Why is mass lobbying so important - and how you can get involved

For 20 months, the world has looked on in horror at the atrocities inflicted on Palestinian children by Israeli forces, live-streamed on our TV channels and social media. But this is not an anomaly. It is an extreme example of a global trend of rising violence against children that is devastating their lives and futures.

At our child-friendly space in Zaatari camp, children are re-learning how to laugh, play and be themselves.

The conclusion of the UK’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) last week brought good and bad news. The bad news? It began to give us details of the previously announced cuts to overseas aid, with the budget falling from £9.3bn in 2024/25 to £6.19bn in 2027/28. That’s over £3bn less spent on protecting the world’s most vulnerable people.

This year’s World Refugee Day is an opportunity to stand in solidarity with refugees and their communities around the world. For the 14.8 million school-aged refugees around the world today, many of them have told us – they prioritise education.

High-quality, inclusive childcare is critical to reduce child poverty, increase parental employment rates and meet the Government's ambitious Early Years target. This blog identifies measures which can help achieve this. The necessary reforms are not cheap, but inaction will be even more costly for children, parents and the wider economy in the long run: Government cannot delay any longer in investing in our children.

Our Annual Report 2024 was published today. 2024 was a year of extraordinary challenges, but also one of courage, collaboration and impact. Together with our partners, supporters, volunteers and staff, we delivered change that matters—now and for the future.

This blog highlights the urgent need to include child-specific protections in the upcoming Crimes Against Humanity treaty, emphasizing how children experience these crimes uniquely and severely. It reflects on key discussions and recommendations from a recent international conference, urging states to adopt amendments that ensure justice and protection for all children.

Reflecting on the achievements and learnings from Save the Children's Corporate Advisory Board.

The Sierra Leone Education Innovation Challenge uses an outcomes contract to reward achievement of results, rather than delivery of outcomes. This blog reflects on what we have learned from the first two years of programme evaluation, and what we aim to learn before the programme finishes in June 2025.

The Youth Shadow Panel is inviting children and young people across England to share their views and experience of school or college, to advocate for changes that can make the education system better for everyone.

A statement from our CEO, and summary findings and recommendations

The UK Government has allied itself to Israel’s atrocities. The horrors inflicted on children on and since 7th October 2023 have undermined our shared humanity.

Children are feared to be among over 1,000 people killed in weekend hostilities in Syria, which has also displaced thousands of people.

Dalgis Alandete is a tutor in one of our Child-Friendly Spaces (CFS) helping to provide a safe space where children can play and feel supported. What are some of the problems that Venezuelan children are facing in Colombia? Venezuelan children don’t have homes to protect them from the rain and there have been reports of […]

Cutting the aid budget to increase defence is a betrayal of the world’s most vulnerable children and the UK’s national interest.

Save the Children UK is to put 197 jobs at risk in a reorganisation aimed at increasing impact in the UK and around the world and strengthening its financial position.

Save the Children is asking the question – where is the missing Ukraine money? Have you seen it? Because we haven’t – and neither have the children of Ukraine.

Musician and Save the Children ambassador Sophie Ellis-Bextor has visited Warsaw in Poland to meet with refugee children.

KINSHASA, 12 February 2025 – At least 28 children were among 52 people killed in a violent attack in Djugu territory, Ituri province, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a wave of extreme violence fuels an escalating humanitarian crisis across the country, said Save the Children.

AXA XL is providing a grant of $1.2 million to Save the Children for a five-year initiative to mitigate the impact of climate change across coastal ecosystems in Sierra

PORT SUDAN, 10 February 2025 – The last quarter of 2024 saw more violence in Sudan than at any time since the conflict began nearly two years ago, Save the Children said, with significant violent attacks against children and other civilians continuing into 2025.

Alarming trend continues into 2025, with at least 10 Palestinian children among 70 people killed by Israeli forces in West Bank

It is essential that this funding is additional to supplement a constrained aid budget and prioritises children on the frontline of these crises.

19th January 2025 - The Save the Children Immunisation Accelerator, funded by GSK, has awarded two innovation projects for finding unique solutions to help more children receive vaccinations.

GAZA, 18 January 2025 – Getting food, water, and medical supplies to children in Gaza will be priorities for Save the Children once the pause in hostilities comes into effect on Sunday, with preparations underway in coordination with other aid organisations to deliver supplies as quickly as possible once entry points are reopened and security guaranteed.

GAZA, 14 January 2025 – The use of explosive weapons in Gaza in 2024 condemned an average of 475 children each month – or 15 children a day [1]- to potentially lifelong disabilities, including severely injured limbs and hearing impairments, said Save the Children.

GAZA, FRIDAY 3 JANUARY 2025 – Israeli airstrikes have killed about 80 people in Gaza in the first few days of the new year [1], Save the Children said. Meanwhile, the UN reports that children are dying due to lack of protection from the cold winter temperatures while Israeli authorities block aid including tents, clothing and bedding from entering the Strip.

Children are scared to return home seven days after devastating earthquakes hit the Pacific nation of Vanuatu, making for a very different Christmas this year.

PORT SUDAN, 24 December 2024 – The lives of hundreds of thousands of children are hanging in the balance with new data showing famine has spread to additional areas of Sudan after 20 months of conflict and is likely to expand to five more in North Darfur by May 2025, Save the Children said.

