Let’s find out aboutBarnardo’s

Learn about the history and work of the UK’s biggest children’s charity.

For Key Stage 2, ages: 7-11

Did you know… Barnardo’s works with

more than 100,000 children, young people

and families every year? That’s more than you can

pack into the Emirates Stadium, home of

Arsenal FC.

Did you know… Barnardo’s was started by one man – Thomas

Barnardo. Why did he do it and why is

Barnardo’s still needed?

Did you know… youth homelessness

is not a recent problem? Can you imagine living on

the streets – either in Victorian times

or today?

Did you know… in 1876 Barnardo’s built a home for 20

girls with the money it would now cost to buy

a computer?

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Hello there! I’m Barney Bear. I spend my time helping children just like you. Find out about the work that Barnardo’s does.

But first, a question: do you know what a charity is? If not, you could look the word up in a dictionary.

Charities try to make the world a better place. Some work to save the planet or protect animals; others, like Barnardo’s, help people to have better lives. All charities rely on money given to them from members of the public.

Barnardo’s helps all sorts of children and young people, including those who have disabilities, or who have problems at school or with their families, or who don’t have any family of their own to support and look after them. There are many other projects Barnardo’s is involved in.

Our work began more than 140 years ago when a man named Thomas Barnardo rescued thousands of young children who had nowhere to live.

This is the story of how he started his work and of what Barnardo’s does today.

Barney Bear

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Victorian BritainImagine you can travel through time.., back to 1837, when Queen Victoria was first crowned ruler of Great Britain. Homes were lit by candles and the telephone hadn’t been invented. Poor people had to beg or rely on charities to survive.

On the moveThe Victorians invented machines to produce things, instead of having everything made by hand. But machines need people to work them, so lots of people moved from the country to cities and towns.Can you name some famous machines invented by Victorians?

That figuresIn 1800, London had one million inhabitants. By 1900, over six million people lived there.

Living roomWhen was your home built?In the 1880s, miles and miles of new houses were built for people who made money from the industrial revolution. While rich Victorians had servants, poor people crowded into cold and dirty houses with no running water. There was a lot of disease.

Longest reignYour ruler is probably 35cm long. But Victoria was the country’s longest ruler; she was Queen from 1837 to 1901. How many years is that?

Barney Bear task The UK’s population in 1800 was around 11 million people. How many of those lived in cities or towns? See if you can find out the total population for 1900 and do the same. Then draw a graph linking the two answers.

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The invention of machines provided factory work in cities. This led to overcrowding and poorer people living in appalling conditions as populations in cities grew.

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A Victorian childhoodEducation had to be paid for and many parents were too poor to afford this, so lots of Victorian children never learnt to read and write. Instead, they were trying to survive poverty, disease and hunger. Not all of them succeeded. In some cities, children under the age of five made up about half of all deaths.

Pennies, not poundsA lot of poor children worked all week for a few pennies. Jobs included selling matches, working dangerous machines in factories or going ‘into service’ in a big house.Find out about being ‘in service’.

Danger: children at workHow old do you think poor Victorians were when they went to work? Lots of children worked from six or seven years old. But so many children died or were injured at work – particularly in factories or down coal mines – that the Victorians began to introduce laws to protect them.Find out about famous Victorians who introduced laws to help children.

The life of a Victorian child was hard work. Workhouses were dangerous and paid very little. This, along with poor living conditions, meant disease and hunger lead to a higher death rate for children.

Street wiseChildren suffered a lot of abuse and were often beaten with sticks. But that was life for Victorian children who had to live in workhouses because their parents had either died, thrown them out or couldn’t look after them. Hundreds of other children took their chances living on the streets instead.What was a workhouse?

Pick a pocket or two?Do you know the story of Oliver Twist, about a boy who runs away from a workhouse then joins a gang of pickpockets? It was written in the 1830s and was based on real life.Find out who wrote Oliver Twist.

The classic tale of Oliver Twist tells us what life was like for poor children during this time.

Barney Bear task Imagine you are a poor Victorian child, with no family and no money. How would you survive? Try writing a letter to a friend, or a short play about ‘life on the street’.

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How did Barnardo’s develop?Barnardo’s gets its name from Thomas Barnardo, who was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1845. At 21, he decided to become a doctor, travel to China and promote the Protestant religion. He came to London to study medicine, but saw children starving on the streets and stayed to help them.

