For the Sake of the Children: Inside Dr.Barnardo's - 120 Years of Caring for Children

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Syrie was especially keen to support girls who had been driven to prostitution. Protecting children from sexual exploitation continues to be an important part of our work today. In the 1970s we continued to expand our fostering and adoption services. We also created family centres to support families in deprived areas. Barnardo’s work was radical. The Victorians saw poverty as shameful, and the result of laziness or vice. But Barnardo refused to discriminate between the ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor. He accepted all children, regardless of race, disability or circumstance. World War II was a turning point in Barnardo’s development, and in the history of childcare in the UK.

Then simply fill out the online application form for that vacancy. You can save your application and return to it later if you need to. Our Interview Guarantee Scheme We interview all applicants who have a disability, impairment or mental or physical health condition who meet the essential criteria for the job. If you wish to be considered under this scheme, please tell us in the appropriate part of the application form. Keeping in touch This wasn’t a popular idea in Victorian England, but Barnardo was determined to give children the best possible futures. By 1905 more than 4000 children were boarded out. This paved the way for our pioneering work in foster care and adoption in the twentieth century. Child migrants Barnardo’s was one of many children’s charities that sent some children to start a new life in Australia or Canada from the late nineteenth century to the 1960s. This was a popular policy, supported by the British government, who believed that the children would benefit from opportunities they wouldn’t have in the UK. We now know that however well-intentioned, it was a deeply misguided policy. The last Barnardo’s child to be migrated was in 1967, to Australia. In 2010 the British government formally apologised for the UK’s role in sending more than 130,000 child migrants to former colonies. Barnardo’s after World War II

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The disruption brought by war highlighted the harmful effect that separation from their families had on children. Although he was famous for his children’s homes, Barnardo believed that ideally a child should grow up in a family setting. By 1900 the Barkingside ‘garden village’ had 65 cottages, a school, a hospital and a church, and provided a home – and training – to 1500 girls. Caring for more and more children As a result, Barnardo’s began working more closely with families. For example, we offered financial aid to families when the breadwinner couldn’t work because of illness or accident. By the end of the 1950s almost a quarter of our work involved helping children stay with their own families. Changing times

In 1870, Barnardo opened his first home for boys. As well as putting a roof over their heads, the home trained the boys in carpentry, metalwork and shoemaking, and found apprenticeships for them. Barnardo went on to found many more children’s homes. By the time he died in 1905, the charity had 96 homes caring for more than 8,500 vulnerable children. This included children with physical and learning difficulties. Barnardo’s experience of caring for his daughter Marjorie, who had Down’s syndrome, strongly influenced his approach to the care of disabled children. Growing up in familiesThe 1960s were a time of radical social change: single parenthood was more acceptable, contraception more widely available (leading to fewer unwanted pregnancies) and a growing welfare system meant that fewer families needed to put their children into care. As well as our decision to work more with families, the need for children’s homes was decreasing, so we began to focus less on residential services. Instead, we developed our work with disabled children and children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. New challenges and new supporters The Barnardos were early adopters of the ‘cottage homes’ model. They believed that children could be best supported if they were living in small, family-style groups looked after by a house ‘mother’.

To begin with, there was a limit to the number of boys who could stay there. But when an 11-year-old boy was found dead — of malnutrition and exposure — two days after being told the shelter was full, Barnardo vowed never to turn another child away.

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