ACTION FOR CHILDREN

Registered charity 1097940 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · Wikidata: Q4677200 · Wikipedia · also known as NCH · also registered in Scotland as SC038092 (OSCR)

We protect and support children and young people, providing practical and emotional care and support, ensuring their voices are heard, and campaigning to bring lasting improvements to their lives. Last year, we helped more than 387,000 children and families across the UK.

Objects

THE CHARITY WORKS FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT HAVING AS ITS OBJECTS THE PROMOTION OF THE UPBRINGING AND CARE OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN NEED FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS, CULTURES, AND FAITHS OR NONE IN PARTICULAR BY:1. PROMOTING THEIR BETTER CARE AND SAFEGUARDING THEM;2. PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES AND CARERS;3. PROMOTING THEIR HEALTH;4. PROMOTING THEIR EDUCATION AND ESTABLISHMENT IN LIFE.

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED.

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · Disability · Accommodation/housing · Other Charitable Purposes · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Watford, East of England, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity achieved a net surplus of £0.4 million for the year, with total income rising to £163.4 million. Free unrestricted reserves stood at £14.7 million, which is below the stated policy target of £16 million, a shortfall attributed to planned investments in residential homes and technology. The trustees confirm that the group has adequate resources and healthy cash balances to continue as a going concern for at least twelve months.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Crowe UK LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

In its annual return the charity told the Commission it is also regulated by: Care Quality Commission; Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW); Estyn: Her Majesty's Inspectorate For Education And Training In Wales; Ofsted (Office For Standards In Education); Welsh Government (Social Landlords And Housing Associations). This is the charity’s own declaration; it is not a rating and has not been verified by the Commission or by this site.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Investment
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Corporate structure

• Registered company of the charity Companies House 04764232 · Financial health read from its filings

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Action for Children (matched by registered charity number).

Funders the charity credits

Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).

• John Lewis — “Join our current team of partners, including John Lewis, Ella's Kitchen, Arcadis, Starling Bank, Turner & Townsend and Dell.” (source page)
• Ella's Kitchen — “Join our current team of partners, including John Lewis, Ella's Kitchen, Arcadis, Starling Bank, Turner & Townsend and Dell.” (source page)
• Arcadis — “Join our current team of partners, including John Lewis, Ella's Kitchen, Arcadis, Starling Bank, Turner & Townsend and Dell.” (source page)
• Starling Bank — “Join our current team of partners, including John Lewis, Ella's Kitchen, Arcadis, Starling Bank, Turner & Townsend and Dell.” (source page)
• Turner & Townsend — “Join our current team of partners, including John Lewis, Ella's Kitchen, Arcadis, Starling Bank, Turner & Townsend and Dell.” (source page)
• Dell — “Join our current team of partners, including John Lewis, Ella's Kitchen, Arcadis, Starling Bank, Turner & Townsend and Dell.” (source page)
• CBRE — “Since our UK employees voted for Action for Children we’ve had a superb response, successfully doubling our income target in the first two y…” (source page)
• Royal Mail Group — “We have worked with many charities through our Community Investment programme and Action for Children has been particularly impressive to wo…” (source page)

Company officers (Companies House)

Current officers of the charity’s own company per the Companies House register, cross-checked against the Charity Commission trustee list by name. A director not on the trustee list is usually a timing or naming difference between the two registers — check both records before drawing conclusions.

• NEWMAN, Jeremy Steven — director, appointed 18/08/2026on trustee list
• FLEMING, Robert Andrew — director, appointed 20/04/2026on trustee list
• HUNTER, Anthony John — director, appointed 17/04/2026on trustee list
• BELL, Elizabeth — director, appointed 17/04/2026on trustee list
• EASTMOND, Richard James — director, appointed 15/04/2026on trustee list
• KAUL, Navin — director, appointed 22/02/2024on trustee list
• GEEKIE, Charles Nairn — director, appointed 26/04/2023not on trustee list
• CURRAN, Peter Thomas — director, appointed 01/02/2021on trustee list
• BELL, Steven David — director, appointed 02/11/2020on trustee list
• LONG, Michael John Adrian, Revd Dr — director, appointed 01/07/2020on trustee list
• HAWTIN, Richard — secretary, appointed 24/02/2026

Official officers record.

Public-sector contracts awarded

From the official Contracts Finder and Find a Tender notices (supplier matched by exact registered name). Contract income is distinct from grants.

UK research funding (UKRI Gateway to Research)

• Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Resource Centre 2015-20 —
• Action on Neglect: Noticing and helping the neglected child —
• The Millennium Cohort Study Sweep 6 (Age 14) Survey —
• VIP-CLEAR: Voices in a Pandemic: Children's Lockdown Experiences Applied to Recovery —
• MARCH: Social, Cultural and Community Assets for Mental Health —

Property (HM Land Registry)

81 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (50 freehold); recorded price paid £7.1m. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

CQC provider record: Action for Children — Registered, 21 registered locations, 3 regulated activities, last inspected 02/03/2022.charity number confirmed by CQC CQC record

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook (101,551 likes) · instagram (53K followers)

Advertised salaries (public job ads)

Roles this charity has advertised on CharityJob, matched on the exact employer name. A different source from the statutory pay bands above: these are asking salaries for vacancies, not what anyone was paid.

• Corporate Partnership Executive — £30,000 per year · Farringdon (Hybrid) · posted 1 week ago (seen 21/08/2026)
• Relationship Fundraising Executive — £27,000 per year · Remote · posted 1 week ago (seen 21/08/2026)
• Registered Manager · Scotland

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~1.1 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 2.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (88% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 4.6% of total income — above the median for charities its size (3.2%) (benchmarks).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (24/02/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (20/06/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (17/07/2024) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (31/05/2024) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (26/03/2024) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (15/03/2024) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Anthony Hunter
• Charles Nairn Geekie KC
• Elizabeth Bell · trustee of 1 other charity
• Jeremy Steven Newman · trustee of 4 other charities
• Navin Kaul
• Peter Thomas Curran · trustee of 1 other charity
• Rev Michael John Adrian Long
• Richard Eastmond · trustee of 1 other charity
• Richard Simon Brown
• Robert Fleming
• Steven David Bell

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Grants marked “Unverified read” were flagged by automated checks as possibly misread from the funder’s filed accounts. They are listed, but left out of the totals, counts and funder relationships this site computes.

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with FOR CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE.

• FOR CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE income £1.5m
• CHILD ACTION income £119k
• CHILD POVERTY ACTION GROUP income £6.3m
• KIDS MATTER income £892k
• UK CARE FOR CHILDREN income £1.7m
• CHILD ACTION NORTHWEST income £8.0m

Side by side with its peers

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.