Why the Early Years MatterOur early years of life are an unparalleled period of growth and discovery, where brain development accelerates at a remarkable rate. During early childhood, every interaction, experience, and playful moment contributes to lifelong learning and parents are their children’s first and most important educators. Supporting early learning and development is crucial; it shapes the foundation for emotional, social, and cognitive skills that carry us forward into adulthood.The Early Years team at Save the Children UK have been working hard to develop an Early Years Knowledge Bank. This is a set of free resources, designed to inform and inspire early years practice, research and advocacy. So far, the bank has offered key insights across three core themes: Young Children's Voices, the Importance of Early Years, and the Impact of COVID-19 on Young Children.The team are excited to announce that they are launching their fourth and final theme on Play. But why is play important? And how can we support all children in having the time, space and permission to play?

Meet Lenny, a dedicated marathon runner and fundraising champion for Save the Children. Since 2018, Lenny has raised over £11,000 to help children change their future for good. We’re excited to feature Lenny in our first Fundraiser Spotlight. Read on to hear Lenny’s inspiring story, top fundraising tips and marathon advice in his own words.

Dolphin Entertainment (NASDAQ: DLPN) proudly announces its latest scripted content project with the acquisition of rights to The Woman Who Saved the Children, an acclaimed biography by award-winning author Clare Mulley. The book, which chronicles the extraordinary life of humanitarian trailblazer and Save the Children founder Eglantyne Jebb, will be brought to life as a feature film under Dolphin’s production banner.

It's so hard when children get worried about things. All we want to do is help reassure them, but sometimes simple reassurance just doesn’t do the trick. When that anxiety is around going back to school, it’s even more tricky. We can’t just not let them go – and it's horrible to think of them feeling sad when we’re not there to support them.

Up to 650,000 children [1] and their families are in danger after Cyclone Chido tore through northern Mozambique, Save the Children has warned.

Save the Children is urging the nation to make the world better with a sweater tomorrow for the charity’s annual Christmas Jumper Day which returns for its 13th year.

The latest childcare report from IPPR (The Childcare Challenge: How can the government deliver a real childcare guarantee), commissioned by Save the Children UK, was published this week. It comes at a critical time as just last week the UK Government announced their aim for 75% of children to be ‘school ready’ by 2028, up from 68%.This target reflects a shift in focus for the UK Government from childcare to child development and has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of children in the UK. Good quality childcare is critical not just because it enables parents to access paid employment, but because it has the power to address inequalities children face before they enter school.Given the importance of childcare in families’ lives, it’s deeply concerning that the findings in this new report reveal that only one third of the poorest fifth of parents with young children use formal childcare, compared with two-thirds of those in the highest earning households. This is in part due to the lack of childcare places and the lower quality of childcare in more deprived areas as well as the exclusion of some families from the funded hours offer. The challenges facing the childcare sector could undermine the Government’s target around school-readiness and see the attainment gap between children experiencing financial disadvantage compared with those who aren’t increasing

Between 2021 and 2023, the children’s charity provided a total of 5753 grants to UK families in colder months (October to March) compared to 2427 in warmer months.

As Syria faces a critical turning point with cautious optimism for the future, the needs of children have never been higher with an urgent increase in funding required.

LONDON, Monday December 9 - New analysis on the quality and quantity of childcare provision in England has revealed that the massive expansion of free childcare currently underway is at risk of not delivering for poorer families, according to a new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and Save the Children.

KYIV, 9 December 2024 – The war in Ukraine is taking an increasingly heavy toll on children’s mental health with some developing speech defects and uncontrollable twitching, while others have terrible nightmares and scream in their sleep, according to Save the Children.

Families living in Sudan’s Zamzam refugee camp are resorting to desperate measures with some going as far as eating animal feed to survive after four months of famine.

GAZA, 30 November 2024 - It is with profound sadness that we confirm that a staff member of Save the Children was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis today, the second Save the Children colleague killed in Gaza since the war began.

GAZA, 29 November 2024 – About 235,000 children forced from their homes by bombs, bullets and displacement orders in Gaza are facing increasing risk of disease as days of heavy rains flood tents and turn camps into swamps, Save the Children said.

The ongoing conflict in Gaza, occupied Palestinian territory, has inflicted unprecedented and potentially irreversible harm on Palestinian children, with consequences that threaten not only their individual futures but the very fabric of Palestinian society for generations to come. To safeguard these children’s futures and prevent further irreparable damage, urgent and comprehensive action from the international community is needed.

Boosting the financial pledge and constructive engagement on IDA21 are a down payment on the UK's support for multilateralism and international collaboration.

Save the Children welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah but said that the violence must stop immediately to protect children in Lebanon.

About 130,000 children aged under 10 have been trapped for 50 days in areas in northern Gaza that are almost entirely inaccessible to aid workers and not receiving food.

Experiencing its worst floods in decades, Bangladesh is ranked as the seventh most extreme disaster risk-prone country in the world.

The new target figure of $300 billion a year by 2035 flies in the face of what is needed to tackle this emergency.

New festive Shaun the Sheep animation celebrates Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day

We are outraged by the extremely low target of $250 billion per year by 2035 in the latest draft of the COP29 finance agreement.