ACTION FOR CHILDREN

Registered charity 1097940 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · 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.

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

Latest income
£163.4m
Latest spending
£163.0m
Registered
2003
Accounts read
FY2025

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

Reserves policy: £16 million (held: £14.7m)
“The target minimum free reserves in a period of no investments should be £16 million.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Pension scheme deficit: £23.9m
“Under the sustainable target at 31 March 2024 there was a deficit of £23.9 million, representing a funding level of 95%.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

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

Corporate structure

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).

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.

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)

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.

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

Total income
£163.4m
Total spending
£163.0m
Cost of raising funds
£7.4m
Reserves (reported)
£14.7m
Employees
4,395

Reported reserves equal ~1.1 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 2.7 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 (2.9%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees · trustee networks

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

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

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/03/2025£163.4m£163.0m
31/03/2024£155.3m£161.0m
31/03/2023£149.8m£149.4m
31/03/2022£142.6m£139.4m
31/03/2021£145.2m£139.4m

Common questions

Is ACTION FOR CHILDREN financially healthy?

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. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Crowe UK LLP.

Who funds ACTION FOR CHILDREN?

Funders whose own accounts filings name ACTION FOR CHILDREN as a grant recipient include HOLLYHOCK CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, THE PRUDENCE TRUST, THE ICELAND FOODS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, THE DISTILLERS' CHARITY, IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
HOLLYHOCK CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2021£1.1mGrant
THE PRUDENCE TRUSTFY2023£535kExpansion of parent help line services
THE ICELAND FOODS CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2023£407k
THE ICELAND FOODS CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2022£331k
THE DISTILLERS' CHARITYFY2024£263kYouth Action Fund
THE DISTILLERS' CHARITYFY2025£263kYouth Action Fund
THE DISTILLERS' CHARITYFY2023£250kYouth Action Fund
IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATIONFY2023£188k
B&Q FoundationFY2025£150kHappy Homes project
The Brindle FoundationFY2023£101k
THE HYMANS ROBERTSON FOUNDATIONFY2025£52k
E B M CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£50k
MOONDANCE FOUNDATIONFY2023£35k
MOONDANCE FOUNDATIONFY2022£35kChildren & Young People
THE DISTILLERS' CHARITYFY2022£30kYouth Action Fund
THE VIRGIN MONEY FOUNDATIONFY2021£30kCommunity Anchors' Fund / General Grants
BOLTON TOGETHERFY2023£26k
FOUNDATIONS - WHAT WORKS CENTRE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIESFY2025£25kBreaking the Cycle
THE HISCOX FOUNDATIONFY2025£20k
WILLIAM ADLINGTON CADBURY CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£20k
THE BARBOUR FOUNDATIONFY2022£20k
BOLTON TOGETHERFY2022£19k
RJ AND AH DANIELS CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£15k
THE ADINT CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£15k
THE JOSEPH AND LILIAN SULLY FOUNDATIONFY2025£10k
PILKINGTON CHARITIES FUNDFY2023£10k
THE JOSEPH AND LILIAN SULLY FOUNDATIONFY2024£10k
THE NEUMARK FOUNDATIONFY2022£10k
PHILIP BREEZE WILL TRUSTFY2024£10kAnnual distribution to Charities
THE JOSEPH AND LILIAN SULLY FOUNDATIONFY2022£10k
THE ADINT CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£10k
RJ AND AH DANIELS CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£8k
SWANSEA C V SFY2022£7kParent Carer Forum Partnership
CHAPMAN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£6k
CHAPMAN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£6k
CHAPMAN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£6k
CHAPMAN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£6k
CHAPMAN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£6k
CHAPMAN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£6k
CHAPMAN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£6k
DAVID LISTER CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£5k
SWANSEA C V SFY2023£5kParent Carer Forum Partnership
THE SCOTT BADER COMMONWEALTH LIMITEDFY2021£5kFunded breaks for disabled children and their families in Northamptonshire
THE AUSTIN AND HOPE PILKINGTON TRUSTFY2023£5k
THE CHRISTOPHER AND HENRY OLDFIELD TRUSTFY2024£5k
THE AUSTIN AND HOPE PILKINGTON TRUSTFY2021£5k
THE T. S. ELIOT FOUNDATIONFY2025£5kDirect UK Grants
THE AUSTIN AND HOPE PILKINGTON TRUSTFY2024£5kRound Four - Food poverty - Enabling Resilience
THE HYMANS ROBERTSON FOUNDATIONFY2024£3k
THE SISTERS OF THE POOR CHILD JESUSFY2023£3kOther donations

Government & lottery funding

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

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Community Fund24/11/2025£5.0mCriminal Exploitation Support Service for Children and Young People
UK government01/04/2024£50kArmed Forces Families Fund (AF3) 24/25
UK government01/04/2024£15kArmed Forces Families Fund (AF3) 24/25
UK government28/02/2024£12kARMED FORCES FAMILY FUND
UK government28/02/2024£22kARMED FORCES FAMILY FUND
City Bridge Foundation30/11/2023£150kGrant to Action for Children
UK government22/02/2023£44kARMED FORCES FAMILY FUND (AF3)
The National Lottery Community Fund31/01/2023£10kAction for Children mental wellbeing project North Wales
The National Lottery Community Fund10/09/2020£10kTechnology equality for Prep for Life service users
UK government11/08/2020£80kCoronavirus Community Support Fund
The National Lottery Community Fund22/05/2020£10kThe Action for Children Emergency Coronavirus Fund
The National Lottery Community Fund05/02/2020£10kLife Competency Skills - Wrexham/Flintshire
The National Lottery Community Fund22/06/2019£4.7mSerious Organised Crime Early Intervention Service
The National Lottery Community Fund07/05/2019£489kYoung Adult Carer Support Groups
UK government01/04/2019£3kALB - Cafcass - Supported Child Contact Centres (SCCC) Grant 19-20
UK government01/04/2019£154kReducing Parental Conflict (RPC) - Challenge Fund Grant - Action for Children
The National Lottery Community Fund20/12/2018£292kBreaking the Cycle
The National Lottery Community Fund17/12/2018£10kSidestep CSE Service
The National Lottery Community Fund26/11/2018£56kChat and Play
Sport England06/11/2018£458kThompson Park Family Hub
The National Lottery Community Fund01/11/2018£10kPuppetry to identify at risk children
The National Lottery Heritage Fund27/08/2018£50k"Forgotten Power – Gathering strength from our deepest roots"
The National Lottery Community Fund31/07/2018£92kFamily Support Volunteers
The National Lottery Community Fund25/01/2017£497kSwansea SAIL (Support, Advocacy, Information, Life-coaching)
The National Lottery Community Fund08/12/2016£2kCommunity Celebration

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 FAMILY ACTION.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
ACTION FOR CHILDREN£163.4m——unclear—no doubt
FAMILY ACTION FY2025£44.3m£200,001 - £210,000—unclear—no doubt
AllChild FY2025£7.3m——above—no doubt
THE ACTORS' CHILDREN'S TRUST FY2025£230k—0unclear—no doubt
ACTS FAST FY2025£142k—0unclear—noted
FIVE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES TRUST LTD FY2025£2.3m—0below—no doubt

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