The Early Years Award

WINNER

Blue Cabin, This is the Place

This is the Place helps care-experienced babies and children aged 0 to 5 develop healthy attachments and build relationships with their carers. The project uses the power of music-making, which includes melodies, rhythms and eye-to-eye contact, to support the development of attachment as well as boosting emotional wellbeing, trust in adults and improving non-verbal communication. The project’s free resources have been accessed more than 880 times, with 90 free musicmaking kits delivered to babies and carers in the Darlington area in the past year.

Finalists

Bolton Deaf Society, Bright Start Play 

Lowry, Creative Families

NSPCC, Together for Childhood Grimsby

The Play Award

Winner

Torfaen Play Service, Community Play Project

Torfaen Play Service’s community play project provides free play sessions that support the wellbeing and development of all children regardless of their background or ability. The project’s core focus is on supporting family wellbeing with its play and respite sessions offering tailored care for children with disabilities. Last year, the project saw a 30% increase in attendance reflecting a growing demand for inclusive play. Judge Dr John Allan said the project delivers “excellent provision with wide-reaching impact”.

Highly Commended 

Clowns in the Sky

The Digital Innovation Award

Winner

Virtual Memory Box

Virtual Memory Box offers a secure digital platform where children in care can save and organise their memories and mementos. Strict security firewalls prevent any information being uploaded unless it has been signed off by their social worker. More than a dozen local authorities use the digital solution providing 16,000 children, young people and care leavers with their own virtual memory box. A network of professionals also engage with the platform such as carers, social workers, family time workers and independent reviewing officers.

Highly commended

Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Youth Programme

Finalists 

BFB Labs, Lumi Nova: Tales of Courage

Branch Wirral

Tellmi, 'A' by Tellmi: The Tellmi Autism Project

The Safeguarding Award

Winner

St Christophers Fellowship, Pelham House 

Pelham House is a residential children’s home that supports girls aged 12 to 17 who have experienced or are at risk of exploitation and serious harm. The home offers a trauma-informed approach which focuses on building trusting relationships and creating a safe stable space. It builds a circle of support around each young person that holds risk, challenges harmful patterns of behaviour and promotes safer and healthier choices. More than 30 young people have received support and care through a personalised plan tailored to their needs.

Finalists

LTA - Young Person's Welfare Ambassador Programme

NSPCC, Child Sexual Abuse System Wide Safeguarding project

Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, The SAFE Team

The Learning Award

Winner

Homerton Healthcare NHS FT, Verbo Speech and Language Therapy Toolkit

Verbo aims to address significant challenges around speech, language and communication needs which sees many children start school without vital skills and experience long-term issues. Actively used in more than 1,000 settings - reaching 10,500 children and young people - the online toolkit provides virtual speech and language therapy support empowering educational staff with access to resources such as video libraries, screening tools and progress tracking. More than 50,000 videos have been watched in these settings with around 9,000 educators accessing the platform.

Finalists:

Catch22, Tiktok Creative Academy

Delight Charity

Libraries Unlimited, Littleham School Project

Together for Children Sunderland, Breathing Space Project

The Arts and Culture Award

Winner

Comics Youth CIC, Marginal

Launched by Birkenhead-based Comics Youth, the programme uses comics and visual storytelling to address barriers faced by marginalised young people wanting to break into the publishing industry. The project works with 20 young people aged eight to 25 each year through structured one-to-one support, publishing development and leadership coaching. The programme has mentored more than 200 young people and published 11 new comics written and illustrated by them. Each contributor received fair pay and income from book sales.

Highly Commended 

Care to Dance

Finalists

Delight Charity

Leeds Museums and Galleries (Leeds City Council), Careers for All

Oily Cart and Polyglot Theatre

Rio Ferdinand Foundation, Into the Music Industry

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Award

Winner

The Children’s Society Halton Resolve

Funded by Halton Council, Resolve, in an emotional health and wellbeing service for those aged five to 18 who have witnessed or been subjected to domestic abuse. One-to-one sessions are offered to help children and young people develop an “invisible toolkit” which increases their resilience and supports them after the work has ended. Sessions are young person-led with trained practitioners delivering tailored interventions including counselling and elements of play therapy. Judge Jill Thornburn said the “impressive” service “delivers measurable and meaningful outcomes for children and young people”.

