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Barnardo's is a British charity founded by
Thomas John Barnardo
Thomas John Barnardo (4 July 184519 September 1905) was an Irish-born philanthropist and founder and director of homes for poor and deprived children. From the foundation of the first Barnardo's home in 1867 to the date of Barnardo's death, nea ...
in 1866, to care for vulnerable children. As of 2013, it raised and spent around £200 million each year running around 900 local services, aimed at helping these same groups. It is the UK's largest children's charity, in terms of charitable expenditure.
Its headquarters are in
Barkingside in the
London Borough of Redbridge
The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough established in 1965.
The borough shares boundaries with the Epping Forest District and the ceremonial county of Essex to the north, with the London Borough of Waltham Forest to the west, the ...
.
History
The National Incorporated Association for the Reclamation of Destitute Waif Children otherwise known as Dr. Barnardo's Homes was founded by Thomas Barnardo, who opened a school in the
East End of London
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
to care for and educate children of the area left
orphaned and destitute by a recent
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
outbreak. In 1870 he founded a boys'
orphanage
An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...
at
18 Stepney Causeway and later opened a girls' home. By the time of his death in 1905, Barnardo's institutions cared for over 8,500 children in 96 locations. His work was carried on by his many supporters under the name Dr. Barnardo's Homes National Incorporated Association. Following societal changes in the mid-20th century, the charity changed its focus from the direct care of children to
fostering and
adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
, renaming itself Dr. Barnardo's in 1965. Following the closure of its last traditional orphanage in 1988, it took the still simpler name of Barnardo's. The official mascot of Barnardo's is a bear called Barney. Its chief executive is
Javed Khan.
There was controversy early on with Barnardo's work. Specifically, he was accused of kidnapping children without parents' permission and of falsifying photographs of children to make the distinction between the period before they were rescued by Barnardo's and afterwards seem more dramatic. He openly confessed to the former of these charges, describing it as "philanthropic abduction" and basing his defence on the idea that the ends justified the means. In all, he was taken to court on 88 occasions, largely on the charge of kidnapping. However, being a charismatic speaker and popular figure, he rode through these scandals unscathed. Other charges brought against him included neglecting basic hygiene for the children under his care.
Between 1945 and 1974, Barnardo's supported and participated in schemes that saw around 150,000 children exported to imperial colonies where they were mostly abused, beaten and neglected.
In October 2022,
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
announced that over 1,000
Paddington Bears and
teddy bear
A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...
s left at royal sites after the death of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
would be donated to Barnardo's.
Communications
Barnardo's has used advertising campaigns to raise public awareness of its work. A 2003 advert which featured a new-born baby with a cockroach crawling out of its mouth was banned by the
ASA
ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent
* Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin
* Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery
* Anterior spinal ar ...
after a storm of public protest. In 2008 its ''Break the cycle'' TV advert featuring a girl being repeatedly hit around the head by her father prompted a number of complaints but was cleared by the ASA, which said the imagery was justified, given the context.
In 2009
Martin Narey, then Chief Executive of Barnardo's, stated that he believed that more children should be taken into care. This statement caused considerable controversy, especially as historical references were made by journalists to Barnardo's original practice of "philanthropic abduction". By 2012, there was little opposition to Narey's claim, which was publicly supported by the
NSPCC and Action For Children, who called for an overhaul of the law on neglect.
Criticism
Cedars controversy
In 2011, Barnardo's was criticised for its work in
Cedars, the name chosen by
UK Immigration Enforcement for what it describes as "pre-departure accommodation" (
detention facility) near Gatwick Airport used to hold families with children pending deportation. Barnardo's provides "welfare and social care facilities" at the detention centre, which is managed on behalf of
UK Visas and Immigration by private security company
G4S
G4S is a British Multinational corporation, multinational private security company headquartered in London, England. The company was set up in 2004 when London-based Securicor amalgamated with Danish firm Group 4 Falck. The company offers a ran ...
. Barnardo's has been criticised by Frances Webber of the
Institute of Race Relations for "legitimising child detention".
Activists opposed to the detention of children, such as members of the
No Border network
The No Border Network (In the United Kingdom also called "No Borders Network" or "Noborders Network") refers to loose associations of autonomous organisations, groups, and individuals in Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and beyond. ...
, have mounted a campaign against the charity's involvement in Cedars including actions such as occupying Barnardo's London head office in February 2012, and disrupting the "Barnardo's Young Supporters" choir concert at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
in April 2012.
In response to criticism, Anne Marie Carrie, then Chief Executive of Barnardo's, stated that the decision to provide welfare and social care services at Cedars is in the children's best interests, outlining Barnardo's "red lines" and the action it will take if the welfare and dignity of any asylum seeking families and children is at risk.
