful not to invest in companies that are considered to exploit children in the manufacture, production or delivery of their products or services. The equities funds we use do not invest in arms manufacturers, or companies that receive more than 10% of their revenue from alcohol, gambling related products (which differ from lotteries), home-collected credit, oil sands, tar sands, thermal coal, pornography or tobacco. In addition, they do not invest in businesses that do not meet minimum standards for responsible marketing on breast milk substitutes (as determined by and with the investment manager based on criteria such as the FTSE4 Good Index).

Despite volatility in the investment market through the year, excluding the addition of investments following the Katherine Martin Trust donation, our investments overall remained neutral.

Ruffer LLP delivered a return of 3.7% compared with -3.9% in 2023-24. Ruffer’s main objectives are to preserve client’s capital over rolling 12 month periods and to grow the portfolio at a higher rate (after fees) than could reasonably be expected from depositing the cash value of the portfolio in a reputable United Kingdom bank. Sarasin delivered a return of 4.7% compared with 9% in 2023-24 and CCLA a return of -0.5% compared with 13.1% in 2023-24, reflecting the impact of geopolitical uncertainty towards the end of the financial year.

Our Investment Policy Statement targets a total return of Consumer Price Index (CPI) + 3.5% over a rolling five-year period net of fees.

We report on performance each month to our Executive Leadership and quarterly to Trustees. We also meet regularly with our investment managers and determine if any changes are required to our portfolio or investment approach.

Movement in investments across our portfolio was as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
2024-25 2023-24
£’m £’m
At beginning of year 99.5 98.0
Net additions/
15.7 (0.5)
(disposals)
Realised/unrealised
(loss)/gain on (0.1) 6.0
investments
Cash withdrawals (4.0) (4.0)
At end of year 111.1 99.5
----- End of picture text -----

We withdrew cash totalling £4m during the year to ensure resilience in our cash balances and generated £3.3m of income, which was a small decrease from the £3.4m received in the prior year. Included in this income amount is interest generated by placing cash not immediately required for day-to-day running costs on short term deposit.

The investment portfolio includes restricted capital along with endowment funds, for which Barnardo’s has received an order, signed by the Charity Commission which enables the unapplied total return to be transferred to unrestricted funds. This return is included in net gains or losses on investments and is calculated as the difference between the market value of the funds and their indexed value (from 1 April 1976 or date of donation if later).

Barnardo’s also holds an investment property which is included in the end of year investments value of £111.1m.

66 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Acting as a custodian Trustee on behalf of others

Included in the restricted and endowment funds are two charities that are independently registered with the Charity Commission. These are the ACW Edwards Charity (registration number 247678) and Egerton Will Trust (registration number 272973), for more information refer to page 125. A number of constituent charities are also registered with the Charity Commission. Funds are held separately from Barnardo’s. The objects are closely aligned to Barnardo’s so these charities have been included as if they represent restricted funds of Barnardo’s which is in accordance with the Charities SORP (as custodian Trustees and with Charity Commission consent).

Our grant making policy

We award grants to young people from our various trust funds. During 2024-25 we made more than 650 grants totalling £0.2m. Any person supported by Barnardo’s under the age of 25 can apply, subject to completion of our application process and basic due diligence exercised on behalf of the charity. There are a number of areas that can be funded, including education and training, leaving care, poverty and hardship, and disability.

Our commercial and other activities

We carry out commercial activities to raise funds to achieve our charitable objectives. During this year, our subsidiaries generated a net income of £3.1m, compared with £3.0m in 2023-24. The net income (profit) of each subsidiary is given to Barnardo’s through a qualifying charitable donation which is reflected in these financial statements.

Barnardo Trading Limited generated a profit of £2.8m, compared with £2.6m in 2023-24, from its mail order, publishing and retail activities during the year.

Barnardo Developments Limited’s principal activity is the development and sale of properties that are no longer required for charitable use. The company generated a profit of £0.1m during the year, this compared with £0.1m loss in 2024. The profit in 2024-25 has been generated through the sale of the final property of the Barkingside Regeneration Scheme and an adjustment for prior year rental income not previously recognised in Barnardo Developments Limited. Now that this property has been sold, Barnardo Developments Limited has ceased to trade and the remaining assets and liabilities of the business transferred to Barnardo Trading Limited from 22 May 2025.

Barnardo Events Limited ceased to trade on 30 June 2024 and all existing contracts were transferred to Barnardo Trading Limited. Prior to the cessation of trading a profit of £9k was generated and transferred to Barnardo’s.

Barnardo Services Limited provides a range of services for children and young people in conjunction with local authorities, health authorities and similar bodies. The company generated a profit of £0.5m during the year, compared with £0.5m in 2023-24.

Adoptionplus is a charity offering adoption placement and specialist therapy services. The charity generated a loss of £0.2m for the year, compared with a loss of £0.1m in 2023-24.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 67

Going Concern

2024-25 has seen challenging trading conditions, with lower retail income, lower underlying donations (with the exception of the Katherine Martin Charitable Trust donation) and higher costs. Despite this, significant progress has been made across the Charity in aligning our service provision to our new Strategy, delivering improved operating efficiencies and ensuring that where our services are commissioned by Local Authorities and the NHS, they are adequately funded. This work, which will be ongoing, has ensured that we have seen improvements in our underlying operating performance from 2023-24 to 2024-25.

We carry out a robust medium term budget setting strategy each year during the third and fourth quarters of the year. This sets a threeyear budget process, including a detailed operational budget for the coming 12 months.

Before 2024-25 had ended we were already busy delivering on actions that are required to deliver the charity’s new Strategy and to increase our free reserves within the target range. As noted above this will continue to focus on our retail profitability, our overhead costs and our children’s services operating model.

We have also prepared scenarios and identified areas where we will take further action if required.

We hold the majority of our free reserves as cash and unrestricted investment holdings. Whilst we did draw down on some of our investment balances during the year we ended the year with £11.7m of cash and deposit account balances, and £111.1m of long-term investment assets (including £60.7m of unrestricted investments).

We also hold designated reserves totalling £19.0m that provide £3.0m additional resources to be spent on optimising our use of technology and data, as well as £16m that is held separately for our ongoing obligations to our pension fund.

Although the economic environment is challenging, we are taking the necessary steps to ensure our continued financial resilience. We will continue to closely monitor the impact of government decision-making on its funding to the sector and specifically the services we provide, along with assessing the state of the economy.

Given the strength of our balance sheet (see page 98) – and the availability and liquidity of the charity’s free cash reserves and unrestricted investments – the Trustees have not identified any material uncertainty that would cast doubt on the charity’s ability to continue. Looking ahead for next three years, our cash flows supported by our unrestricted investments remain strong and have been stress tested. This includes a reverse stress test that considers the extent that our revenues could fall and our expenditure increase (with no other corrective action being taken) before it would put more of a strain on the charity as a going concern.

The challenges of the last few years have been a good test of our resilience, and the way we have responded as a charity gives a great deal of confidence in our going concern assertion.

68 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

Barnardo'sAnnual Report 2024-25 | 69

Our principal risks and uncertainties

The Board of Trustees has responsibility for ensuring that there are adequate and effective risk management protocols and systems of internal controls in place to manage Barnardo’s major risks and support the achievement of our strategic objectives. This responsibility is discharged by reviewing the strategic risks at each meeting and a formal annual review by the Board of Barnardo’s risk management and internal control framework. The Board is supported in its assessment by the Risk and the Audit & Finance Committees, which both meet quarterly.

Barnardo’s risk management framework is designed to support informed decision-making regarding the risks which may affect the achievement of its objectives. It also provides a consistent approach to identifying, assessing, and dealing with the risks which Barnardo’s faces to ensure that they do not exceed the level of risk Barnardo’s is willing to accept. The framework is designed to manage, rather than to eliminate, the risks to objectives and to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss. Processes are in place to manage the key risks that could affect Barnardo’s ability to achieve its objectives, including the following:

Information relating to the principal risks to Barnardo’s objectives and how these are managed is set out opposite:

70 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

----- Start of picture text -----
Principal risks How these risks are managed
----- End of picture text -----

Principal risks How these risks are managed
Safeguarding children and
young people
The Risk – Inadequate or ineffective
safeguarding policy or practice
that could result in, or contribute
to, serious harm or injury to a child
or a young person. This represents
Barnardo’s most critical risk given
the nature of our work. Barnardo’s
gives its full attention to every child
and young person, and never turns
away complex cases. By virtue of this
approach of working with some of the
most vulnerable children and young
people in society there are significant
challenges to making them safer and
this increases the level of inherent risk
we carry in our day to-day operations.		 1. A dedicated safeguarding team, led by the Head of
Corporate Safeguarding, reporting to our executive
Director for Children’s Services and links with a
dedicated safeguarding Trustee lead.
2. Clear safeguarding reporting mechanisms as set out
in our safeguarding policy, including Safeguarding
Lead roles in all departments and regions.
3. Formal governance and reporting structures
established, including named safeguarding leads
at Trustee and Executive level, with regular meetings
of Safeguarding Leads.
4. Escalation protocol for all relevant incidents to the
Head of Corporate Safeguarding, executive-level
Safeguarding Lead and Risk Committee.
5. A safeguarding specific induction (including pre-
employment checks), supplemented by mandatory
safeguarding training, for all paid and unpaid
colleagues (the depth of training required depending
on role).
6. Reviews of serious cases and external regulatory
inspections, with ongoing implementation of lessons
learned.
7. Regular independent reviews of safeguarding
practices across Barnardo’s, performed by
safeguarding specialists, with implementation of
required improvements.
8. Systematic quarterly consideration of serious incident
reports which require notification to the regulator.
9. Safeguarding Universe and Annual Assurance
Statement processes and governance, this enables
a comprehensive view of Safeguarding risks and
assurance activity to allow effective mitigation.
10. Safeguarding Risk Register in place and regular
review included at Safeguarding Assurance meetings.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 71

Principal risks

Financial Performance and Sustainability

The Risk – A significant reduction in available resources due to:

How these risks are managed

  1. We have strict financial controls including:

  2. monthly cash flow forecasting

  3. sensitivity analysis and stress-testing of short-tomedium term scenario plans, including periodic risk reviews.

  4. Regular review and additional levels of approval for payments, and expenditure.

  5. Holding of a significant value of ‘free’ reserves, with a monthly review to help manage them within the target range set by the Audit & Finance Committee.

  6. Annual budget setting and then quarterly full charity re-forecasting processes, including review and challenge from senior management and Trustees.

  7. Regular review and scrutiny of financial performance and risk (short and medium term), including for investments, by senior management and Trustees through the Audit & Finance Committee.

  8. Delegated approvals process, ensuring Trustee review and scrutiny of material income and expenditure contracts and transactions.

  9. Focus on diversifying our contract portfolio and income to spread risk. This includes growing income outside of commissioned delivery.

  10. Quarterly financial performance meetings with Children’s Services, Fundraising and Retail, CEO, CFO and relevant corporate directors.

72 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

----- Start of picture text -----
Principal risks How these risks are managed
Pension Liabilities 1. Agreement of an affordable long-term recovery
plan with the Scheme Trustees, including making
The Risk – The defined benefit overpayments to reduce the scheme liability and
reduce future costs.
pension scheme deficit increases
due to actuarial valuations and 2. Ongoing monitoring and review (including annual
Barnardo’s is required to supplement desk-based valuations) of Scheme liabilities, review
the increased deficit. This severely of assumptions, and reporting to Trustees.
impacts the resources available for
3. Ongoing engagement with the Scheme Trustees.
strategic aims and to withstand any
future crises. 4. Review and monitoring of the Scheme investment
strategy and returns.
5. BSPS (defined benefit) scheme is now closed to
new colleagues and to further benefits accrual.
6. CFO review and attendance at the Pension Scheme
Investment Covenant Committee (Quarterly).
Change Management, 1. Significant investment in our Information Technology
Systems and Technology infrastructure and optimisation of key applications.
2. Robust governance arrangements are in place
The Risk – Inability or lack of capacity including oversight from Trustee, Executive
to implement change and complete Leadership Team, Corporate Programme Board,
priority projects, leading to reliance on and specific Boards for key projects.
sub-optimal systems and technology.
3. Effective programme, project, change methodologies
are utilised throughout the lifecycle of change.
These include a comprehensive project management
toolkit, change readiness assessment, portfolio
approach to change, post project lesson learnt
reviews and independent internal audits on specific
projects.
4. Comprehensive wellbeing support in place for
colleagues affected by change.
----- End of picture text -----

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 73

----- Start of picture text -----
Principal risks How these risks are managed
----- End of picture text -----

Principal risks How these risks are managed
Reputation Management
The Risk – A range of incidents
or events that may consequently
damage our reputation.		 1. Clear sign-off processes to ensure that any content
on any of our external-facing channels is reviewed
appropriately for risk.
2. We have an Advocacy & Campaigning Policy
approved at Board to help balance speaking out
– in line with our Strategy – with managing risk.
3. Linked to this, we have designed, alongside Trustees,
a specific reputational risk framework to assist in
making decisions about speaking out on controversial
topics, and to act as a clear statement of our thinking
and processes, in case we need it later. This is in line
with our charitable objects.
4. We are flagging any potential reputational risks
appropriately with Trustees and also summarising
in the CEO report to Board.
5. We have clear processes in place in the event of
reputational risk occurring, including reputation
management forms that are filled out and circulated
to all relevant stakeholders. These are also noted on
a reputation risk log that is reviewed regularly.
6. We are developing a new Reputation Risk Plan with
external advice and linked to other charity-wide
risk/issue procedures, including business continuity
planning.
7. We have improved processes to ensure that due
consideration is given to where reputational risk
processes may meet the threshold for reporting to
the Charity Commission and taking them through
that process as appropriate.
8. We prepare carefully for potential reputational risks
with, for example, clear Q&As in advance, and with
support and advice for operational communications
colleagues so they are well prepared to take the
right actions and escalate issues. We update our
preparations regularly – e.g. we have specific lines
in relation to changes to services linked to funding
decisions – either internal or external.
9. We have developed a detailed communications
plan to mitigate the risk of retail shop closures
– covering people change, cost, volunteering
opportunities, and our future direction of travel.

