The Early Years Award

Winner: The Blackpool Better Start Early Years Community Connector Service

This innovative peer support approach recruits local community members with lived experience of parenting or caring for children, to help break down barriers among deprived families in Blackpool who struggle to understand early child development, access statutory services or engage in universal or early help provision. Since 2017, the service has supported more than 4,000 parents of children aged 0-3.

Finalists

• City of Doncaster Council, Talking Together Team

• National Children's Bureau and London Borough of Lewisham, Making it REAL Lewisham

• NDNA, Maths Champions Project

The Play Award

Winner: Team Oasis Inclusive Children's Charity, Advancing Play As A Priority Program

Founded in Toxteth, Team Oasis has overcome significant economic and social challenges to deliver its services in this community. Every week around 350 children and young people, of which half have a physical disability, special need or mental health condition, take part in the charity’s diverse programme of indoor and outdoor activities such as painting, dancing, storytelling, film-making and photography.

Highly Commended: TAG Youth Club for Disabled Young People.

The Digital Innovation Award

Winner: Gamechanger

Gamechanger uses interactive resources and experiences to raise awareness of major social issues for children and young people. It combines virtual reality technology with engaging drama and activity-based workshops focusing on themes such as county lines drug trafficking and knife crime. Around 3,000 children and young people have participated in the programmes, including those with adverse childhood experiences in mainstream education and pupil referral units.

Finalists:

• Achieve Psychology for Learning, Total Words

• The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, Shore

• University of Cambridge, Isaac Physics & STEM SMART

The Safeguarding Award

Winner: NSPCC and IWF, Report Remove

This joint initiative is enabling under-18s to instantly report imagery of themselves to safeguard against online sexual abuse. Report Remove also helps young people at risk of financial extortion by reducing the impact of threats from perpetrators of sharing imagery and preventing images being publicly uploaded. In the last year, 796 reports were made with 1,082 images actioned and removed from public sites.

Finalists:

• Bridgelea Primary School, HSB Outreach Service

• Catch22, County Lines • Gamechanger

• Ivison Trust, Parent Liaison Officer Programme

• St Giles Trust's Royal London Hospital Team

The Learning Award

Winner: Catch22, Include Suffolk

Include Suffolk offers placements for up to 66 children aged 5 to 11 that have significant educational barriers unmet by mainstream schools. Many have been excluded from their previous setting, struggle with anxiety and have learning difficulties. Bespoke support is given to every child to overcome educational barriers. In the past year, attendance levels have improved more students transition to a positive destination.

Finalists:

• Challengers, 555 Service

• Equal Education, 1:1 Tuition

• TCES National Online School

The Arts and Culture Award

Winner: The Mighty Creatives, Creative Mentoring

Mighty Creatives’ participants create everything from puppet shows, online games, dance routines, photography collections, poetry and music in a safe space where they can express themselves, build confidence and self-belief. A team of freelance creative mentors support under-represented groups of young people including those with care experience. Since its launch, it has supported 538 young people aged five to 25 across 82 referral partners.

Finalists:

• Art at the Start, University of Dundee

• Lewisham Music, Sonic Minds

• WWF-UK, RSPB, National Trust + World Pencil - Young Voices for Nature

The Young Carers Award

Winner: Carers Trust, Young Carers Alliance

Developed as a national network of organisations and individuals committed to improving the lives of young carers, young adult carers and their families, the alliance now boasts 212 members from across the world. The alliance has raised the profile of young carers resulting in policy and practice changes as well as pledges of support from 75 MPs and peers in recent years.

Finalists:

• Family Action, Young Carers in Healthcare

• Young Carers Service, Carers in Bedfordshire

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Award

Winner: The Children’s Society, Pause

Pause is a drop-in emotional health and wellbeing service in Birmingham city centre that provides mental health support to children and young people, seven days a week. Each year, more than 3,000 children and young people access support from a team of youth workers, community counsellors, senior therapists and volunteers. In 2023, 97% of children and young reported improved wellbeing after Pause interventions.

Finalists:

• Barnardo’s, Let’s Connect Framework

• Better Start Bradford, Little Minds Matter

• Blackpool Better Start Partnership - Blackpool Parent-Infant Relationship Service (PaIRS) Delivered by Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 

• Khulisa, Face It - Social and Emotional Wellbeing Skills Built to Last

• Kids, Wakefield Awareness and Support Project

• Love4Life, operating under Charnwood 20:20

• Ormiston Families, Stars

The Youth Work Award

Sponsored by:

Winner: Young Devon, InReach Project

Significant numbers of children and young people attend hospitals in emotional distress and the In-Reach support service works to prevent them ending up in crisis. Its youth work model focuses on developing positive relationships, goal-based outcomes, personal plans and providing advocacy. Some 154 young people have engaged with a youth worker or a peer mentor, with A&E and inpatient admissions falling as a result.