Child physical and sexual abuse
The 2014–2015
Northern Ireland Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry
The 2014–2016 Northern Ireland Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, often referred to as the HIA Inquiry, is the largest inquiry into historical institutional sexual and physical abuse of children in UK legal history. Its remit covers ins ...
included
Barnardo's Sharonmore Project, Newtownabbey and Barnardo's Macedon, Newtownabbey among the institutions under investigation. The charity was aware of child abuse but did not retain the records, as the evidence could have been used in court. Barnardo's was also implicated in this inquiry for sending British children to Australia in the mid-20th century, where some were tortured, raped and enslaved.
Barnardo's acknowledges its role in this "well intentioned" but "deeply misguided" policy supported by the government of the time.
Barnardo's was further scrutinised in 2018, as investigations and inquiries into failures in NGO safeguarding expanded.
In 2020 the
Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry issued a report which included Barnardo's homes at Tyneholm, Balcary, Glasclune and Craigerne in Scotland. The Inquiry concluded that children in the care of these homes in the 1950s and 1960s suffered emotional, sexual and physical abuse.
Apology
Martin Crewe, the head of Barnardo's Scotland, said in 2020: "We absolutely apologise for what happened to those individuals. Any instance of abuse is absolutely unacceptable.”
On 11 March 2022 ministers from the five main political parties in Northern Ireland and six abusing institutions made statements of apology in the
Northern Ireland Assembly
sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie
, legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly
, coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg
, coa_res = 250px
, house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral
, hou ...
.
The six institutions that apologised for carrying out abuse were De La Salle Brothers, represented by Br Francis Manning; the Sisters of Nazareth, represented by Sr Cornelia Walsh; the Sisters of St Louis represented by Sr Uainin Clarke; the Good Shepherd Sisters, represented by Sr Cait O'Leary; Barnardo's in Northern Ireland, represented by Michele Janes; and Irish Church Missions, represented by Rev Mark Jones.
[
In live reporting after the apology, BBC News reported that Jon McCourt from Survivors North West said "If what happened today was the best that the church could offer by way of an apology they failed miserably. There was no emotion, there was no ownership. ... I don't believe that the church and institutions atoned today." He called on the institutions to "do the right thing" and contribute to the redress fund for survivors, saying that institutions have done similar for people in Scotland.] McCourt praised the government ministers' apologies; they had "sat and thought out and listened to what it was we said", but said that the institutions had failed to do this, leading to some victims having to leave the room while they were speaking, "compound ngthe hurt."[
Others angry at the institutions' apologies included Caroline Farry, who attended St Joseph's Training School in Middletown from 1978-1981, overseen by nuns from the Sisters of St Louis,][ Pádraigín Drinan from Survivors of Abuse,][ and Alice Harper, whose brother, a victim of the De La Salle Brothers, had since died.][ Peter Murdock, from campaign group Savia, was at Nazareth Lodge Orphanage with his brother (who had recently died); he likened the institution to an "SS camp". He said "It's shocking to hear a nun from the institution apologising ... it comes 30 years too late ... people need to realise that it has to come from the heart. They say it came from the heart but why did they not apologise 30 years ago?"][
]
Music
During the 1950s children from the homes made recordings, including appearing on Petula Clark's 1952 recording of "Where Did My Snowman Go?". They also made recordings as a vocal group for Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
and Pye Nixa Records
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...
.
Barnardo's Barkingside regeneration programme
Barnardo's employs approximately 450 staff in Barkingside in Ilford, eastern Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality
*Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
*Greater (song), "Greate ...
, including secondments and visitors. Since September 2013 operations were consolidated in one, smaller, building on the Barkingside site. The new building was financed by housing developments undertaken after public consultation and discussions with local residents in Barkingside.
Affiliations
Barnardo's is a founding member of Fostering Through Social Enterprise (FtSE), a consortium of voluntary and non-profit fostering agencies that advocate for children in respect of regulation, as well as representing its membership at central government level.
In January 2016, it was announced that Barnardo's would be one of the chosen charities for Santander
Santander may refer to:
Places
* Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain
* Santander Department, a department of Colombia
* Santander State, former state of Colombia
* Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
's The Discovery Project alongside Age UK. As well giving as financial donations to the charities on Track project, Santander will also allow staff to volunteer in their charity shops.
In the Commonwealth
Spinoff charities Barnados Australia and Barnardos New Zealand were set up in the 20th century (now spelt without an apostrophe, following local practice) with the same mission. Barnados Australia uses similar slogan to the UK organisation, "We believe in children," while Barnardos New Zealand uses "Do more for Kiwi kids."
See also
* Barnardo's Big Toddle The Barnardo's Big Toddle is the UK's biggest charity event for children under the age of 5.
History
The event was established in 1997.
In 2007, Barnado's Big Toddle employed the advertising agency Leo Burnett Worldwide, Burnett Works to help re ...
References
External links
Barnardo
Official website
childrenshomes.org.uk
Has details of every former Barnardo's Home
*
*
Intelligent Giving profile of Barnardo's
Barnardo's Child Sponsorship
{{authority control
Children's charities based in the United Kingdom
London Borough of Redbridge
Adoption, fostering, orphan care and displacement
Orphanages in the United Kingdom
Charities based in London
1866 establishments in England
Organizations established in 1866