74 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

----- Start of picture text -----
Principal risks How these risks are managed
----- End of picture text -----

Principal risks How these risks are managed
Cyber Security
The Risk – Inability to maintain
appropriate level of information
security or quality assurance to
meet regulatory demands.		 1. Mandatory Data Protection and Information Security
training. Completion of training is tracked and
escalated where necessary.
2. Information Security Policy Framework and
Compliance Reviews.
3. Investment in Tech Infrastructure.
4. ISO27001 accreditation.
5. Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation.
6. Regular independent internal audit reviews.
7. IT security controls, including Multi Factor
Authentication, regular pen testing, anti-virus/
malware software, firewalls, security threat scanning,
software patching and data backups.
8. Incident response process in place including lessons
learned reviews.
9. Regular Phishing simulations, supported with an
education and awareness programme.
10. Simulated a Ransomware attack in a controlled
environment June 2024.
11. ‘Choose Children’ group of CEOs (comprising leading
children’s charities) – Sharing of incidents and trends
as an early warning alert.
12. Regular review of Executive Leadership Team
members’ social media privacy settings.
13. Business Resilience testing to protect our income
streams in the event of an incident.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 75

Principal risks

People and Culture

The Risk – A culture which is not inclusive, does not have a growth mindset focus, where accountabilities are unclear and where low colleague engagement impacts delivery of our Strategy.

How these risks are managed

  1. People and Culture – Five core strategic deliverables to achieve ‘belonging’.

  2. Annual Colleague Survey and targeted actions following detailed analysis of results.

  3. Proactive and open internal comms, and trust in leadership.

  4. Corporate wide behavioural framework including basis and values, traits and actions, management actions and leadership traits.

  5. Refreshed values and behaviours.

  6. Specific action plans to improve Risk, Data and EDI culture – EDI metrics objectives and measures agreed by EDI sub-committee.

  7. Relaunched Colleague Voice forums.

  8. Colleague Experience team allocated across all people teamwork and sprints.

  9. New streamlined EDI Governance.

  10. Frameworks and processes in place corporately and at a devolved level to create an inclusive culture and provide opportunities for specific groups of colleagues to be heard.

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76 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25
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Plans for future periods

In the 2025-26 financial year, we are continuing to make progress against our three-year Strategy and our theory of change, and to leverage the maximum benefit from our new brand.

We will continue to deliver on all three pillars of our new Strategy:

We will work to drive change across all these pillars on behalf of the seven populations of children identified in our Strategy. As always, we will focus on achieving demonstrable change for children today, whilst also achieving transformative change that will benefit generations to follow.

We will continue to develop our ‘service models’, honing the very best way to deliver services that achieve positive change for children and demonstrate value for money. We are specifically focused on family support, including family hubs, and mental health support for children in and outside of school, as these are areas where we believe there are opportunities for us to grow and develop.

We will also continue to develop our Outcomes Framework, so that we can better measure, analyse and describe the difference we are making for children in all our work and right across the UK.

Due to its profound impact on children’s lives and life chances, tackling poverty will remain a key priority. In the first half of 2025-26 there is a unique opportunity to influence the UK Government’s Child Poverty Strategy, which is a chance to reverse the deeply concerning trend towards increasing numbers of children and families living in poverty. At the same time we will continue to provide vital and urgent support for children in poverty through our Child Poverty Fund, whilst working with families to address the impact of poverty and remove barriers to a positive future.

We will also remain focused on working with as well as for children and young people, making sure their voices and experiences are at the heart of all our work, and providing opportunities for their views to be heard – whether in the development of services, in the corridors of power at Westminster and other decisionmaking forums, or in the media.

To achieve these ambitions, and recognising that we continue to operate in a challenging and unpredictable external environment, in 2025-26 we will continue to focus on making sure we are fit for the future – and best able to continue our vital work as a charity for as long as we are needed. This includes a range of actions to:

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 77

Our Structure, Governance and Management

Barnardo’s is a company limited by guarantee (registered in England and Wales, company number 61625). It operates throughout the UK and is a charity registered in England and Wales (Charity Commission registration number 216250) and in Scotland (Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator registration number SC037605).

Barnardo’s is governed by its Articles of Association, last revised in November 2024. The Articles of Association set out the charitable purposes for public benefit in the following terms:

  1. To promote the care, safety and upbringing of children and young people by:

  2. supporting and assisting those in need, along with their families and carers;

  3. promoting their health; and

  4. advancing their education.

  5. The relief of those in need by reason of age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship, or any other disadvantage.

The Board of Trustees are the charity’s trustees, company directors and legal members. Trustees serve a three-year term, after which they are eligible for re-election for a maximum of two further three-year terms in all but exceptional cases.

The recruitment of new Trustees is subject to clear protocols which comply with regulatory guidance and best practice. The process includes: (i) an annual review of board composition (including audit of Trustee skills, experience, diversity and geographical spread); (ii) a competitive recruitment process that combines a panel interview process with the participation of children and young people from Barnardo’s programmes; and (iii) robust pre-appointment checks. New appointees are given a personal induction programme, tailored to their areas of expertise and governance obligations. All Trustees have access to a range of training opportunities to help them meet their responsibilities.

The Board of Trustees met five times for scheduled meetings in 2024-25.

A written schedule clarified agreed matters reserved for decision by the whole Board of Trustees. This includes:

Matters not reserved for decision by the Board of Trustees are delegated either to one of the Board sub committees or to the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive and members of the Executive Leadership Team are detailed on page 137.

The charity’s governance arrangements are kept under regular review to make sure the Board of Trustees, its sub committees and its governance structures and procedures are fit for purpose as the charity and environment evolve.

78 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

During the 2024-25 financial year the charity updated its membership arrangements with the effect that the Trustees became the Charity’s sole legal members. These updates followed a comprehensive review exercise involving detailed consultation with previous members, sector benchmarking and consideration of alternative options. It also resulted in the launch of the ‘Executive Engagement Network’, a new group dedicated to engagement with former members and other longstanding supporters. The proposals were formally approved by the Annual General Meeting on 30 November 2024 and the charity’s articles of association were revised.

The Board has adopted the Charity Governance Code (the Code) for larger charities. The Code provides an internal benchmark for the charity’s governance arrangements. As recommended by the Code, the Board instructs an external organisation or individual to undertake an independent review of its performance and effectiveness every three years. An external review, focussed on behavioural governance, is currently ongoing and will include a facilitated workshop scheduled to take place in October together with the Executive Leadership Team. In parallel an internal review of compliance with the key Principles of the Code was recently completed and identified a number of areas for continuous improvement that are being addressed in this year’s workplan including:

1. Principle 3.8:

updating Trustee Conflicts of Interest and Gifts and Hospitality policies (completed in June 2025);

2. Principle 6:

ensuring that EDI reporting is integrated into Board reporting through updated Board and Committee reporting arrangements (completed November 2024)

3. Principle 7.5:

better promoting the visibility of the Board of Trustees internally and externally (ongoing: the annual Board strategy meeting in November 2024 was used to produce outputs for internal and external communications).

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25 | 79

The remit of the sub-committees, which generally meet quarterly, includes:

----- Start of picture text -----
Number of
Committee Remit meetings Chair
per year
Audit and • Overseeing, monitoring and keeping under 4 David Kemp
Finance review the financial position of the charity and (Honorary
Committee its subsidiaries to make sure there is long and Treasurer)
short-term viability.
• Reviewing the charity’s overall strategy and risk
tolerance parameters to make sure published
financial information and related and supporting
narrative information has integrity, is balanced
and transparent.
• Oversees the annual external audit, scrutinises
the external auditor’s report and makes
recommendations to the Board on the
appointment/removal of the auditors.
• The Audit and Finance Committee operates
a sub-group, the Investment Sub Group, that
meets quarterly to oversee and scrutinise
the performance of the charity’s investment
managers.
Children and • Making sure that Barnardo’s safeguards and 4 Penny
Young People’s meets the needs of children, young people, their Thompson
Services families and carers, now and in the future, by (Deputy
Committee delivering high performing, high-quality services Chair)
which achieve the best impact and outcomes and
are compliant with regulatory requirements.
Income • Overseeing Barnardo’s approach to generating 4 Meredith
Generation sufficient and sustainable income to meet its Hunter/
Committee needs today, and in the future. Anne-
Cécile
• Overseeing Barnardo’s arrangements in relation
to fundraising compliance. Berthier
Risk • Making sure that Barnardo’s has effective 4 Neil
Committee internal control and risk management systems Crockett
and is operating within its agreed risk appetite,
approved policies and the law.
People • Making sure appointments to the Board of 4 Mark Wood
Committee Trustees and the remuneration of members Raj Verma
of the Executive Leadership Team and other (Co-Chairs)
colleagues are responsibly managed, consistent
with the Barnardo’s strategic objectives and its
Basis and Values.
• Oversees Trustee governance arrangements in
the areas of conflicts of interest, induction and
training and performance review.
• Oversees the delivery of our the charity’s People
and Culture strategic objectives.
----- End of picture text -----

80 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25

In the course of 2024-25 the work of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee (established in 2021 to review and oversee the Charity’s approach to EDI) was reviewed. Based on significant progress achieved in this area, and consistent with the need for top-level commitment to EDI, the Board approved the transfer of oversight responsibility directly to the full Board of Trustees going forward.

The National Advisory Boards (NABs) for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Cymru/Wales comprise volunteers whose local knowledge, experience and networks maximise Barnardo’s ability to change children’s lives in those nations. Barnardo’s remains a single UK charity, but these NABs provide targeted strategic support and advice to the delivery of Barnardo’s Strategy in the relevant nation.

Our Royal Patron

Our Patron, Her Majesty the Queen, continued to support Barnardo’s in 2024-25. We are extremely proud of our connection to the Royal Family which dates back to 1902.

Board of Trustees

A list of Trustees is shown on page 137.

Barnardo’s activities extend across all four UK nations: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Cymru/Wales. Our Children’s Services work is managed in regions covering Central England, Cymru and South West England, South-East England and London, North England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Responsibility for operational activities is allocated to five directorates: Children’s Services; Barnardo’s Trading Companies; Business Services; Fundraising and Marketing, and the Chief Executive’s Directorate (covering People & Culture and Strategy & External Affairs.) Barnardo’s has three sister charities: Barnardo’s Republic of Ireland, Barnardo’s Australia and Barnardo’s Aotearoa (formerly Barnardo’s New Zealand). Each is a locally registered organisation with its own governing body. These charities use the Barnardo’s name under licence from Barnardo’s in the UK.

Their financial activities are not included in the accompanying accounts as they are wholly independent of Barnardo’s in the UK.

We made the following transactions with related parties during the year, contributions to the Barnardo’s pension scheme disclosed in note 13, payments to key management personnel disclosed in note 12, payment of trustees expenses disclosed in note 11 and transactions with Barnardo’s subsidiaries.

Remuneration policy

To deliver our charitable aims and meet the needs of children, young people, families and other stakeholders, Barnardo’s employs a significant number of colleagues alongside the vital support from our volunteers. We recognise and value the unique worth and contribution of every colleague and are committed to making sure we pay our colleagues a fair and appropriate salary, while always making sure we can afford to do so. This is informed by the local labour market.

In April 2025 Barnardo’s was proud to publish its Diversity Pay Gap report, bringing together data and analysis on our gender, ethnicity, and disability pay gaps, and for the secondyear reporting on the gap for colleagues who identify as LGB+. In line with our long-standing core values and our commitment to our people, our ambition is to grow a culture where all colleagues can belong, grow and thrive. A key foundation to this is an inclusive environment and our Diversity Pay position is one key element of this.