Man with a missionThomas Barnardo started teaching London’s poor children in a donkey stable in 1866, before opening his own school. In 1870, Barnardo opened a shelter in Stepney, east London, for 50 boys offering work training and a place to live. One night a boy, nicknamed Carrots, was turned away because the shelter was full. He froze to death. Barnardo vowed never to turn a child away again.

Wedding presentWhen Thomas Barnardo married his wife, Syrie, in 1873, a supporter gave them a house to use as a children’s home.What’s the strangest present you’ve ever been given?

Family manSyrie and Thomas Barnardo had seven children; three of them died young and one, Marjorie, was disabled. Thomas Barnardo always insisted that disabled children should be treated the same as any other child, whenever possible.

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Thomas Barnardo, founder of Barnardo’s and family man, taught London’s poor children and helped the disadvantaged.

Village girlsDo you know where Barkingside, Essex is?That’s where Thomas Barnardo opened The Girls’ Village Home in 1876. Workmen built 14 cottages around a village green. More than 250 girls lived there and learnt a trade. As well as opening homes around Britain, Barnardo arranged for children to live with families. This was called ‘boarding out’.

Loved by thousandsHundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of London to see Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997. The same thing happened when Thomas Barnardo died in 1905.

Barnardo’ s Girls Village home situated in Barkingside on the village green.

Barney Bear task Thomas Barnardo used to sell ‘before and after’ cards to help pay for his charity work. They showed children in rags, then showed the same children cleanly dressed. Why not make your own Barnardo’s fundraising cards – perhaps on a computer?

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Barnardo’s ‘before and after cards’ were sold to raise funds and show lives turned around by the charity.

Barnardo’s after Thomas BarnardoWhen Thomas Barnardo died in 1905 there were 8,500 children relying on him. So his wife, Syrie, and his supporters carried on the good work.

Home workSome supporters gave Barnardo’s their mansions to run as children’s homes, but so many children lived in them, everyone had to stick very closely to lots of rules and help with the housework. The best place for children is a happy family, but Barnardo’s had to run the homes because so many children had no home or family of their own.

Family mattersIn the 1950s, Barnardo’s began to close its children’s homes and concentrated on helping families stay together. Barnardo’s could do this because the Government took responsibility for children whose parents wouldn’t or couldn’t look after them.What do you think it’s like not living at home?

Growing servicesBarnardo’s developed different types of work to help children in different situations, such as those who have disabilities; problems at school; are sick; homeless; badly treated; can’t live with their parents and need a new family; look after sick parents; need to play and mix with other children; have problems finding jobs; get into trouble with the police.Find out if there is a Barnardo’s project in your area.

Barney Bear task What does the word family mean to you? Try writing a story or poem, or draw a picture about what you like about the people you call family, and what annoys you.

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Below: Barnardo in later life

Right: a group shot of the children Barnardo’s helped.

Barnardo’s todayIn 2009, Barnardo’s ran more than 400 different services – working with more than 100,000 children, young people and families.

On your doorstepEngland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales… Barnardo’s gets everywhere. All our work today is ‘community-based’, which means that we make services specially for people’s neighbourhoods.

Bargain hunting?What do cheap clothes, books, toys and cards have in common? They are all found on the shelves of Barnardo’s shops! Barnardo’s shops can be found in most high streets and they raise much-needed money.Do you have toys you no longer play with that you can give us to sell?

Spreading the wordWho said ‘No news is good news’? That’s not true for us! As well as providing practical help, Barnardo’s tries to make sure that people like you, and people such as MPs, know about the problems faced by children, young people and families across the country. We also make sure that those we work with get the chance to say how they feel.Have you got any problems? What are they and have you told anyone?

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Today our shops, campaigns, advertising and fundraising events like Barnardo’s Big Toddle, help raise money and spread the word about our work with disadvantaged children and young people.

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Our aims are still the sameWhat would Thomas Barnardo think? We hope he would be proud of us. Everything Barnardo’s does has the same aim – to help children, young people and families improve their lives.

Why do we do it?Someone’s got to! It’s important for people such as Terry, who was thrown out of school before being sent to our Meadows School for young people who need special help. He says ‘If it wasn’t for Barnardo’s, I wouldn’t have learnt to control my temper.’ Terry now works as a mechanic. He wouldn’t have had the chance to do that before.

Barnardo’s helps people to have better, happier lives.

Barney Bear task The pupils at Meadows School produce brilliant art work. Why don’t you draw, paint, sculpt or build something which sums up Barnardo’s to you?

