Boarding Chances for Children Report 2021-2022

Frank Buttle began work in 1937 to achieve his vision of creating a fund that would lift children out of a life of poverty. His dream was the precursor to the work still done today by Buttle UK, through our Chances for Children and Support for Boarding grants. The latter are awarded where families are experiencing ongoing crises which impede children’s social and emotional wellbeing, and their capacity to engage in education. Parents and carers are sometimes unable to adequately care for their children due to the severity of the crisis in the home, which can leave their child at risk of going into care. Funding for a place at a boarding school allows the child to recover from trauma and access the education and activities needed that can help them to thrive. It also offers the family respite to cope with the issues they are experiencing, many of which can have an enduring impact. The school place can also contribute to families ultimately staying together, even through very difficult circumstances.

This year, we’ve tried something new and have included data from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and as always have documented the achievements, views and survey results of our cohort. As always, we would like to express our thanks to the parents, carers and the young people who have taken the time to contribute to this report. Without their responses to surveys, we wouldn’t be able to produce these reports to give an insight into the impact the Boarding Chances for Children programme makes.