Barnardo’s has a single UK wide trade union recognition agreement with UNISON for collective negotiation purposes. In 2024-25 we continued to demonstrate our commitment to invest in our colleagues, through our pay approach based on our core principles. We maintained our ongoing commitment to pay all colleagues the Real Living Wage. For other colleagues the Annual Pay Award received was either 2% or 1% dependent on pay grade.

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This went beyond the Living Wage Foundation and Minimum Wage hourly rate increases. Ordinarily our pay rates are informed primarily by charity sector data. We recognise that charity pay is often lower compared to similar roles in the public or private sector. In the spirit of fighting ‘in work’ poverty and child poverty, we aim to pay a fair wage to all, especially those in our lowest earning pay ranges.

We also rolled out a new approach to performance and growth, following a successful pilot with our management and leadership cohort last year, to help drive excellence on behalf of children and young people.

The People Committee makes recommendations to the Board for approval. The Board ultimately approves the annual pay settlement for all eligible staff once we have reached a final negotiation point with UNISON. In accordance with the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) we:

The Board approves the annual pay settlement for all paid colleagues. The People Committee meets four times a year. Members of the Committee include the Chair and three additional Trustees. No members of the Executive are members of the Committee. The Committee’s main responsibilities are set out on page 80. It’s the Committee’s responsibility to consider the remuneration of the Chief

Executive and members of the Executive Leadership Team, as well as to set the pay policy for all paid colleagues and agree the basis for any annual increases in pay. The Board and the People Committee operate within the powers and constitutional arrangements as set out in the Articles of Association and Committee terms of reference. When making recommendations, the Committee will draw on relevant internal and external information about staff remuneration provided by Barnardo’s management team. Paid colleague remuneration doesn’t include any share options or long-term incentive schemes. The Chief Executive and other members of the Executive Leadership Team all need to give at least 26 weeks’ notice to terminate their contracts of employment. The pension provisions for the Executive Leadership Team are on the same terms as other colleagues.

Public benefit

In setting plans and priorities for areas of work, our Trustees have followed guidance from the Charity Commission on the provision of public benefit, in accordance with Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011.

In particular, the Trustees consider how activities will contribute to meeting the objectives they have set. They focus on the services that will deliver the greatest impact to the children and young people who need support the most. In delivering these services, we clearly identify the benefits to children, young people and their families. We then monitor progress to make sure our services are having a positive impact on children and young people, as planned, and to learn any lessons that can be used to improve the services.

We have demonstrated how Barnardo’s delivers its principal charitable object – to promote the care, safety and upbringing of children and young people in the Impact Report section of this Annual Report. This forms part of the Trustees’ report and sets out Barnardo’s objectives, highlights our achievements and examples of activities delivered in the year.

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By providing services that support and empower children, and by campaigning for changes to government policy that will improve children’s lives, Barnardo’s helps the children and young people most in need of support to reach their full potential. The wide-ranging and substantial impact of our work is demonstrated on pages 7 to 58. Our work benefits the whole of society, as well as those who use our services. In this way, Barnardo’s meets the public benefit requirement as set out in Section 4 of the Charities Act 2011.

Activities in Scotland

Barnardo’s is registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and has a National Advisory Board to provide advice and guidance on all aspects of activities in Scotland. During the year, Barnardo’s provided 160 services throughout Scotland, with over 12,200 children, young people, parents and carers accessing these in 2024-25.

Serious incident reporting to charities regulators

Barnardo’s operates strong procedures for the reporting of serious incidents to its charities regulators that include a robust internal process for assessing and escalating incidents that are potentially notifiable. The procedures are reviewed every two years. During the financial period 2024-25 Barnardo’s reported nine incidents to the CCEW. These included eight safeguarding incidents and a supplier fraud incident. In all cases the CCEW was satisfied with the charity’s response to these incidents and there are no outstanding actions.

Registered office

Our registered office of the charity and its subsidiaries is Barnardo’s, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex, IG6 1QG.

Further detail about our activities in Scotland is included throughout the report.

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Our Sustainability Report

As a charity, we are committed to reducing our environmental footprint to help preserve the planet for children and young people across the UK.

Since launching our sustainability programme in 2021, we’ve focused on improving energy efficiency and cutting carbon emissions, aiming to achieve Net Zero by 2050.

Key sustainability initiatives for 2024-25

Net Zero Roadmap – Carbon footprint commitment

As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability, we have taken a significant step forward by partnering with a specialist to measure our full carbon footprint and develop a comprehensive Net Zero roadmap. We are committed to achieving Net Zero by 2050, and we recognise that this foundational work is essential to helping us get there.

Having a clear, data-driven plan will enable us to map out short, medium, and long-term goals for the charity with greater accuracy. It will also ensure we stay aligned with growing expectations around environmental responsibility across all sectors.

Energy Efficiency

We continue to run awareness campaigns throughout the charity focused on energy reduction. Our energy efficiency training remains a key initiative, promoting knowledge on how individuals can impact climate change. We are using the findings from our ESOS report to plan and embed further changes across our portfolio. We have established processes for obtaining accurate meter readings across our portfolio, so we can monitor our energy use with greater accuracy.

LED Lighting Trials

Upgrading to LED lighting is a key initiative in our journey to Net Zero, offering significant energy savings and emissions reductions across our estate.

All trials have now been completed, providing us with valuable insights into energy performance and installation challenges. We are now in the position to map out further roll out across our portfolio.

Sustainable Travel

Importantly, our partnership also provides expert support in identifying and applying for grants and financial assistance, where applicable enabling us to take meaningful action while continuing to deliver on our core mission.

Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme

This year, we successfully complied with and submitted our Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) reports, fulfilling our compliance requirements. These reports have provided valuable insights into opportunities for reducing our energy consumption. As a result, we developed and submitted our ESOS action plan, outlining a clear commitment to energysaving initiatives across our entire portfolio. Through this work, we have strengthened our data capture processes, ensuring we have the critical information needed to drive meaningful reductions in energy consumption. Our annual ESOS updates will be an opportunity for us to reflect on our progress.

Encouraging more sustainable travel choices is an important part of the sustainability programme. We continue to promote the use of public transport where possible. We have also relaunched our transport policy, accompanied by a new colleague handbook. This includes practical guidance and tips for driving more sustainably, helping reduce emissions from necessary travel and further supporting our Net Zero ambitions.

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Enhancing data collection & strengthening our reporting

We are working to improve the capture and reporting of key sustainability data across the charity. This collaborative approach ensures we are collecting the right information to track progress effectively and support informed decision-making. By strengthening our data and reporting capabilities, we’re enabling greater transparency, accuracy, and alignment with our broader environmental and sustainability goals.

Re-Fashion Hub

In June 2024, we launched our Re-Fashion Hub at Bradford Superstore, where volunteers creatively repair and reuse unsellable textile donations. Run on a zero-budget model with generous support from Singer, Miele, and Korbond, the hub has sold 451 items, processed 471kg of textiles, saved an estimated 6,268kg CO₂, and recorded over 380 volunteer hours. As a pilot project, it supports our sustainability goals as well as generating income for the charity.

Procurement

We’re actively reviewing contracts across the portfolio, including utilities, to improve our ability to track and monitor performance accurately. This diligent approach gives us greater confidence in the partners we work with and strengthens our ability to deliver on our sustainability commitments.

Our consumption

We have taken 2019-20 as our reporting baseline for carbon emissions.

Figures displayed below are taken from our Streamlined Energy Consumption Report (SECR), which is verified by our third party provider. We do not currently include energy consumption from homeworking, however, this will be captured as part of our Carbon Footprint and NetZero Roadmap.

Gas & Other Fuels Percentage difference between
2019-20 (baseline) and 2024-25
(tCo2e)		 Percentage difference since
2023-24 (tCo2e)
-14% +5.54%
Electricity -38% +12.72%
Transport -25% -2.58%

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This year’s SECR report shows increased figures for gas, other fuels, and electricity, largely due to improved data accuracy. For electricity, a higher volume of actual meter readings has replaced estimates, causing noticeable spikes. Gas usage

Year on Year Consumption data (KwH)

----- Start of picture text -----
Transport Electricity Gas & Other Fuels
2024-25
2023-24
2022-23
2021-22
2019-20
0 5,000,000 10,000,000 15,000,000 20,000,000
----- End of picture text -----

In the 2024-25 period, total emissions reported through SECR were 30,801,124 kWh, resulting in 6361.09 tCO2e. This corresponds to an overall location-based intensity ratio of 1.14 tCO2e per FTE. As part of our ongoing commitment to data integrity and transparency, a review of last year’s SECR report identified a discrepancy in the reported full time equivalent figure, along with some previously unaccounted for consumption data. These have now been corrected. The revised figures for FY2023-24 are: 28,967,725 kWh, 6,007374 tCO2e, which yields an intensity ratio of 1.05 tCO2e per FTE.

data has also become more accurate. These changes reflect better data collection processes, and we expect continued improvements going forward.

Co2 Emission Year on Year (tCo2e)

----- Start of picture text -----
Transport Electricity Gas & Other Fuels
2024-25
2023-24
2022-23
2021-22
2019-20
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000
----- End of picture text -----

Figures within this report have been calculated via our SECR reporting, developed and verified by an external source. Methodology followed the GHG Protocol – A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2004); Greenhouse Gas Protocol – Scope 2 Guidance (World Resources Institute, 2015); ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14064-2 (ISO, 2018; ISO, 2019); Environmental Reporting Guidelines: Including Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting Guidance (HM Government, 2019). Government Emissions Factor Database 2024 version 1.1 has been used, utilising the published kWh gross Calorific Value (CV) and kgCO2e emissions factors relevant for the reporting period 01/04/2024 – 31/03/2025.

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How we meet Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006

Trustees must, in accordance with Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006, act in the way they consider, in good faith, would most likely promote Barnardo’s success in the delivery of its charitable objects and in doing so have regard (amongst other matters) to the following:

The likely long-term consequences of decisions

Trustees (and the Executive acting under delegated powers) considered the likely long-term consequences of their decisions, in particular by reference to the internal and external operating environment and the charity’s key stakeholders. The charity’s key stakeholders include service users, supporters, donors, employees, volunteers, children’s services commissioners and partner organisations. The charity’s current three-year Strategy (2024-27) sets the framework for decisionmaking and was approved in 2024 following broad engagement with stakeholders and informed by a detailed analysis of trends and factors likely to have a major impact on the lives of children, young people and their families.

A key Board decision taken during 2024-25 was the approval of the three-year Medium Term Budget Strategy (2025-28) on 27 March 2025. This aims to ensure the charity can continue to deliver the Strategy by meeting the immediate and longer-term needs of children and young people, as well as operating sustainably in a more challenging environment. The March decision reflected the outcome of discussions from a Trustee Away Day in Edinburgh in late November 2024 where Trustees reviewed

the updated external and internal operating context and identified priorities for the charity’s response. The Away Day discussions and the approved Budget Strategy resulted in the future plans set out at page 77, including the setting up of a cross-charity organisational review programme that aims to increase impact by updating our children’s services operating model, maximising income generation and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of our support activities. One particular initiative in relation to income generation was the setting up of a retail advisory group which supported the reshaping of our retail operations through the involvement of Trustees and external experts.

The interests of employees

Trustees had oversight of employee matters via the work of the People Committee (see page 80) where they received updates on pay, reward and recognition and the charity’s wider approach to People and Culture (see page 50 for further information).

Foster business relationships with suppliers, customers and others; maintaining high standards of business conduct

During the year, Trustees (and the Executive acting under delegated powers) have overseen our approach to working with key suppliers to ensure application of consistent procurement processes that include (i) robust due diligence; (ii) regular benchmarking of services; and (iii) compliance with our Supplier Code of Conduct. With regard to the wider charity-wide context (through those who work for us), Barnardo’s values and behaviours are embedded within our recruitment and induction processes and incorporated within key operating policies and practices such as our Trustee Code of Conduct.

Our impact on the community and the environment

Trustees and the Executive are committed to minimising any negative impact our work has on our communities and the environment (see our Sustainability Report at page 85).

Acting fairly between members of the charity

Following updates to our membership arrangements on 29 November 2024, Barnardo’s Trustees are now the charity’s sole members; the charity is run to deliver its charitable objects rather than further the interests of its members.

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STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

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Statement of Responsibilities of the Trustees of Barnardo’s

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Annual Report, which incorporates the Strategic Report, and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the group and charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the group and charity for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that show and explain the charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006.

They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Financial statements are published on the charity’s website, in accordance with United Kingdom legislation that governs the preparation and dissemination of financial statements. This may vary from legislation in other jurisdictions. Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the Group’s website. They are also responsible for the ongoing integrity of the published financial statements.