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Our work across the UKIf Thomas Barnardo could see Barnardo’s now, he wouldn’t recognise it. All the big orphanages are long gone and although Barnardo’s still helps children, it does it in a very different way. Today’s work is all about trying to keep families together, if possible.Everyone needs a helping hand sometimes and Barnardo’s work is organised around the services which a child needs to build a good future. Barnardo’s helps people through what it calls projects and services, which offer different kinds of help in different circumstances. Here are just a few of our services:

1.Hopscotch, Angus Helps children like John who does the shopping and looks after his mum and little sister. His mum drinks because she is sad that dad has left home. His Hopscotch befriender takes him swimming, helps with his homework and listens to all his worries.

2.Meadows School, Kent Works with young people like Steve, who have serious problems with their education and their behaviour, and who need special help.

3.Parenting Matters, Northern Ireland Works with parents in local communities, schools and in prison. The service provides parents, such as the Caseys, with the opportunity to meet other parents, talk about any concerns they have and to get some support if they need it.

4.Amazon, Birmingham Helps young women like Anita, who have been abused and who need someone to talk to that they can trust and who will believe what they are saying.

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5.The BASE, Whitley Bay Helps young people such as Joe, who has not been able to stay at school due to lots of reasons. Because of problems at home he has become homeless. The BASE can give Joe information to help him find somewhere to live and help him get the qualifications he needs to get a job. He can get a meal at The BASE, make friends with other young people and join infun activities.

6.The Rural Family Service, North Wales Runs crèches and play activities for children, like Emma, who live in isolated areas and gives them the opportunity to meet, mix and play with other children.

7.Dr B’s Restaurant and Coffee Shop, Harrogate Gives young people the opportunity to gain qualifications in preparing, cooking and serving food, business administration and customer service, supported

by literacy, numeracy and personal and social development skills, which will help them to get jobs in a variety of industries.

8.The North West Fostering Service, Liverpool Finds loving foster families throughout the North West for children, like Sammy, who cannot remain with their own parents.

9.Devon ECHO Works with families that have got into trouble with the law and helps young people, like Julie and Darren, sort out problems they have with friends and money and in coming to terms with a crime their parent has committed.

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Barney Bear task Have you ever thought what it must be like to be disabled? How might other people treat you? Write a speech explaining why disabled people should be treated the same as everyone else. If you already have a disability, do it anyway.

To protect the identities of our services users the images used are not the individuals named.

Children helping childrenChildren have helped vulnerable children by giving us money since as long ago as 1892, when Thomas Barnardo set up the Young Helpers’ League. League members each gave one shilling (five pence) a year.

Running costsGuess how much it costs Barnardo’s to help children, young people and families? We have to raise a staggering £215 million every year.How much is that each week?

School favouritesLots of young people support Barnardo’s through their schools. Classes or whole schools adopt us as their favourite charity, then raise money for us.

Children take part in sponsored spells and silences; organise sales and sell things they have made and collected; give toys they no longer play with to Barnardo’s shops; dress-up and put on concerts; under-fives and their parents walk up to half a mile in the annual sponsored Big Toddle, all in aid of Barnardo’s.Have you ever raised money for charity?

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Something diff erent for teachers and childrenBarnardo’s Egg-citing Challenge – boil an egg, decorate it and take care of it for a week – an egg-cellent way to learn about caring that’s also creative. Start boiling!

Barnardo’s Big Bean Challenge – plant a bean and watch it grow into a great big plant. Reading, counting and science are all included here, so get planting!

Barnardo’s Big Bounce – bounce for Barnardo’s, keep fi t and learn about the eff ects on your body. Join in and have fun!

Barnardo’s Big Bauble Challenge – design a bauble for your class tree or wall in this fun Christmas activity. Make a wish that will help make a child’s life better, and raise money to help make your wish come true.

Care and Share Challenge – design a badge to make a friend happy and show how you have been a good friend. The money you raise for Barnardo’s could help fund our anti-bullying work, so design away!

For further information about these activities and classroom support materials visit our website details below.

A big thank youChildren and schools that participate in these exciting challenges receive stickers and certifi cates as a thank you. Schools in England also receive an Every Child Matters certifi cate to display.

Making a diff erenceBarnardo’s is very grateful for any support it gets – from both children and adults. If it wasn’t for everyone’s help, we wouldn’t be able to make a diff erence to the lives of other children and families.

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Do you think you or your school, could help Barnardo’s help other children? Visit www.barnardos.org.uk/resources/resources_teachers/teachers_pack_form.htm

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Barney Bears facts and figuresMore than 100,000 children, young people and their families helped each year.

More than �00 projects in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

�,�00 full-time and part-time staff.