Finalists:

ARC Day Programme, CNWL NHS Foundation Trust, working in partnership with Best For You (CNWL, West London Trust, CW+ Charity, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust) and North West London CAMHS Provider Collaborative

Cherry Tree Cottage

In Your Corner, Connect

Mortal Fools, MELVA - children's wellbeing education through storytelling

YMCA St Helens, Early Intervention Youth Hub (The Listening Service)

The Violence Prevention Award

Winner

The Children’s Society, Steer Clear

The Steer Clear project is a partnership between West Mercia Police and The Children’s Society that supports children and young people at risk of involvement in knife crime. Professionals specialising in youth work focus on building protective factors that pull young people away from crime or violence. Of 48 young people supported through workshops from 2024/25, 77% reported increased understanding of the risk of carrying weapons. Judge Esther Horner-Aird said Steer Clear is a “transformative” partnership that “blends intelligence-led policing with trauma-informed, youth-led support”.

Finalists

Burnley FC in the Community, Champions

 NE Youth, Odysseus Mentoring Project 

Oasis Greater Manchester, Navigators

South East London Integrated Care System - The SEL Vanguard (Community Multi-Systems Violence Reduction Programme)

The Youth Work Award

Winner

The Trust for Developing Communities, Connected Youth

The Trust for Developing Communities has been delivering Brighton & Hove City Council’s Connected Youth strategy for three years. The Trust’s youth workers meet young people in many locations ranging from hospitals to housing estates, building relationships with them that foster a sense of belonging and purpose. In 2024/25, the service engaged with 877 young people, 35% from the most deprived backgrounds and 33% among young people with special educational needs or disabilities. Judge Dr John Allan said it is an “outstanding, multi-agency service delivering demonstrable impact”.

Highly Commended

TAG Youth Club for Disabled Young People

Finalists

Housing Plus, Against Cultural Poverty

Redcar & Cleveland Council Youth & Community Service, 25K Fund Raising Group

The Early Intervention Award

Winner

Homerton Healthcare NHS FT, Verbo Speech and Language Therapy Toolkit

The digital solution was developed four years ago to provide virtual speech and language therapy support that could empower educational staff with instant access to resources such as video libraries, screening tools and progress tracking. It was designed to help reduce reliance on overstressed specialist services and to foster sustainable local capacity. Data shows it reaches on average 48 children per school, with 90% of staff reporting the content as helpful and 95% saying it changed practice.

Finalists

Haringey Council, School Superzones Young People and Vaping Programme Homerton Healthcare NHS FT, Verbo Speech and Language Therapy Toolkit

Osmani Trust, Breaking the Cycle of Serious Youth Violence (BTC)

Positive Directions Trauma Informed Project in Coventry and Warwickshire

Warrington Borough Council, Early Help - Restore Team

The Youth Volunteering and Social Action Award

Winner

Torfaen Play Service, Youth Volunteering Project

Torfaen Play Service Youth Volunteering Project aims to empower young people to support and lead inclusive play opportunities for children of all abilities under the guidance of trained staff. It seeks to build confidence, skills and knowledge, helping young people prepare for employment, further education or training. As well as on-the-job learning, volunteers can complete accredited qualifications in play work, first aid and nutrition skills. Nearly 40% of volunteers are involved year-round, supporting term-time play sessions, holiday wellbeing camps and respite care on weekends.

Finalists

Comics Youth CIC, Marginal Changemaker

NSPCC, Child Safety Online, Voice of Online Youth

Peer Action Collective North East 

Together As One, Slough's Young Beekeepers

The Children in Care Award

Winner

Lancashire County Council, Virtual School, Employment Support Team

Launched in 2019, the Employment Support Team provides Lancashire care-experienced young people in schools with careers advice throughout years 10 and 11. Its aim is to ensure pupils receive careers advice with staff that are involved in care planning and decisions around them. In March 2025, the team had 92 young people undertaking higher education study, its highest level since 2019. Judge Lisa Harker said the service is “an impressive initiative that should inspire others”.