The Trustees confirm that, so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charity’s auditor is unaware. They have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Trustees in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity’s auditor is aware of that information.

This Annual Report is signed by the Chair on behalf of the Board of Trustees. The Trustees also approved the strategic report, which is contained within this report, in their capacity as company directors.

By order of the Board of Trustees.

Mark Wood, Chair of Trustees

The Annual Report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 25 September 2025 and authorised for issue on 7 October 2025.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

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Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members and Trustees of Barnardo’s

Opinion on the financial statements

In our opinion, the financial statements:

We have audited the financial statements of Barnardo’s (“the Parent Charitable Company”) and its subsidiaries (“the Group”) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, the consolidated and Charity only balance sheets, consolidated statement of cash flows, consolidated summary income and expenditure account and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Independence

We remain independent of the Group and the Parent Charitable Company in accordance with the ethical requirements relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. .

Conclusions related to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Group and the Parent Charitable Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

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Other information

The Trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Other Companies Act 2006 reporting

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and the Parent Charitable Company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatement in the Strategic report or the Trustees’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of trustees’ responsibilities, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the Group’s and the Parent Charitable Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the Group or the Parent Charitable Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under the Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with the Acts and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Extent to which the audit was capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Non-compliance with laws and regulations

Based on:

We considered the significant laws and regulations to be FRS 102 and the Charities SORP 2019, UK tax legislation, Fundraising Regulations, Charities Act 2011 and the Companies Act 2006.

The Group is also subject to laws and regulations where the consequence of noncompliance could have a material effect on the amount or disclosures in the financial statements, for example through the imposition of fines or litigations. We identified such laws and regulations to be the health and safety legislation, data protection legislation, Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (“Ofsted”), Care Quality Commission, Care Children Acts 1989 & 2004, the Children and Young Person Act 2014 and the Social Services and Well Being Act.

Our procedures in respect of the above included:

Fraud

We assessed the susceptibility of the financial statements to material misstatement, including fraud. Our risk assessment procedures included:

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Based on our risk assessment, we considered the areas most susceptible to fraud to be management override through journals posted into the financial system, inappropriate judgements and estimates within the Group and the recognition of income.

Our procedures in respect of the above included:

We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

Our audit procedures were designed to respond to risks of material misstatement in the financial statements, recognising that the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery, misrepresentations or through collusion. There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures performed and the further removed noncompliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we are to become aware of it.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located at the Financial Reporting Council’s (“FRC’s”) website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/ auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the Charitable Company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006, and to the Charitable Company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Charitable Company’s members and trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Charitable Company, the Charitable Company’s members as a body and the Charitable Company’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Fiona Condron (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of BDO LLP, statutory auditor Gatwick, UK

BDO LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales (with registered number OC305127).

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ending 31 March 2025

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Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Note
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
Total 2025
Total 2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
Income from:
Charitable activities
Donations and legacies
Other trading activities
Development and sale of properties
Investments
Other gains		 4
5
6
7
8
10
187,707
35,964
91,562
650
2,159
2
4,294
16,821
–
–
1,049
–
–
5,300
–
–
44
–
192,001
58,085
91,562
650
3,252
2
187,312
41,682
93,071
40
3,402
627
Total Income 318,044
22,164
5,344
345,552
326,134
Expenditure on:
Raising donations and legacies
Other trading activities
Costs of developing and selling properties
Investment management costs
Other losses		 9
10
9,785
91,994
408
208
759
1,487
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
72
–
11,272
91,994
408
280
759
11,361
88,116
–
383
–
Raising Funds 103,154
1,487
72
104,713
99,860
Expenditure on:
Service provision
Informing the public about the need for our work
Childcare research and education		 9
205,299
5,973
1,207
9,418
–
–
–
–
–
214,717
5,973
1,207
228,283
6,027
1,550
Charitable Activities 212,479
9,418
-
221,897
235,860
Total expenditure 315,633
10,905
72
326,610
335,720
Net gains/(losses) on investments 15
370
–
(515)
(145)
6,000
Net income/(expenditure) 2,781
11,259
4,757
18,797
(3,586)
Transfer between funds
Other recognised gains/(losses)
Actuarial gain/(loss) on defined benefit
pension scheme		 13
3,418
22,695
(3,418)
–
–
–
–
22,695
–
(9,100)
Net movement in funds 14
28,894
7,841
4,757
41,492
(12,686)
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward		 31,039
10,413
35,393
76,845
89,531
Total funds carried forward 26
59,933
18,254
40,150
118,337
76,845

All of the above results relate to continuing activities. The notes on pages 102 to 130 form part of these financial statements. The prior year consolidated statement of financial activities is shown at note 31.

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Balance Sheets

As at 31 March 2025

Note
Group
Charity
2025
2024
2025
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
Fixed Assets
Intangible assets
Tangible assets
Investments		 16
17
18
1,456
29,834
111,088
1,603
33,751
99,490
1,456
29,831
110,363
1,603
33,740
98,810
142,378
134,844
141,650
134,153
Current Assets
Stocks
Debtors
Current asset investments
Cash at bank and in hand		 19
20
21
22
3,370
45,516
8,905
2,810
4,556
50,629
9,005
2,753
–
42,324
8,905
2,420
–
47,801
9,005
2,552
60,601
66,943
53,649
59,358
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 23
(49,303)
(60,854)
(40,585)
(51,693)
Net current assets 11,298
6,089
13,064
7,665
Provisions for liabilities 24
(6,149)
(6,408)
(6,149)
(6,408)
Net assets excluding pension deficit 147,527
134,525
148,565
135,410
Pension deficit 13
(29,190)
(57,680)
(29,190)
(57,680)
Net assets including pension deficit 118,337
76,845
119,375
77,730
Fund balances
Endowment funds
Restricted funds		 26(a) & (b)
40,150
18,254
35,393
10,413
40,150
18,254
35,393
10,413
Fixed assets fund
Designated fund
General reserve
Revaluation reserve
Unrestricted funds excluding pension reserve		 26(c) & (e)
26(d) & (e)
29,949
19,049
32,788
7,337
89,123
35,180
19,849
24,351
9,339
88,719
29,946
19,049
33,829
7,337
90,161
35,169
19,849
25,247
9,339
89,604
Reserve for pension deficit 13
(29,190)
(57,680)
(29,190)
(57,680)
Total unrestricted funds including pension reserve 59,933
31,039
60,971
31,924
Total funds 26(d) & (e)
118,337
76,845
119,375
77,730

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 25 September 2025 and authorised for issue on 7 October 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

Mark Wood Chair of Trustees

David Kemp Honorary Treasurer

7 October 2025

The notes on pages 102 to 130 form part of these financial statements.

Company Number 61625

In accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006, a separate income and expenditure account dealing with the results of the charity only has not been presented. Gross income of the charity of £309,738 and net income of £19,897k (2024: net expenditure £10,700k) has been dealt with in the accounts of the charity.

98 | Barnardo’s An | Barnardo’s A n nual Report 2024-25ual Report 2023–24

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the year ended 31 March 2025

For the year ended 31 March 2025
Note
2025
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash generated from/(used in) operating activities		 27
9,469
(22,941)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends and interest from investments
Purchase of intangible fixed assets
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Purchase of investments
Sale of investments
Sale of tangible fixed assets
Sale of investment properties		 16
17
3,253
(137)
(2,095)
(15,743)
4,000
560
650
3,402
(1,663)
(6,595)
–
4,469
676
–
Net cash (used in)/generated from investing activities (9,512)
289
(Decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the year (43)
(22,652)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Held as current asset investments
Held as bank and cash		 9,005
2,753
24,173
10,237
11,758
34,410
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
Held as current asset investments
Held as bank and cash		 8,905
2,810
9,005
2,753
11,715
11,758

Please refer to the analysis of changes in net debt (note 28).

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 99

Consolidated Summary Income and Expenditure Account

For the year ended 31 March 2025

The summary income and expenditure account is presented in order to ensure compliance with the Companies Act 2006. The major difference in the figures presented from those in the consolidated statement of financial activites is that endowment funds are not recognised.

Note
2025
2024
£000
£000
Gross income
Gross income of continuing operations
Income of non-charitable trading subsidiaries
Realised/unrealised gains on investment assets		 3
15
279,730
60,476
370
265,486
60,648
2,981
340,576
329,115
Gross expenditure
Total expenditure of continuing operations
Expenditure of non-charitable trading subsidiaries		 3
268,670
57,109
278,066
57,591
325,779
335,657
Net income/(expenditure) for the year 14,797
(6,542)
Reconciliation to statement of financial activities:
Net income/(expenditure) for the year
less: Realised/unrealised gains on investment assets
Movement on restricted capital and endowment funds		 15
26 (a)
14,797
(370)
4,757
(6,542)
(2,981)
(63)
Net income/(expenditure) before investments 19,184
(9,586)

100 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ending 31 March 2025

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 101

1. Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

Barnardo’s is a private company limited by guarantee (registered in England, company number 61625). It operates throughout the UK and is a charity registered in England and Wales (Charity Commission registration number 216250) and in Scotland (Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator registration number SC037605). It is governed by its Articles of Association, last revised in 2024.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards in the United Kingdom, Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (Charities SORP (FRS102) 2019) and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102), together with the reporting requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

Barnardo’s meets the definition of public benefit entity under FRS102. Monetary values are calculated under the historical cost convention, as modified by the revaluation of investments and investment properties.

Presentation currency

The functional currency of Barnardo’s and its subsidiaries is considered to be in pounds sterling as this is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the organisation operates. The consolidated financial statements are also presented in pounds sterling.

Going concern

The Trustees have considered their obligations to prepare these financial statements on an appropriate basis, having specific regard to the charity’s net asset position and looking ahead at future plans and cashflows for at least 12 months from the date of approval.

Given the strength of the balance sheet (see page 98) and the availability and liquidity of the charity’s unrestricted investments and cash held

in the General Reserve, the Trustees have not identified any material uncertainty that would cast doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The last few years have been a good a test of resilience, and the way we have responded as an organisation gives a great deal of confidence in this assertion.

The charity ended the financial year in a robust position and continues to monitor its anticipated cash flows over the next 2-3 years, carrying out reverse stress tests and considering the impact of government and economic changes closely. The Trustees, therefore, as a result, consider it appropriate for accounts to be prepared on a going concern basis.

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated accounts of the group incorporate the accounts of the charity and its subsidiary undertakings, all of which were prepared to 31 March 2025. Subsidiaries are consolidated from the date when control passes until it is either disposed, wound down or dissolved. The trading results of the subsidiary undertakings as shown in note 3 are consolidated on a line-by-line basis within the consolidated statement of financial activities (SOFA). Intercompany transaction and balances between group companies are therefore eliminated in full.

A separate SOFA for the charity is not presented as permitted by the SORP and the Companies Act 2006.

Parent charity disclosure exemptions

In preparing the separate financial statements of the parent charity, advantage has been taken of the following disclosure exemptions available in FRS102:

102 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

Subordinate charities

Included in restricted and endowment funds are assets held on behalf of trusts that are constituted as separately registered charities. These have purposes that are consistent with the objects of Barnardo’s and are under common control. As such, their results have been included in the consolidated statements presented.

Income

Expenditure

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 103

Tangible Assets

Fixed assets are stated in the balance sheet at their cost less depreciation. Expenditure of a capital nature over £1,000 is capitalised. Profits and losses on the disposal of tangible assets are recognised in the SOFA in the year of disposal.

Reviews are carried out when events and changes in circumstances indicate that an impairment may have occurred. If any asset is found to have a carrying value materially higher than its recoverable amount, it is written down accordingly.

Intangible Assets

All intangible assets have finite useful lives. Intangible assets comprise both purchased and internally generated software and are stated at amortised cost.

Costs to develop software internally are capitalised when it has been established that the project is technically feasible, there is the ability to reliably measure the expenditure attributable to the intangible asset during its development and Barnardo’s has both the intention and ability to use the completed asset. The costs of internally

generated software relate to external contractor and internal staffing costs in the development phase and are stated at amortised cost.

Depreciation and Amortisation

Depreciation and amortisation are charged to write off the cost or valuation of the assets, other than land, over their estimated useful lives and assume nil residual values. The estimated useful lives and depreciation or amortisation method are reviewed by class of asset at each year end, with any changes in estimate accounted for in current and future years.

Investments

Investments in subsidiaries are held at cost and are assessed for impairment at each reporting date. Investments, and those held as fixed assets and current assets, are stated at their market value as at the balance sheet date. Cash held by investment managers is not considered to be part of cash and cash equivalents. All movements in value arising from investment changes or revaluation (“unrealised gains”) are recognised in the SOFA.

Realised gains or losses on investments are calculated as the difference between the disposal proceeds and the carrying value.

