If you can change a childhood, you can change a life

Last week was certainly a strange one. We had fans of a presidential hopeful sporting ear bandages, a world wide web meltdown, and we all melted as the temperature in the UK rose above 30c for the first time this year. There were full-on riots in Leeds, a darts-loving teenage romance break up, and of course, a King’s speech at the opening of Parliament. The speech set out amongst other things, a renewed focus on mental health services and services for children and young people. A focus both most welcome and long overdue. 

When I first moved to Manchester, way back in 1984, it was to commission what was then, the only forensic mental health service for adolescents. The service provided medium secure in-patient care and community services to young people. It was a national service, and served young people who might otherwise, and inappropriately, enter the criminal justice system. It was a pioneering service, way ahead of its time. For me, it was also a time of great change, as I moved from rural Wales to big city Manchester.

In those early days I was privileged to lead a small group of other nurses, drawn from different parts of the UK, and all bringing different, but related, experiences. One of the Charge Nurses was a chap called Mike. He was a Barnardo’s child. Mike was one of the gentlest and most generous men I have ever known. I knew little about Barnardo’s until I met Mike. Barnardo’s was set up by a doctor called Thomas Barnardo way back in 1866.  Barnardo eventually gave up his medical practice to concentrate on helping children and young people who lived in poverty. At the time, poverty and the associated ill health was so widespread that one in five children died before their fifth birthday.

It was in 1870 that Barnardo opened his first home for boys. Despite the limitation of the building, he never turned away any child who needed help. Three years later, a now married Barnardo, opened up a home for girls. From these early beginnings, its work grew year on year. By the time he died in 1905, the Barnardo charity had 96 homes caring for more than 8,500 children and young people. In addition, the charity also supported 4,000 children who had been placed in foster homes. As the world moved on, so did the Barnardo model of care.

The rise of Local Authority residential provision for children and young people meant that by 1989, the charity has closed the last of its homes. These days Barnardo’s runs over 400 different types of services, ranging from day centres, day and residential schools and play schemes. They work with young carers, and provide support for homeless young people. Each year they work with over 100,000 children and young people. In terms of charitable expenditure, Barnardo’s remains the largest children’s charity in the UK. But they are not the only ones working with children and young people in the UK today.

Action for Children, another large children’s charity notes that there are 4.3 million children living in poverty in the UK. Sadly, this number is based upon 2022/23 data. That is 30% of all children living in the UK today. That cannot be right. Alarmingly, the number has possibly increased since this data was collected. In anticipation of a change in government, Action for Children, Barnardo’s, The Children’s Society, The National Children’s Bureau and the NSPCC along with more than 130 other organisations came together recently to plan how to make sure the next government prioritises children and young people. You can look at their campaign, ‘Children at the Table’ here.

Clearly the new government has heard their cry. I hope the King’s speech proposals turn into action, and do so soon. Amongst all the other things occurring last week, I was able to visit one of our Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) at Bolton. I was impressed with what I saw and the folk I met. Originally this service was called the Lady Tonge Clinic. I don’t know when it lost that name.  Mike, my former friend, and colleague moved from the Adolescent Mental Health Forensic Service to work at the Lady Tonge Clinic. He is long gone now. However, if he had been with me last week, he would have been proud at what the service was doing. Truly they are helping to change childhoods and changing lives.