Finalists:

• Lancashire Youth Challenge, RESTORE Programme

• My Futures, Developing Relationships With Children Through Chance UK's Youth Work Model

• Redthread, Pioneering Youth Work in Hospital Emergency Departments

• TAG Youth Club for Disabled Young People

• Young Bristol, Youth Club on Wheels

The Early Intervention Award

Winner: Khulisa, Face It - Social and Emotional Wellbeing Skills Built to Last

Face It is an intensive, schools-based programme that works with disadvantaged young people and those at risk of involvement in the justice system. Schools hold group activities and one-to-one reflection sessions to raise self-awareness and build wellbeing through creative techniques such as storytelling, art and role play. The charity has worked 5,000 young people and trained 4,500 practitioners to deliver trauma-informed support.

Finalists:

• BoxWise Foundation, The 10 Week BoxWise Programme

• Chance UK

• Forward Outcomes Partnerships, The Wave

• LifeLine Community Projects, SW!TCH Futures

The Youth Volunteering and Social Action Award

Winner: StreetDoctors, Young Healthcare Volunteers

StreetDoctors works with youth centres, schools, prisons, community and sports groups using mainly medical school trainees to deliver training in first aid and how to cope with the emotional impact of experiencing violence. Last year, hundreds of volunteers worked in 20 UK cities to train 10,000 young people adding to a total of 25,000 young people trained in emergency first aid in the last decade.

Finalists:

• Article 39, Blooming Change

• Artswork, Young Cultural Changemakers

• Sexpression:UK, Core Offer

• Volunteering Matters, London Young Ambassadors

The Children in Care Award

Sponsored by:

Winner: Hexagon Care Services, Ferngate Children’s Home

Ferngate is an “outstanding” rated children’s care home, run by Hexagon Care Services, that prides itself on creating a therapeutic environment for girls aged 11 to 17. Using an evidence-based approach that engages young people in a “child-centred” programme, staff work to promote each young person’s mental health and emotional wellbeing. The home has earned itself a reputation for never giving up on children let down by society.

Finalists:

• Family Rights Group, Lifelong Links

• Hexagon Care Services, Ferngate Children’s Home

• Hull and East Yorkshire Children's University, CLA Programme

• TACT Fostering, Connect

The PSHE Education Award

Winner: Herts Young Homeless, Education Service

Herts Young Homeless provides young people with the skills, knowledge and awareness to avoid vulnerabilities that could lead to homelessness. Educators deliver sessions on anger management, conflict resolution, healthy relationships and independent living skills. The service is available in all of Hertfordshire’s secondary schools and special school settings, with figures showing 12,000 young people were supported last year, exceeding its target by 20%.

Highly Commended: GamCare, Young People's Gambling Harm Prevention Programme!

Finalists:

• Coram Life Education & SCARF, Mental Wellbeing Workshops

• NSPCC, Talk Relationships

• Plumpton College, Pre-Loved Store Project

The Family Support Award

Winner: Momentum Children's Charity, Family Support Work

Momentum provides practical and emotional support to families whose child has been diagnosed with cancer or a life-challenging condition. It ensures quicker access to mental health services and links with social workers, education providers, hospices and community teams to provide streamlined help. Last year, it supported 419 families in active treatment and a further 164 families through its bereavement service across its catchment area of London, Surrey and Sussex.

Finalists:

• The Hub@FSN, Supporting Families Project

• SNAP, Strengthening and Empowering Families

• St Christopher’s (Isle Of Man) - Wraparound Therapeutic Services: Bridges Provision

The Leaving Care Award

Winner: TACT Fostering, Connect

TACT Fostering created its Connect programme to offer lifelong support and community to both current and former teenagers and adults living within its foster families. Connect is a members-only online hub contains news, blogs, support information and resources. Successes such as becoming a parent or passing exams have been jointly celebrated within the community, which is now in its fifth year.

Finalists:

• Durham County Council, Next Venture Fund

• Forward Outcomes Partnerships, The Wave

• London Borough of Camden, Young People's Pathway

The Workforce Development Award

Winner: The Green House, Bluestar Project

The Green House offers support to children and young people that have been victims of sexual abuse. Its Bluestar Project provides training and resources designed to give therapists confidence in supporting children pre-trial, as research shows early therapeutic intervention can help mitigate the risk of life-long impacts of experiencing abuse. It will have reached more than 2,000 practitioners by the end of 2024.

Finalists:

• Hull City Council, Social Work Academy

• LG Training, OnSide Talent Academy

• The Mulberry Bush Outreach Team

• NDNA, Maths Champions

The Advice and Guidance Award

Winner: Salus, Healthy and Empowering Relationship Advisory Service

This trauma-informed service, funded by Kent County Council, provides support for hundreds of young women, girls and gender diverse individuals that have suffered adverse childhood experiences. Using a combination of mentoring, psychosocial education and advocacy, the service empowers young people to make informed choices about their emotional and physical relationships and to give them the confidence and emotional resilience to put them into practice.