Revaluations of investment properties are carried out each year by an external qualified RICS registered valuer who has appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to undertake the valuation completely.

104 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. At each reporting date, inventories are assessed for impairment. If inventory is impaired, the carrying amount is reduced to the selling price or put to nil if considered unlikely it will sell. The impairment loss is recognised immediately in the SOFA.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash at bank and in hand and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account. This includes investments disclosed in the balance sheet as current asset investments. Current asset investments include interest bearing deposit accounts.

Debtors and creditors

Trade debtors and other debtors are recognised at their transaction price less any allowance for doubtful debts. Trade creditors and other creditors are included at their nominal value when there is a contractual obligation to settle.

Provisions

Provisions are liabilities of uncertain amount or timing. They are recognised when the charity has a present legal or constructive obligation because of a past event, it is probable that an outflow of a resources will be required to settle the obligation, and the amount can be reliably estimated.

Corporation tax

The subsidiary companies make qualifying donations of all taxable profits to Barnardo’s. The company is a charity within the meaning of the Finance Act 2010 (schedule 6, paragraph 1). Accordingly, the company is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains within categories covered by the Corporation Tax Act 2010 (part 11, chapter 3) or the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 (section 256), to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes. No tax charge arose in the period.

Capital grants

In accordance with the Charities SORP, grants receivable are recognised immediately in the SOFA unless they are restricted to future accounting periods in which case they are recognised as a liability.

Operating leases

Rentals payable/receivable under operating leases are charged/received on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

Financial instruments

The group only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Financial assets, other than investments, and financial liabilities are initially measured at transaction price (after including/ deducting transaction costs) and subsequently held at amortised cost, less any impairment.

Pension costs

For defined benefit schemes, in accordance with FRS 102 section 28, the SOFA includes:

In accordance with FRS 102, the balance sheet includes the deficit in the scheme taking assets at their year-end market values and liabilities at their actuarially calculated values discounted using year-end AA corporate bond yields. Further details regarding the scheme are disclosed in note 13.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 105

For defined contribution pension schemes, pension costs are charged to the SOFA for the period in which they are payable.

Fund accounting

Barnardo’s has various types of funds for which it is responsible, and which require separate disclosure as set out below.

Restricted income funds

Donations or legacies received, or income arising from such, which are earmarked by the donor for specific purposes. Such purposes are within the overall aims of the organisation.

Restricted capital and endowment funds

Funds given to the charity where only the income may be used for the charity’s purposes. In accordance with the Order signed by the Charity Commission in 2003, the charity may convert a proportion of the capital gain on monies held by way of endowment into income as long as the current indexed value of the original endowment is maintained.

Unrestricted funds

Funds that are expendable at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity, consisting of five specific types:

• Fixed assets fund

This fund represents amounts invested in unrestricted fixed assets for use by the charity.

• Designated fund

This fund represents amounts set aside by the Trustees for specific purposes.

• Revaluation Reserve

This reserve represents the difference between historic cost and fair value in respect of financial investments and investment properties.

• General Reserve

The working capital fund has now been amalgamated into this fund.

• Pension Reserve

This reserve represents the net pension liability of the Barnardo Staff Pension Scheme, and in accordance with FRS 102, is shown as a reduction of total funds.

Critical accounting estimates and judgements

To be able to prepare financial statements in accordance with FRS102, Barnardo’s must make certain estimates and judgements that have an impact on the policies and the amount reported in the annual accounts. The estimates and judgments are based on historical experiences and other factors including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable at the time such estimates and judgements are made.

Significant judgements and estimates

The receipt of legacies is considered probable when probate has been granted, it has been established that there are sufficient net assets to pay the legacy and any conditions attached to the legacy have been met or are under the control of Barnardo’s.

When the amount due is not stipulated, the estimated amount due is calculated using a set of criteria applied in a consistent way to all legacies leaving a percentage or residual amount to Barnardo’s.

Year-end recognition of the liabilities under this scheme and the valuation of assets held to fund these liabilities require a number of significant assumptions to be made relating to levels of scheme membership, rates of mortality, key financial market indicators such as inflation and expectations on future asset returns. These assumptions are made by the charity in conjunction with the scheme’s actuaries.

All provisions are estimated from a review of expected costs based on historical data and expected future likelihood of spend.

The most significant provision is for dilapidations. Dilapidations on retail leases arise when the lease agreements include specific clauses requiring the charity to return the properties to the conditions at the beginning of the lease.

106 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

2. Subsidiaries

Barnardo’s owns the whole of the issued share capital of the following subsidiaries:

Subsidiary Undertaking Company Number: Principal Activities
Barnardo Trading Limited 886425 Mail order and retailing
Barnardo Developments Limited 964920 Property development
Barnardo Services Limited 1227919 Childcare services
Barnardo Garden Village Management 8652230 Property management
Company Limited
Barnardo Staff Pension Scheme 15868844 Pension funding
Trustees Limited
Subsidiary Undertaking Charity/Company Number: Principal Activities
Adoptionplus 1204419/06900397 Adoption agency

The subsidiary companies make qualifying donations of all taxable profits to Barnardo’s. No corporation tax liability on the subsidiaries arises in the accounts.

The Group completed the dissolution of Barnardo Holdings Limited and Barnardo Events Limited on the 31 December 2024. Barnardo Staff Pension Scheme Trustees Limited was incorporated on 31 July 2024, and is wholly owned by Barnardo’s, with a share capital of £1.

Barnardo Garden Village Management Company Limited and Barnardo Staff Pension Scheme Trustees Limited have been excluded from consolidation on the grounds of immateriality. The Trustees consider that their exclusion does not affect the true and fair view of the consolidated financial statements.

Other subsidiaries, although individually immaterial, have been included in the consolidation due to their cumulative significance to the group’s charitable activities and financial position.

The registered address of all subsidiaries listed above, excluding Barnardo Staff Pension Scheme Trustees Limited, is Barnardo House, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex, IG6 1QG. The registered office of Barnardo Staff Pension Scheme Trustees Limited is Suite 1, 7th Floor 50 Broadway, London, United Kingdom, SW1H 0DB.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 107

3. Trading subsidiaries’ results

Barnardo
Trading
Limited
Barnardo
Developments
Limited
Barnardo
Services
Limited
Adoptionplus
Total
2025
Total
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
Turnover 9,232
525
50,066
775
60,598
61,102
Cost of sales/charitable expenditure (4,499)
(408)
(50,066)
(1,003)
(55,976)
(56,485)
Gross profit/(net expenditure) 4,733
117
–
(228)
4,622
4,617
Gain on revaluation –
25
–
–
25
25
Administration and other costs (1,983)
(114)
(44)
–
(2,141)
(2,112)
Trading profit/(net expenditure) 2,750
28
(44)
(228)
2,506
2,530
Other income –
–
500
–
500
503
Net profit/(net expenditure) 2,750
28
456
(228)
3,006
3,033
Amount payable by qualifying charitable (2,750)
–
(456)
–
(3,206)
(3,134)
donation to Barnardo’s
Retained profit/(deficit) for year –
28
–
(228)
(200)
(101)
Total assets 3,707
725
9,333
268
14,033
13,430
Total liabilities (3,697)
(725)
(9,333)
(1,287)
(15,042)
(14,239)
Retained profit/(deficit) brought forward 10
(28)
–
(791)
(809)
(708)
Retained profit/(general funds in deficit) 10
–
–
(1,019)
(1,009)
(809)
carried forward and net assets

These results, after consolidation adjustments, have been consolidated on a line by line basis in the SOFA.

Barnardo Events Limited was dissolved on 31 December 2024 and the trading results until dissolution have been consolidated into the group accounts.

Barnardo
Trading
Limited
Restated
Barnardo
Developments
Limited
Barnardo
Events
Limited
Barnardo
Services
Limited
Adoptionplus
Total
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
Turnover 9,578
70
134
50,393
927
61,102
Cost of sales/charitable expenditure (5,102)
–
–
(50,393)
(990)
(56,485)
Gross profit/(net expenditure) 4,476
70
134
–
(63)
4,617
Gain on revaluation –
25
–
–
–
25
Administration and other costs (1,879)
(133)
(51)
(49)
–
(2,112)
Trading profit/(net expenditure) 2,597
(38)
83
(49)
(63)
2,530
Other income –
–
–
503
–
503
Net profit/(net expenditure) 2,597
(38)
83
454
(63)
3,033
Amount payable by qualifying charitable (2,597)
–
(83)
(454)
–
(3,134)
donation to Barnardo’s
Retained profit/(deficit) for year –
(38)
–
–
(63)
(101)
Total assets 4,452
1,119
104
7,465
290
13,430
Total liabilities (4,442)
(1,147)
(104)
(7,465)
(1,081)
(14,239)
Retained profit/(deficit) brought forward 10
10
–
–
(728)
(708)
Retained profit/(general funds in deficit) 10
(28)
–
–
(791)
(809)
carried forward and net assets

These results have been consolidated on a line by line basis in the SOFA, after consolidation adjustments.

108 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

4. Income from charitable activities

2025
2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
Family support & placement 105,722
3,639
109,361
97,511
291
97,802
Education 31,872
–
31,872
31,563
1,126
32,689
Disability support 5,749
63
5,812
7,427
152
7,579
Government grants 10,390
284
10,674
12,483
2,632
15,115
Other services 33,974
308
34,282
33,908
219
34,127
187,707
4,294
192,001
182,892
4,420
187,312

5. Income from donations and legacies

2025
2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
Legacies 13,890
1,782
15,672
16,507
1,943
18,450
Donations and gifts from the general public 19,724
3,404
23,128
13,044
3,723
16,767
Donations from companies and trusts 2,350
16,935
19,285
3,126
3,339
6,465
35,964
22,121
58,085
32,677
9,005
41,682

Legacies notified but not accrued at 31 March 2025, due to probability or measurable criteria not being met, were £12,925k (2024: £6,853k).

6. Other Trading Activities

Income from trading is £91,562k (2024:£93,071k). All income relates to unrestricted activities.

Trading income can be analysed into the following categories:

2025
2024
£000
£000
Sale of donated goods 69,069
70,407
Fundraising income raised in stores 2,428
2,320
Gift Aid 6,581
6,559
Gifts in Kind 3,562
3,176
New Goods 8,926
9,210
Other income 996
1,399
Total 91,562
93,071

7. Income from development and sale of properties

2025
2024
£000
£000
Turnover of Barnardo Developments Limited 650
40

Income relates to unrestricted activities.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 109

8. Income from investments

8. Income from investments
2025
2024
£000
£000
Listed investments – United Kingdom 2,470
2,189
Short term deposits 461
618
Rents and ground rents 295
567
Other interest 26
28
3,252
3,402

The income from investments was £3,252k (2024: £3,402k) of which £2,159k is unrestricted income (2024: £2,529k) and £1,093k (2024: £873k) restricted income.

9. Expenditure

2025
2024
Direct costs
Grant funding
of activities
Apportioned
support costs
Total
Total
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
Raising donations and legacies 8,006
–
3,266
11,272
11,361
Other trading activities 82,543
–
9,451
91,994
88,116
Cost of developing and selling properties 408
–
–
408
–
Investment management costs 280
–
–
280
383
Total Raising Funds 91,237
–
12,717
103,954
99,860
Service provision 190,899
173
23,645
214,717
228,283
Informing the public about the need
for our work		 5,973
–
–
5,973
6,027
Childcare research and education 1,207
–
–
1,207
1,550
Total Charitable Activities 198,079
173
23,645
221,897
235,860
Total Expenditure 289,316
173
36,362
325,851
335,720
2024
Direct costs
Grant funding
of activities
Apportioned
support costs
Total
£000
£000
£000
£000
8,315
–
3,046
11,361
78,296
–
9,820
88,116
383
–
–
383
86,994
–
12,866
99,860
205,149
309
22,825
228,283
6,027
–
–
6,027
1,550
–
–
1,550
212,726
309
22,825
235,860
299,720
309
35,691
335,720
Raising donations and legacies
Other trading activities
Investment management costs
Total Raising Funds
Service provision
Informing the public about the need
for our work
Childcare research and education
Total Charitable Activities
Total Expenditure

The £325,851k total costs for 2025 exclude other losses of £759k, which are detailed in note 10.

110 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

Total expenditure of £325,851k (2024: £335,720k) included restricted expenditure of £10,431k (2024: £13,149k), of which £1,487k related to the cost of raising funds (2024: £1,772k) and £8,944k to service provision (2024: £11,427k). Other trading activities expenditure of £91,994k (2024: £88,116k) included £85,785k (2024: £81,135k) representing the costs of operating our 557 (2024:591) retail stores and £6,209k (2024: £6,981k) for expenditure of Barnardo Trading Limited on costs of goods sold and other costs. £408k (2024: £nil) has been incurred in developing and selling land surplus to the group’s requirements.