Finalists

Apex Fostering, Not Just Heard — Empowered: How We Center Children as Co-Creators, Not Cases

Cherry Tree Cottage

Meadows Psychology Service, Our Safe Space (OSS) – Emotional and Mental Health Service for Children in Care and Care Leavers

Mosaic Foster Care, SMILE Framework Project

The PSHE Education Award

Winner

Mortal Fools, MELVA - children's wellbeing education through storytelling

MELVA is a whole-school approach to delivering mental health education through storytelling developed by Northumberland based creative learning charity Mortal Fools. The digital programme, which supports those aged seven to 25, uses fun characters and practical activities to improve young people’s knowledge and understanding of mental health and wellbeing while teaching effective self-management techniques. MELVA focuses on young people who are neurodivergent, have social, emotional and mental health challenges and experience deprivation. It is used in more than 120 schools engaging almost 8,000 children.

Highly Commended

Future Living, Young Herts

Finalists

Hillingdon Youth Offer, Sorted Primary School Project

The HOPE Team, Society Without Abuse

The Family Support Award

Winner

Leeds City Council - Gypsy Roma Traveller (GRT) Outreach and Inclusion Team

The team offers “culturally competent” family support - staff speak Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian and Romanian - through one-to-one sessions that help reduce professionals’ concerns and avoid escalation to children’s social work. Daily drop-ins are also held at community centres and schools providing immediate help with issues such as immigration, housing, health and school applications. In 2024, the team’s drop-in sessions supported more than 830 individuals, a significant year-on-year increase reflecting sustained demand for its services.

Highly Commended

ECYPS ( Enfield children and young persons' services), Family First Project

Finalists

Family Based Solutions, From Harm to Healing: A Solution-Focused Family Journey

Islington Council, Parental Support Project

The Leaving Care Award

Winner

National Network for the Education of Care Leavers, Quality Mark

Educational institutions wanting to achieve the charity’s Quality Mark status must show evidence of holistic and practical support provided to care leavers including a designated contact, financial bursaries, wellbeing and pastoral care, help with accommodation, work placements and career guidance. To date, 48 institutions have achieved a Quality Mark having been reviewed by an NNECL assessor. Judge Indra Morris described the project as “a much-needed area of focus which has the ability to transform lives”.

Finalists

The Children’s Society, Staying Close

Barnsley Care4Us Council, Skills for Life Project

The Advice and Guidance Award

Winner

Lancashire County Council, Virtual School, Employment Support Team

This dedicated team of employment officers - each bringing their own strengths from different backgrounds and specialisms - provide one-to-one sessions for care-experienced pupils in year 10 and 11 in schools across Lancashire. The team says working with pupils earlier has enabled a “preventative” approach to post-16 work as officers understand their caseloads of young people and can adapt guidance specific to their needs. Action plans are developed and staff ensure that personal education plans have education, employment or training as a priority.

Finalists

Childline, Behind The Screen

Fight for Peace, Creating Pathways to Work

 The Young Lives Foundation, Advocacy and Children's Rights

The Workforce Development Award

Winner

Hertfordshire County Council: The Making SEND Everyone’s Business Programme & Hertfordshire SEND Academy

This initiative has enabled Hertfordshire County Council to rapidly build capacity and capability through an innovative recruitment drive, training programme and new service model. Using events and social media, the Hertfordshire SEND Academy has recruited 138 people since January 2024, with the quality of SEND plans showing significant improvements. Judge Jill Thorburn said the initiative “demonstrates real innovation in tackling workforce shortages, improving plan quality and timeliness, and placing lived experience at the heart of service transformation”.

Finalists:

Medway Council Workforce Development Project

National Citizen Service, Strengthening Engagement Together

No Limits, Therapeutic Services

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council - Youth Service, Grow Our Own - Youth Work Volunteering Programme

The Youth Justice Award

Winner

Staffordshire Youth Justice , VASP

Staffordshire’s vulnerable adolescent support programme offers early community-based interventions for children aged 10 to 17 at risk of offending, a group that often face complex issues but fall through the gaps. Many of the children supported by VASP are under investigation, on pre-court bail or involved in anti-social behaviour. The programme provides mentoring, emotional wellbeing support and positive activities tailored to each child’s needs. In the last year, VASP supported 212 children and of those whose cases were closed, 89% had no further contacts with youth offending teams.