1�,000 volunteers in child care projects, shops, fundraising groups.

��0 Barnardo’s shops on high streets throughout the UK.

In 2009-10 our total income was £���.� million.

We need £�,�0�,000 a week to continue our charitable work – that’s £26,823 per hour or £447.04 per minute.

£� of your money will buy books for three to five-year-olds at one of our projects.

£�0 buys a first aid kit for a project.

£100 takes 10 children from a poor area on a trip to the zoo.

More than 1.� million children and young people have been helped by Barnardo’s since the work began in 1866.

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Barnardo’s timeline

1830s

1837 Victoria becomes Queen

1840s

1845 Thomas John Barnardo born in Dublin

1850s

1851

The Great Exhibition held in Crystal Palace. More people in Britain live in cities and towns than in the country for the fi rst time in history

1860s

1870s

1880s

1880

All children under the age of 10 had to go to school

1890s

1900s

1905

Dr Barnardo dies

1910s

1918 First World War ends

1920s

1930s

1926

Adoption becomes legal

1940s

1948

State takes responsibility for children whose parents can’t or won’t look after them

1970s

1972

Britain joins the European Community

1980s

1987

Barnardo’s starts working with those aff ected by HIV and AIDS

1990s

1999

Barnardo’s helps more than 47,000 children, young people and their families each year and runs 300 services throughout the UK

1840

Penny Post (fi rst real post delivery service) begins. Children no longer allowed to work as chimney sweeps

1842

Mines Act passed

1844

Ragged Schools founded

1863

First underground train in the world runs between Paddington and Farringdon Street stations, London

1865

Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is published

1866 5,548 people die from a cholera epidemic. Thomas John Barnardo arrives in London to train as a medical missionary

1867

Dr Barnardo opens East End juvenile mission

1870 Education Act passed. First offi cial schools open. Barnardo’s fi rst home opens for boys

1871

Act of Parliament gives workers six paid bank holidays a year

1876

Barnardo’s Girls’ Village Home opens. Telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell

1883

Boys’ Brigade founded

1881

Electric light fi rst used to light houses and streets

1891

Free education for under 10s introduced; until 1891 parents had to pay two or three pence a week for each child to go to school. Factory Act passed

1899

School leaving age increased to 12

1901

Queen Victoria dies

1914

First World War starts

1938

Threat of war: 2,000 Barnardo’s boys and girls evacuated to the countryside

1945

World War II ends1947

Barnardo’s becomes a registered adoption society

1950 Barnardo’s concentrates child care on the family

1953 Queen Elizabeth II crowned 1954

Rationing, introduced during World War II, ends

1950s

1960 Barnardo’s sets up Family Assistance Scheme

1969

Neil Armstrong becomes the fi rst person to walk on the moon

1979

Barnardo’s opens fi rst adoption shop

2002

Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Golden Jubilee

1960s

1988

Dr Barnardo’s becomes Barnardo’s and at the charity’s Annual General Meeting, Diana, Princess of Wales, in her role as President of Barnardo’s, makes her fi rst major speech

2010

Barnardo’s helps more than 100,000 children, young people and their families each year and runs more than 400 projects throughout the UK

2000

The beginning of the 21st century and a new millennium

2000s

2008 Barnardo’s calls on the government to End Child Poverty

2005 The centenary of Dr Barnardo’s death is marked

2010s

1994

Channel Tunnel opens

1996

Todd, the mascot of Barnardo’s Big Toddle is born

Barnardo’s Registered Charity Nos. 216250 and SC037605. Barnardo’s adheres to the Fundraising Promise and Fundraising Standards Board guidelines. This time line can be printed using the printable fi le supplied with this document.

1934

Barnardo’s residential care at its height with 188 homes

1939

World War II starts

1966 Dr Barnardo’s Homes becomes Dr Barnardo’s

Barnardo’s 2010As Barnardo’s enters a new decade, the work it does now is very different to when it started more than 140 years ago.

We no longer run orphanages.

Today, we help thousands of children, young people and their families through projects and services at home, at school and in the community.

Barnardo’s now works with more than 100,000 children, young people and their families in the UK every year, helping them to overcome such problems as abuse, homelessness, bereavement, disability and problems at school.

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Barnardo’s Registered Charity Nos. 216250 and SC037605

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Head Office, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG6 1QGTel: 020 8550 8822 Fax: 020 8550 8822

www.barnardos.org.uk

12534hm10

Barnardo’s adheres to the Fundraising Promise and Fundraising Standards Board guidelines.

Barney Bear photography by Jo Harris