Support costs relating to the corporate functions have been allocated to the various categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources as follows:

Where support costs cannot be allocated directly, they have been allocated based on a percentage share of other costs.

Raising donations
& legacies
Other trading
activities
Service
provision
2025
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
Property –
2,983
2,073
5,056
6,035
Information Systems 669
3,210
9,495
13,374
12,993
Human Resources 146
1,976
5,196
7,318
7,073
Finance 869
290
3,477
4,636
4,618
Other Corporate 427
194
1,221
1,842
840
Governance 1,155
798
2,183
4,136
4,132
Total 3,266
9,451
23,645
36,362
35,691
Raising donations
& legacies
Other trading
activities
Service
provision
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
–
3,560
2,475
6,035
650
3,118
9,225
12,993
141
1,910
5,022
7,073
866
289
3,463
4,618
219
107
514
840
1,170
836
2,126
4,132
3,046
9,820
22,825
35,691
Property
Information Systems
Human Resources
Finance
Other Corporate
Governance
Total

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 111

10. Other (losses)/gains

10. Other (losses)/gains
2025
2024
£000
£000
Gain on disposal of non-property fixed assets 2
33
(Loss)/gain on disposal of property fixed assets (759)
594
(757)
627

All income relates to unrestricted activities.

11. Members & Trustees

Barnardo’s is a company limited by guarantee having no share capital and, in accordance with clause 6 of the Articles of Association, every member is liable to contribute a sum of £1.05 in the event of the company being wound up. Following changes to our constitutional arrangements with effect from 30 November 2024, the charity’s Trustees are now the sole members of Barnardo’s and therefore there were 13 members at 31 March 2025 (31 March 2024: 75)

Barnardo’s Trustees are all unpaid volunteers who give freely of their time and expertise to the charity. The time that they give to Barnardo’s ranges from around 15 to over 40 days per year depending on their role on the board and on committees. These days cover preparation and attendance at board, committee and planning meetings, Barnardo’s service visits, special working groups, governance groups required for regulatory reasons, briefings and training. During the year no Trustee received any remuneration or benefits from the charity. Trustees often cover all their costs of travel and accommodation incurred whilst on Barnardo’s business. Actual expenses incurred amounted to £4,615 (2024: £3,034) and included travel, subsistence and other related costs. The number of Trustees claiming expenses was 6 (2024: 3).

Charities have to disclose where Trustees or their related parties have made their donations to charity with conditions attached. No such disclosable donations have been made to Barnardo’s in the year to 31 March 2025 (2024: £nil). Donations made without conditions attached were £650 in the year to 31 March 2025 (2024: £1,119). The charity purchased insurance for Trustees and officers of the company during the year to indemnify them against possible liabilities incurred by them in relation to their duties. The cost of this insurance was £5,600 (2024: £5,600).

112 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

12. Employees

12. Employees
2025
2024
The average number of employees during the year was: No.
No.
Children’s Services 4,786
5,160
Fundraisers, shop managers, clerical staff and fundraising management 2,162
2,143
Central support services 456
481
7,404
7,784
Number of full time equivalent employees at the year end 5,338
5,452
2025
2024
No.
No.
The number of staff whose emoluments fell within each of the following bands was:
£60,000 to £69,999
£70,000 to £79,999
£80,000 to £89,999
£90,000 to £99,999
£100,000 to £109,999
£110,000 to £119,999
£120,000 to £129,999
£130,000 to £139,999
£150,000 to £159,999
£170,000 to £179,999
82
22
13
14
3
1
3
–
2
1
73
30
16
11
4
2
1
1
1
1

The highest paid employee is the chief executive.

Emoluments in respect of the bandings above include gross salary and all benefits in kind (excluding pension contributions, social security costs and expenses). Systems are in place for the management of expenses.


for the management of expenses.
2025
2024
The aggregate emoluments to employees in the year were: £000
£000
Wages and salaries 176,285
181,624
Social security costs 15,324
15,802
Employer’s pension contributions to defined contribution scheme 15,060
15,128
Employer’s pension contributions to defined benefit schemes 960
821
Other benefits 1,192
735
208,821
214,110

Included in wages and salaries is an amount of £1,509k relating to redundancy, compromise and termination costs (2024: £1,022k).

137 staff earning over £60,000 (2024: 134) receive benefits accruing under the Barnardo’s Retirement Savings Plan. Employer contributions to the pension funds of these 137 employees were a combined total of £1,048k during the year (2024: £1,066k).

The total employee emoluments of the Executive Leadership Team who are deemed to be key management personnel and are listed on page 137, was £1,291k in 2025 (2024: £1,261k), including pension and social security costs.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 113

13. Retirement benefits

The group operates a funded defined benefit scheme, the Barnardo Staff Pension Scheme, the assets of which are held in a specific trust separately from those of the group. Contributions are paid to the scheme as agreed with the scheme’s trustees, having taken independent actuarial advice.

The scheme was closed to further accrual of defined benefits from 30 April 2013, with active members of the scheme on that date becoming members of the Barnardo’s Retirement Savings Plan, which is a defined contribution arrangement for future service. Benefits for members of the defined benefit scheme will continue to increase broadly in line with inflation.

New employees are offered membership of the Barnardo’s Retirement Savings Plan. The total employer contributions and costs relating to the defined contribution arrangement for the year amount to £15,060k (2024: £15,128k).

The funding plan for the defined benefit scheme is to hold assets equal to the value of the benefits earned by employees, where that value is calculated using a set of assumptions appropriate for funding the scheme. The funding assumptions differ from the assumptions used to calculate the figures for these accounts, and therefore produce different results. If there is a shortfall against this funding plan, Barnardo’s and the pension scheme trustees agree on deficit contributions to meet this deficit over a period. A deficit recovery plan was agreed with the pension scheme trustees following the actuarial valuation as at March 2021. The next triennial valuation, based on our assets and liabilities as at 31 March 2024, is currently underway.

Over the year to 31 March 2025, £10,700k of deficit contributions were paid into the scheme. On the current plan (agreed following the actuarial valuation as at 31 March 2021), deficit contributions of £10,700k per annum are expected to be paid each year from 1 April 2021 to 30 November 2034.

Details of the defined benefit scheme, produced in accordance with section 28 of FRS102, are set out below. Calculations based on membership data as at 31 March 2021 were updated to 31 March 2025 by an independent qualified actuary, allowing for changes in financial conditions, actual benefit payments made over the period, and the impact of granted pension scheme increases. The defined benefit liabilities have been measured using the projected unit method.

Assumptions 2025
2024
per annum
per annum
RPI inflation 3.1%
3.1%
CPI inflation 2.7%
2.6%
Discount rate 5.8%
4.9%
Revaluation of deferred pensions (non-GMP) 3.1%
3.0%
Pension increases:
Pre 88 GMP nil
nil
Post 88 GMP 2.2%
2.2%
Pre 07 XS 3.1%
3.0%
Post 07 pension 2.2%
2.2%
Life expectancies (in years)
For a male aged 60 in 2025 84.9
84.8
For a female aged 60 in 2025 88.0
88.3
At age 60 for a male aged 40 in 2025 86.2
86.0
At age 60 for a female aged 40 in 2025 89.2
89.5

114 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

The amounts included in the balance sheet arising from Barnardo’s obligations in respect of the defined benefit scheme for the current and previous year are as follows:

2025
2024
£000
£000
Fair value of assets 504,857
548,672
Present value of liabilities (534,047)
(606,352)
Net liability recognised in the balance sheet (29,190)
(57,680)

These figures exclude additional voluntary contributions.

Sensitivity Analysis

The sensitivity of the liabilities (in both percentage and £ terms) to changes in the key assumptions used to measure the Pension Fund liabilities are shown in the table below:

Assumption Change in
assumption		 Impact on
liabilities
Discount rate +/- 0.1% -£5,994k/+£6,102k (-1.1%/+1.1%)
RPI and CPI Inflation +/- 0.1% +£2,689k/-£4,718k (+0.5%/-0.9%)
Assumed life expectancy +/- 1 year +£15,868k/-£16,050k (+3.0%/-3.0%)

The following amounts have been included within net (expenditure)/income in relation to the defined benefit scheme:


benefit scheme:
2025
2024
£000
£000
Interest expense 2,622
2,435
Administrative expenses 2,283
1,567
Total expense 4,905
4,002

The pension finance charge of £4,905k has been directly allocated to the various expenditure categories.

The current allocation of the Scheme’s assets is as follows:

The current allocation of the Scheme’s assets is as follows:
2025
2024
£000
£000
Bonds 180,495
165,926
Property 56,203
57,073
Swap contracts (Liability Driven Investments) 80,399
87,709
Private credit 169,542
224,706
Cash/other 18,218
13,258
504,857
548,672

Over the year to 31 March 2025, the value of the Scheme’s assets decreased from £548,672k to £504,857k. There was no material investment activity over the Scheme year. The Scheme’s asset allocation was broadly unchanged and there were no changes to the Scheme’s investment managers.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 115

Changes in the present value of the scheme liabilities over the year are as follows:

2025
2024
£000
£000
Opening value of scheme liabilities (606,337)
(621,200)
Interest cost (28,960)
(29,100)
Actuarial gain 70,241
15,902
Benefits paid 31,009
28,061
Closing value of scheme liabilities (534,047)
(606,337)

Changes in the fair value of the scheme assets over the year are as follows:

2025
2024
£000
£000
Opening fair value of Scheme assets 548,672
566,000
Interest on plan assets 26,338
26,700
Actual return on plan assets less interest on plan assets (47,561)
(25,100)
Contributions by the employer 10,700
10,700
Administrative expenses (2,283)
(1,567)
Benefits paid (31,009)
(28,061)
Closing fair value of Scheme assets 504,857
548,672

The actual return on the scheme’s assets over the year was a loss of £21,223k (2024: gain of £1,583k).

14. Net income/(expenditure)

14. Net income/(expenditure)
2025
2024
£000
£000
Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets 3,692
3,906
Amortisation of intangible fixed assets 878
60
Auditor remuneration – statutory 208
187
Operating lease rentals 12,455
14,734
Operating lease income (40)
(40)

116 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

15. Gains and losses on revaluation and on investment asset disposals

2025
2024
£000
£000
Realised gains/(losses) 2,047
(249)
Unrealised (losses)/gains (2,192)
6,249
(145)
6,000

Gains and losses on revaluation and on investment asset disposals are a £145k loss for the year (2024: £6,000k gain) of which £370k is unrestricted gains (2024: £2,981k gain) and £515k endowment fund losses (2024: £3,019k gain).

16. Intangible assets

16. Intangible assets
Group and Charity: 2025
2024
£000
£000
Cost
At beginning of year
Additions
Transfer from tangible assets		 1,663
137
625
–
1,663
–
At end of year 2,425
1,663
Amortisation
At beginning of year
Provided during year
Transfer from tangible assets		 60
878
31
–
60
–
At end of year 969
60
Net book value
At beginning of year		 1,603
–
At end of year 1,456
1,603

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 117

17. Tangible assets

17. Tangible assets
(a) Group and Charity: Properties
Equipment & vehicles
Total
£000
£000
£000
Cost
At beginning of year
Additions
Disposals
Transfers
Corrections		 84,645
866
(3,543)
–
(5,360)
16,785
1,229
(145)
(625)
1,351
101,430
2,095
(3,688)
(625)
(4,009)
At end of year 76,608
18,595
95,203
Depreciation
At beginning of year
Provided during year
On disposals
Transfers
Corrections		 53,141
2,220
(2,295)
–
(3,643)
14,538
1,472
–
(31)
(33)
67,679
3,692
(2,295)
(31)
(3,676)
At end of year 49,423
15,946
65,369
Net book value
At beginning of year		 31,504
2,247
33,751
At end of year 27,185
2,649
29,834
(b) Analysis of freehold and leasehold properties: Group & Charity
2025
2024
£000
£000
Freeholds 19,708
20,322
Long leaseholds (over 50 years) 1,186
2,178
Short leaseholds (50 years and under) 6,291
9,004
(c) Use of properties: 27,185
31,504
Service delivery 9,093
10,417
Other (including shops and offices) 18,092
21,087
27,185
31,504

118 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

18. Investments

18. Investments
Group
Charity
2025
2024
2025
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
Investments at market value 111,088
99,490
110,363
98,810
Investments at market value:
At beginning of year 99,490
97,959
98,810
97,304
Additions 62,522
31,019
62,512
30,994
Disposals (50,779)
(35,488)
(50,790)
(35,488)
Net realised/unrealised gains/(losses) (145)
6,000
(169)
6,000
At end of year 111,088
99,490
110,363
98,810
Comprising:
Equities 63,789
58,769
63,789
58,769
Fixed income 3,796
19,865
3,796
19,865
Global Pooled Funds 8,959
1,983
8,959
1,983
Cash held for reinvestment 26,341
3,127
26,341
3,127
Property 2,315
2,290
1,590
1,590
Other investments 5,888
13,456
5,888
13,476
111,088
99,490
110,363
98,810
Cost of Investments 103,742
90,151
102,926
89,751

There were no investments in individual companies in excess of 5% of the total portfolio value.