Highly Commended

Hackney Speech and Language Youth Justice Team

Finalists:

Smash Youth Project, Solid Ground Coffee Van

Spectra, Pathways from Custody

Youth Justice Service, Leeds City Council, Children & Families, Turnaround Project

The Supporting Child Refugees Award

Winner

Children and Families Across Borders, Family Reunification Project

Since 2019, more than 500 refugee children have been reunited with families thanks to the work of the Family Reunification Project who provided practical, emotional and therapeutic support to help them rebuild their lives. The project works with local authorities, solicitors, schools and health service providers to ensure children can access education, healthcare, housing and welfare support after they have been reunited with their family. Judge Indra Morris praised the service’s “breadth of support for child refugees”.

Finalists

Housing Plus, Against Cultural Poverty

The Children’s Society, HEARTS

The Partnership Working Award

Winner

Wigan Youth Zone, Pathway to Employment partnership

P2E was developed to address challenges around getting 18- to 24-year-olds with anxiety, depression or low confidence to take part in work and training. Funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, the project is run out of Leigh Youth Hub - whose premises Wigan Council provide at no cost - and staffed by two members from Wigan Youth Zone with a weekly session from Jobcentre Plus. In 2024/25, 258 young people engaged with the programme, of which 88 moved into jobs or apprenticeships.

Finalists

Better Start

Co-op and Barnardo’s Partnership, Supporting Positive Futures for Young People

Hull City Council Access and Inclusion Service, incorporating Education Welfare Service, School Admissions, Education Safeguarding and Governors Service

No Limits, Youth Worker Service in Hospital Emergency Departments

The Public Sector Children's Team Award

Winner

Lancashire County Council, Virtual School, Employment Support Team

Praised by judges for delivering “tangible, tailored and practical support to individual care leavers”, the Employment Support Team, based within Lancashire County Council’s Virtual School, has been instrumental in raising the education standards and aspirations of all care-experienced young people in the county. By engaging young people at an early stage the team is able to build trust with care-experienced young people. In 2024/25, the team supported 62 young people into employment, 57 into work experience placements and 84 into a college or training course.

Finalists:

Essex Youth Service, Young Carers Team

Medway Council Children's Commissioning Team

NHS England and East Midlands Health & Justice Team

The Children's Achievement Award

Winner

Aurora Thompson, Ferngate Children's Home

Diagnosed with autism, Aurora volunteered with Barnardo’s as a lived-experience advisor to help empower others in the neurodiverse community to share their voices. Aurora helped bring about change by talking about her experience of secure accommodation at multi-agency meetings and progressed to become an assistant project worker where she continued to advocate for change to policy around mental health and neurodivergent services. Through Aurora’s advocacy and campaign work, mental health services across Somerset have “listened”, say Hexagon Care, owners of Ferngate children’s home where she lives.

Finalists:

County Durham Youth Justice Service's With Youth in Mind Programme

Hephzibah Akinwale, Chronicles of the Time Keepers: Whisked Away, The Children's Achievement Award

Remy Ratcliffe Young Person Advisory Service, Seedlings Project

Youth Participation Team, London Borough of Newham Youth Empowerment Service, All Access Team

Children and Young People's Champion

Winner

Jahnine Davis, Listen Up

For more than quarter of a century, Jahnine Davis has strived to amplify the voices of black and marginalised children and advocate for change in safeguarding policy, practice and research. She leads Listen Up, an organisation that investigates systemic failures and adultification bias in safeguarding. Through her research on black girls and child sexual abuse, national reviews and direct policy engagement, Jahnine has exposed these failures and driven conversations. Judges said her “groundbreaking” work has led to “tangible” changes in safeguarding policy.

Highly Commended

Aisia Howard, Kids

Finalists

Emma Ford, North West Improvement Plan, North West Safeguarding Voice Work

Rhiannon Griffiths MBE, Comics Youth CIC

The Children and Young People's Charity Award

Winner

Zarach - The Children’s Bed Charity

Research shows that 900,000 children experience bed poverty in the UK. Zarach partners with schools to identify children experiencing bed poverty, working in areas of high deprivation, covering all five districts of West Yorkshire, the Tees Valley, Stockport, Liverpool, Stoke and Romford. Each household is given a new bed with a duvet, pillows, bed sheets and pyjamas ensuring children have a safe place to rest and recharge. The charity has provided more than 12,000 beds since 2017 and aims to scale up to deliver 1,000 beds a week by 2027. Schools report that children receiving a new bed have improved attendance, punctuality and behaviour.

Finalists

Auditory Verbal UK

Family Volunteering Club

No Limits

The Mulberry Bush