Highly Commended: NYAS (National Youth Advocacy Service), Helpline!

The Youth Justice Award

Winner: Mind Of My Own, Xchange

XChange is an app jointly developed by Mind Of My Own and North Yorkshire Council that captures the voices of children in the youth justice system. It enables children to open up conversation about things that can be difficult to say in person. The app has reached 2,000 people and the aim is for 60% of youth offending teams to use it by 2026.

Finalists:

• Humber and North Yorkshire Children and Young People's Trauma Informed Care Programme

• SHiFT, Breaking Cycles

The Supporting Child Refugees Award

Winner: ECPAT UK (Every Child Protected Against Trafficking), Care for Every Child: The Care and Treatment of Unaccompanied Children

ECPAT has worked sector-wide to stop the practice of unaccompanied children being accommodated in Home Office-run hotels and placing them at risk. A landmark legal case brought by the charity against the Home Office and Kent County Council ended the government’s use of these hotels and reinstated in full the entitlements of all unaccompanied children to statutory child care, education and social work protection.

Finalists:

• Hull City Council, Community Integration for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker Children and Young People

• Norfolk County Council & Coram Family and Childcare, Parent Champions Norfolk

The Partnership Working Award

Winner: StreetDoctors, North West Lifesavers Project

North West Lifesavers has reached 4,208 young people in the past year who are at high risk of exposure to street violence due to where they live or previous offending. The partnership project, made up of StreetDoctors, violence reduction agencies and the North West Ambulance Service, is delivering digital and face-to-face training for young people in lifesaving emergency first aid through healthcare volunteers.

Finalists:

• Blackpool Better Start Early Years Speech Language and Communication Team

• Bristol City Council and the Bristol Play and Youth Alliance, Bristol Youth and Play Offer

• Catch22, The Hive

• Dyfodol [pronounced Di-vul-dol] Ni, Our Future • Health Engagement Team, Halton Borough Council, ICB and Runcorn PCN

• Hertfordshire County Council, Families First Partnership

• Hull City Council and the Integrated Care Board, Therapy Begins at Home

• National Children's Bureau and London Borough of Lewisham, Making it REAL Lewisham

The Public Sector Children's Team Award

Winner: Hull City Council, Hull Fostering

Hull Fostering is made up of more than 50 staff that support nearly 300 foster carers. In the past year, the team has worked tirelessly to develop innovative ways to recruit new foster carers and retain existing ones in a bid to overcome the challenges of a national shortage of foster carers. In 2023/24, the team approved 20 new mainstream foster carers, double the number the year before.

Finalists:

• City of Doncaster Council, Talking Together Team

• The Voice and Influence Team, Children's Involvem

The Children's Achievement Award

Winner: Chapman Shum

Blind from birth due to a rare genetic disease, Chapman Shum, has harnessed the power of his musical talent to break down barriers about disability. Chapman has overcome these personal challenges to play the piano at performances watched by millions all around the world. His performances have helped to challenge stigma and stereotypes associated with children that have special educational needs and disabilities.

Finalists:

• Become Charity, Become the Movement

• Luke Joseph, Durham County Council

• Alex Nelson, Slough Children First

• Kairo Williams, InPower Academy CIC, Inpower Youth Leaders

• Youth Mental Health Foundation, 'Reach For the Stars' Assemblies

Children and Young People's Champion

Sponsored by:

Winner: Michaela Raj, Wakefield Council

For more than two decades, Michaela has consistently championed disadvantaged children. Currently team manager of Wakefield Council’s emotional wellbeing team, she created a joint pathway with child and adolescent mental health services to offer children in care timely and appropriate therapeutic support. Such is its success that there are now no waiting lists for EWBT or CAMHS support for children in care in Wakefield, and Michaela is sharing her knowledge with other authorities.

Finalist:

• Donald Findlater, Lucy Faithfull Foundation

• Richard Frankland, Prospex

• Claire Sundin, Embracing Arts

• Sarah Tarrant, Slough Children First, SCF Independent Fostering Agency

• James Watson, Heathfield Junior School

The Children and Young People's Charity Award

Winner: Become

Become amplifies the voice of young people in care and empowers them to speak out and campaign for change. It works in partnership with expert organisations in areas such as housing law, benefits and refugees and asylum seekers and partners with researchers to evidence issues and advocate for change. In 2023, the charity directly supported 1,100 young people through its services and trained 800 professionals to help them deliver better support.

Highly Commended:

• Ormiston Families

• SHiFT, Breaking Cycles