Property investment of £725k (2024: £700k) is held by Barnardo Developments Limited and the charity. All other investments are held in the charity.

The cash held for reinvestment balance at 31 March 2025 includes the transfer of £15,896k relating to the Katherine Martin Charitable Trust donation to the investment managers for investment on 27 March 2025.

19. Stocks

19. Stocks
Group
2025
2024
£000
£000
Retail new goods 3,370
4,183
Property -
373
3,370
4,556

No stocks are held by the charity.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 119

20. Debtors

20. Debtors
Group
Charity
2025
2024
2025
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
Trade debtors 501
235
381
–
Statutory and related funders 27,373
26,935
20,190
21,603
Taxation 2,729
2,722
2,729
2,722
Other debtors 640
1,503
482
1,347
Prepayments and accrued income 14,273
19,234
12,057
17,417
Amounts owing from subsidiaries –
–
6,485
4,712
45,516
50,629
42,324
47,801

Amounts due from subsidiaries represent:

ii) Temporary current account balances between the charity and Barnardo Services Limited.

21. Current asset investments

21. Current asset investments
Group
Charity
2025
2024
2025
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
Interest bearing deposit accounts 8,905
9,005
8,905
9,005

22. Analysis of cash at bank and in hand

Group
Charity
2025
2024
2025
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
Cash at bank and in hand 2,810
2,753
2,420
2,552

120 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

23. Creditors – amounts falling due within one year

Group
Charity
2025
2024
2025
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
Pension contributions 925
966
925
966
Other taxes and social security costs 7,840
6,614
3,417
3,771
Other creditors 4,349
7,672
4,020
6,893
Accruals 11,620
10,955
11,512
10,831
Trade creditors 6,565
14,588
6,043
13,557
Deferred income 18,004
20,059
14,668
15,675
49,303
60,854
40,585
51,693

Deferred income relates to fees and grants invoiced in advance from statutory and related funders. An amount of £20,059k (2024: £21,400k) was released from prior year. An amount of £17,645k (2024: £20,059k) was deferred in the year.

24. Provisions for liabilities

24. Provisions for liabilities
Group & Charity
2025
2024
Dilapidations
Other
Total
Total
£000
£000
£000
£000
Provision 1 April 3,208
3,200
6,408
7396
Additions 693
350
1,043
962
Provisions released (588)
(714)
(1,302)
(1,950)
Provisions for liabilities at end of year 3,313
2,836
6,149
6,408

The dilapidations provision relates to property leases with various termination dates. The other provisions balance is made up of a number of provisions which are individually immaterial to both the group and charity, with provisions for repairs and maintenance, redress schemes and future pension costs. The timing of when these will fall due is uncertain.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 121

25. Commitments

(a) Capital Expenditure

There are no capital commitments.

(a) Capital Expenditure
There are no capital commitments.
(b) Land & Other Buildings Group & Charity
2025
2024
£000
£000
Total future mininum lease commitments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:
Operating leases payable which are due:
Within one year 12,129
12,455
In the second to fifth years inclusive 29,155
29,767
Over five years 14,137
14,236
55,421
56,458
Group
Charity
2025
2024
2025
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
Operating leases receivable which are due:
Within one year 35
35
–
–
In the second to fifth years inclusive 35
70
–
–
70
105
–
–

122 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

26. Fund balances

(a) Analysis of restricted & endowment funds Group & Charity Group & Charity
Restricted
income
funds
Endowment
funds
Total
Restricted
income
funds
Endowment
funds
Total
2025 2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
Income
Fundraising income 16,821
5,300
22,121
9,005
–
9,005
Children services income 4,294
–
4,294
4,420
–
4,420
Net income from investments and bank interest 1,049
44
1,093
890
–
890
22,164
5,344
27,508
14,315
–
14,315
Expenditure
Child care and community work in the UK 9,245
–
9,245
11,118
–
11,118
Cost of fundraising income 1,487
–
1,487
1,722
–
1,722
Grants to young people in need 173
–
173
309
–
309
Investment management costs –
72
72
–
63
63
10,905
72
10,977
13,149
63
13,212
Net income/(expenditure) before investments 11,259
5,272
16,531
1,166
(63)
1,103
Net realised/unrealised (losses)/gains –
(515)
(515)
–
3,019
3,019
Transfer to unrestricted funds (3,418)
–
(3,418)
–
–
–
Net movement in funds 7,841
4,757
12,598
1,166
2,956
4,122
Fund balances brought forward 10,413
35,393
45,806
9,247
32,437
41,684
Fund balances carried forward 18,254
40,150
58,404
10,413
35,393
45,806

All endowment funds are permanent endowments. Fundraising income is made up of 15 funds which are disclosed in aggregate. This income includes one material fund, The Katherine Martin Charitable Trust Gap Homes Fund. Further details of this fund are disclosed separately in note 26(a).

They have been classed as restricted due to the nature of the fundraising income.

Restricted funds transfers were made following a review of current and historic restricted fund balances. £3,251k has been transferred to unrestricted funds reflecting reclassification of a number of historic funds where the restrictions have been fully applied. A further £167k of income relating to Gap Homes expenditure incurred in 2023-24 has been moved to unrestricted reserves to align the income with the expenditure.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 123

26. Fund balances (continued)

The Katherine Martin Charitable Trust grants are recognised as separate funds within the restricted reserves. Details of the movements in these funds are set out below:

The Katherine
Martin Charitable
Trust Gap Homes Fund
The Katherine
Martin Charitable
Trust Endowment
£000
£000
As at 1 April –
–
Received in year 12,500
5,300
Investment income 104
44
Total recognised income 12,604
5,344
Recognised as capital expenditure 1,193
–
Recognised as service provision expenditure 659
–
Total expenditure 1,852
–
As at 31 March 2025 10,752
5,344

Included in total expenditure is £347k of capital and £167k of service provision expenditure recognised as unrestricted expenditure in the 2023-24 annual accounts. We have adjusted the reserves balances in 2024-25 to move these costs to restricted reserves. All expenditure incurred in 2024-25 has been recorded against restricted reserves.

The purposes of these funds are as follows:

(i) Endowment fund – supporting children, young people and their families across communities in the North of England and North Lincolnshire (including Lincoln), excluding funding to the Gap Homes programme.

(ii) Gap Homes fund – to apply funds to the Barnardo’s programme known as ‘Gap Homes’ that creates and provides new housing and related support across the UK for young people leaving the care system.

(b) Unapplied return in endowment funds

The restricted capital and endowment fund balances carried forward at 31 March 2025 include endowment funds for which Barnardo’s has received an Order signed by the Charity Commission enabling the unapplied total return to be transferred to unrestricted funds. The initial value of the unapplied return was established in 2002 and is the value of funds donated at 1 April 1976, or at the date of donation if later, indexed to 2002. Indexation has then been applied to this 2002 value to give the 2025 value. The unapplied return is the difference between the 2025 indexed value and the market value of funds as at 31 March 2025.

124 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

26. Fund balances (continued)

26. Fund balances (continued)
Trust for investment
Unapplied return
Total
£000
£000
£000
Brought forward at 1 April 2024
Original gift component (indexed to 31 March 2002)
Further indexation to 31 March 2024
Unapplied return		 14,785
17,665
–
–
–
2,275
14,785
17,665
2,275
Total 32,450
2,275
34,725
Movements in period
Increase/(decrease) from indexation
Investment return: realised and unrealised losses
Less: investment management costs		 1,042
–
–
(1,042)
(515)
(72)
–
(515)
(72)
Total 1,042
(1,629)
(587)
Net movements in the reporting period 1,042
(1,629)
(587)
Carried forward at 31 March 2025
Original Gift component (indexed to 31 March 2002)
Further indexation to 31 March 2025
Unapplied total return		 14,785
18,707
–
–
–
646
14,785
18,707
646
Total 33,492
646
34,138

Endowment funds also include property and other funds not covered by the total returns approach.

(c) Categorisation of restricted & endowment funds 2025
2024
No.
£000
No.
£000
Fund balances:
Educational purposes 3
3,892
3
3,750
Project buildings 2
284
2
284
Sea training 1
608
1
590
Other purposes 16
53,620
16
41,182
22
58,404
22
45,806

Included in the restricted and endowment funds are two charities that are independently registered with the Charity Commission, along with a number of constituent charities, also registered with the Charity Commission. The independent charities are ACW Edwards (registration number 247678 with total funds of £30k (2024: £29k)) whose objects are for the income to be distributed to recognised local or national charities that the Trustees shall in their absolute discretion select, and Egerton Will Trust (registration number 272973,with total funds of £26k (2024: £27k)), whose objects are such charitable purposes as the Trustees shall in their absolute discretion determine. Funds are held separately from Barnardo’s. The objects are closely aligned to Barnardo’s so in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), as custodian Trustees, and with Charity Commission consent, these charities have been included as if they represent restricted funds of Barnardo’s.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 125

26. Fund balances (continued)

(d) Analysis of designated (including fixed assets fund) and other unrestricted funds

Group & Charity 2025
At
1 April
2024
Income
Expenditure
Net
gains on
investments
and pension
revaluation
Net
(losses)
on asset
disposals Transfers
At
31 March
2025
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
Technology fund 3,798
–
(800)
–
–
–
2,998
Pension risk 16,051
–
–
–
–
–
16,051
Designated funds 19,849
–
(800)
–
–
–
19,049
Fixed Assets fund 35,180
–
–
–
–
(5,231)
29,949
Total funds designated for purpose 55,029
–
(800)
–
–
(5,231)
48,998
Unrestricted ‘free reserves’ 33,690
318,042
(314,074)
370
(757)
2,854
40,125
Total unrestricted funds excluding
pension reserve		 88,719 318,042
(314,874)
370
(757)
(2,377)
89,123
Pension reserve (57,680)
–
–
22,695
–
5,795
(29,190)
Total unrestricted funds including
pension reserve		 31,039 318,042
(314,874)
23,065
(757)
3,418
59,933

Group & Charity 2024

At 1 April
2023
Income
Expenditure
Net gains on
investments
and pension
revaluation
Transfers
At
31 March
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
Technology fund 6,899
–
(3,101)
–
–
3,798
Pension risk 16,051
–
–
–
–
16,051
Designated Funds 22,950
–
(3,101)
–
–
19,849
Fixed Assets fund 30,871
–
–
–
4,309
35,180
Total funds designated for purpose 53,821
–
(3,101)
–
4,309
55,029
Unrestricted ‘free reserves’ 49,306
311,819
(319,407)
2,981
(11,009)
33,690
Total unrestricted funds excluding
pension reserve		 103,127
311,819
(322,508)
2,981
(6,700)
88,719
Pension reserve (55,280)
–
–
(9,100)
6,700 (57,680)
Total unrestricted funds including
pension reserve		 47,847
311,819
(322,508)
(6,119)
–
31,039

The unrestricted ‘free reserves’ of the charity comprise the general fund (now incorporating the working capital fund) of £32,788k (2024: £25,247k) and the revaluation reserve of £7,337k (2024: £9,339k).

The fixed assets fund, which comprises the net book value of unrestricted fixed assets, is excluded because these assets cannot be quickly realised.

During 2021-22 the Trustees approved the creation of two new designated funds, the technology fund to enable the charity to invest in its digital infrastructure and a specific risk pension fund to protect and de-risk future payments to the pension scheme.

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26. Fund balances (continued)

£7,002k of the technology fund has been utilised since inception and the remaining amount will be utilised in future years as the organisation continues to invest in digital technology.

The pension risk fund has been established to ensure the charity is able to meet its pension commitments in the event of a significant economic downturn and/or a significant reduction in its income. The specific risk pension fund will allow pension deficit reduction payments to continue for at least 18 months in the event that the charity has to reshape its operations, therefore preventing the need to immediately stop vital services.

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Endowments Total Unrestricted Restricted Endowments Total
2025 2024
(e) Analysis of £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
fund balances
between group
net assets
Fixed assets 29,949 1,341 – 31,290 35,180 174 – 35,354
Investments 60,714 10,548 39,826 111,088 64,431 – 35,059 99,490
Net current assets 4,609 6,365 324 11,298 (4,484) 10,239 334 6,089
Provisions (6,149) – – (6,149) (6,408) – – (6,408)
Pension deficit (29,190) – – (29,190) (57,680) – – (57,680)
Net assets 59,933 18,254 40,150 118,337 31,039 10,413 35,393 76,845
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Endowments Total Unrestricted Restricted Endowments Total
2025 2024
(f) Analysis of £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
fund balances
between charity
net assets
Fixed assets 29,946 1,341 – 31,287 35,169 174 – 35,343
Investments 59,989 10,548 39,826 110,363 63,752 – 35,058 98,810
Net current assets 6,375 6,365 324 13,064 (2,910) 10,239 336 7,665
Provisions (6,149) – – (6,149) (6,408) – – (6,408)
Pension deficit (29,190) – – (29,190) (57,680) – – (57,680)
Net assets 60,971 18,254 40,150 119,375 31,923 10,413 35,394 77,730
----- End of picture text -----

The restricted funds are held in appropriate asset forms to enable the restrictions to be satisfied.

The amount of revaluation reserve included within the general reserve is £7,337k (2024: £9,339k).

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 127

27. Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure) to net cash inflow/ (outflow) from operating activities


(outflow) from operating activities
2025
2024
£000
£000
Net income/(expenditure) 18,797
(3,586)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charge 3,692
3,906
Amortisation charge 878
–
Loss/(gain) on investments 145
(6,000)
Dividends and interest from investments (3,252)
(3,402)
Loss/(gain) on the sale of fixed assets 757
(633)
Profit on sale of development property (242)
–
Net pension charges (5,795)
(6,700)
Decrease/(increase) in debtors 5,113
(6,731)
(Decrease)/increase in creditors (11,810)
1,627
Decrease/(increase) in stock 1,186
(1,422)
Net cash generated/(used) by operating activities 9,469
(22,941)

28. Analysis of changes in net debt

At start of year
Cash flows
At end of year
£000
£000
£000
Bank and cash 2,753
57
2,810
Current asset investments 9,005
(100)
8,905
Total 11,758
(43)
11,715

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29. Related parties

The following amounts are due to/(from) the charity:

Income
Expenditure
Debtor
Income
Expenditure
Debtor/
(creditor)		 Income
Expenditure
Debtor
Income
Expenditure
Debtor/
(creditor)
2025 2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
Barnardo Services Limited 456
(22)
1,632
454
(27)
(391)
Barnardo Developments Limited –
(81)
734
–
(104)
1,130
Barnardo Events Limited –
–
–
66
(21)
89
Barnardo Trading Limited 3,024
(303)
3,084
2,597
(128)
3,227
Adoptionplus –
–
911
–
–
656

Commission amounting to £501k was paid by the charity to Barnardo Services Ltd (2024: £504k).

Payments made to the pension scheme by the charity amounted to £10,700k (2024: £10,700k) of which £892k is outstanding as at 31 March 2025 (2024: £892k).

30. Contingent liabilities

Barnardo’s has operated a large number of residential and non-residential services over a long period of time caring for significant numbers of vulnerable children and young people. Rigorous procedures have been and continue to be in place for ensuring the safeguarding of children and internal and external inspections evidence the high standard of services delivered, however the nature of this work could give rise to potential claims against Barnardo’s. Probable claims are included within provisions where they can be estimated. Trustees have considered the likelihood and potential materiality of any additional claims and based on the information available are not able to quantify and provide for these.

There is a contingent liability in respect of the unexpired term of leases assigned to other tenants. The Trustees consider that the possibility of a material cost accruing to the charity is remote and consequently no provision has been included in the accounts.

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 129

31. Consolidated statement of financial activities for prior year

Unrestricted
funds
as restated
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
Total 2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
Income from:
Charitable activities
Donations and legacies
Other trading activities
Development and sale of properties
Investments
Other		 182,892
32,677
93,071
40
2,512
627
4,420
9,005
–
–
890
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
187,312
41,682
93,071
40
3,402
627
Total income 311,819
14,315
–
326,134
Expenditure on:
Raising donations and legacies
Other trading activities
Investment management costs		 9,639
88,116
320
1,722
–
–
–
–
63
11,361
88,116
383
Raising funds 98,075
1,722
63
99,860
Expenditure on:
Service provision
Informing the public about our work
Childcare research and education		 216,856
6,027
1,550
11,427
–
–
–
–
–
228,283
6,027
1,550
Charitable Activities 224,433
11,427
–
235,860
Total Expenditure 322,508
13,149
63
335,720
Net losses on investments 2,981
–
3,019
6,000
Net (expenditure)/income (7,708)
1,166
2,956
(3,586)
Other recognised (losses):
Actuarial loss on defined benefit pension scheme		 (9,100)
–
–
(9,100)
Net movement in funds (16,808)
1,166
2,956
(12,686)
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward		 47,847
9,247
32,437
89,531
Total funds carried forward 31,039
10,413
35,393
76,845

32. Post balance sheet events

Barnardo Developments Limited

Barnardo Developments Limited is expected to be struck off with an effective date of 31 December 2025. All assets and liabilities have been transferred to Barnardo Trading Limited.

All Barnardo Developments Limited contracts have been transferred to Barnardo Trading Limited from 22 May 2025, and all invoices will be raised from Barnardo Trading Limited from that date.

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GIFTS AND GRANTS RECEIVED

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Funding

Funding from donations

Corporate Partnerships

Adecco, Allianz, Amazon, The Bannatyne Group, The Cooperative Group, IKEA, Leeds Building Society, The People’s Postcode Lottery/The Postcode Children’s Trust, The Pokémon Company International, Saint Gobain, Whitbread PLC, Zurich Community Trust.

Public Fundraising

Public Fundraising
Barnardo’s Helper Groups
Charitable Trusts, Grants and Foundations
National Lotteries Fund (Make Trax)
National Lottery (Transition & Inclusion Service)
National Lottery Community Fund (Ubuntu)
Myristica Foundation (A Time to Change (Better Futures))
Myristica Foundation (South East Wales Partnership)
Myristica Foundation (Achieving Change Together (ACT))
Myristica Foundation (ACT Transitions and Volunteering Project)
Myristica Foundation (Cardiff Family Wellbeing Service)
Funding from statutory authorities
England
Home Office
Department of Health and Social Care
Department for Levelling up, Housing & Communities
NHS England
MOJ via the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner
North Somerset Council (Vanguard MH Grant)
Household Support Fund
Peterborough City Council (HSF Grant)
Birmingham City Council and BVSC Centre
Forest of Dean District Council		 £93,104
£164,582
£63,678
£220,762
£230,000
£195,788
£20,274

£113,475
£41,010
£6,712,955
£90,275
£307,767
£137,897
£225,917
£40,198
£66,720
£37,250
£329,427
£553

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 133

Scotland
Aberdeen City Council
Aberdeenshire Council
Angus Council
Dundee Council
Falkirk Council
Fife Council
Highland Council
Midlothian Council
North Ayrshire Council
Perth & Kinross Council
Renfrewshire Council
Scottish Government
Shared Care Scotland
Heritage Lottery – B-Wild
Northern Ireland
Belfast Health & Social Care Trust
Victims & Survivors Service
Department of Health (SPPG)
DE (Through HSCB)
Northern Ireland Housing Executive
Supporting People
Public Health Agency
Southern Health & Social Care Trust
Western Health & Social Care Trust
Northern Ireland Prison Service
South Belfast Partnership Board
Belfast City Council
National Lottery – Transition & Inclusion Service
Cymru
Ministry of Justice (HMPPS Berwyn)
Welsh Government (Bays FMS)
Welsh Government (Compass)
National Lottery (Mind Our Future)		 Council
Counci
 Council
Counci
 Council
Counci
 Council
Counci
l		 £226,647
£155,967
£19,495
£19,201
£579,300
£1,243,499
£69,555
£80,450
£129,900
£103,709
£154,670
£1,257,166
£17,849
£36,532
£2,074,132
£144,089
£2,443,508
£1,007,9223
£127,637
£243,381
£1,570,051
£1,545,999
£218,512
£201,837
£34,557
£16,500

£63,678
£256,098
£8,485
£101,705
£310,664

il

134 | Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024-25| Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–24

Donations from Charitable Trusts and Individuals

Awards International Angela McEwan Awards International Bernadette Bryne Brian Amey Caroline Walker Championing Social Care Claire Gilligan Dame Helen Mirren Enid and Derek Johnson Fenton Family FirstPoint Equity Giles and Caroline Wilkes Goyal Foundation Greggs Foundation Howard Meredith Indigo Trust Isabel Page Islamic Relief Jane Powell in memory of Margaret Powell John James Bristol Foundation Kathleen Smith Foundation Leach Family Charitable Trust

Banking on Barnardo’s Committee

William Chalmers, CFO Lloyds Banking Group Debbie Crosbie, CEO Nationwide David Duffy, Group Chief Executive, Virgin Money UK plc Mike Regnier, CEO Santander Nigel Terrington, CEO Paragon Banking Group Paul Thwaite, CEO Natwest Group

Michael Cornish Charitable Trust Miss RCR Angel Charitable Trust Mo Nurmohamed Moondance Foundation Neil Kitchener KC Ofenheim Trust Pauline Meredith Trust Peacock Charitable Trust Peak Scientific Pointon Family R J & A H Daniels Charitable Trust Sally Lykiardopulo Sandra Charitable Trust Sir James Knott Trust Sir James Reckitt Charity The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust The AJS Charitable Trust The Clapp Family Charitable Trust The EM Chapman Discretionary Will Trust The Firecracker Ball Committee The Francis & Mollie Collins Charitable Trust The Hasluck Charitable Trust The J Siddall Charitable Trust The Joan Ainslee Charitable Trust The Joseph & Lilian Sully Foundation The Katherine Martin Charitable Trust The Myristica Trust

The P F Charitable Trust The Pilkington Charities Fund The Waterloo Foundation The Zochonis Charitable Trust William Grant Foundation Your View Committee

Where individuals’ professional roles are listed, they relate to their position at the relevant time.

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

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Our trustees and officers

Patron

Her Majesty the Queen

Trustees

Magdalene Bayim-Adomako Anne-Cécile Berthier

Avis Darzins – Senior Independent Trustee

Meredith Pierce Hunter

David Kemp (Honorary Treasurer, appointed as Trustee 26 September 2024 and as Treasurer 29 November 2024)

Briony Ladbury

Breid O’Brien

Henry Odogwu Penny Thompson CBE – Deputy Chair Rajinder Verma Mark Wood – Chair

President

Natasha Kaplinsky, OBE

Vice Presidents

Dr David Barnardo, OBE Baroness Benjamin, OBE, DL Cherie Booth QC (Honorary) William Chalmers Anita Goyal MBE Lord Loomba, CBE Bruce Oldfield, OBE

Empowering People of Colour (EPOC) Board Fellow

Bhavik Davda

Koulla Yiasouma

Dennis Hone (Honorary Treasurer, resigned with effect from 29 November 2024)

Neil Crockett (resigned 31 July 2025)

Chief Executive*

Lynn Perry, MBE

Chief Operating Officer – Children’s Services *

Michelle Lee-Izu

Executive Director, Children’s Services – Delivery*

Steve Oversby

Corporate Director of Business Services*

Director of Fundraising & Marketing*

Rebecca Mauger

Managing Director of Barnardo’s Trading Companies*

Mark Gregory

Director of Strategy and External Affairs* Debbie Moss

Company Secretary

Nicholas Williams

Richard Moore

Director of People & Culture*

Sarah Eglin

*member of the Executive Leadership Team

Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 137

Contact details

Registered office

Barnardo House, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG6 1QG

Auditors

BDO LLP, 2 City Place, Beehive Ring Road, Gatwick, West Sussex RH6 0PA

Bankers

Barclays Bank plc, Level 28, 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP

Investment managers

Ruffer LLP, 80 Victoria Street, London SW1E 5JL

Sarasin & Partners LLP, Juxon House, 100 St Paul’s Churchyard, London, EC4M 8BU

CCLA, One Angel Lane, London, EC4R 3AB

Principal solicitors

Bates Wells LLP, 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1BE

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Barnardo’s Annual Report 2023–Barnardo’s Annual Report 2024- 2 4 5 | 139

About Barnardo’s

Life can make children growing up in the UK today feel like they don’t belong. We know they do.

At Barnardo’s, our purpose is clear – changing childhoods and changing lives. We’ve been helping children, young people, and families to be safer, happier, healthier, and more hopeful for over 150 years – and we’ll be here for as long as we’re needed.

Last year, we provided essential support to over 350,000 children, parents and carers through over 650 services and partnerships across the UK.

This vital work is only possible thanks to our partners and supporters, including those who donate and shop with us. But we’re not stopping there.

Together, we’re bringing love, care and hope into children’s lives so every child can feel like they belong.

© Barnardo’s, 2025 All rights reserved

No part of this report, including images, may be reproduced or stored on an authorised retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior permission of the publisher.

All images are posed by models. Names have been changed to protect identities.

barnardos.org.uk

Barnardo House, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG6 1QG | Tel: 020 8550 8822

Barnardo’s Registered Charity Nos.216250 and SC037605 25892shc25