Evaluation of the Buttle UK Anchor Programme November 2017
The report presents the findings of the evaluation of Anchor, a Buttle UK programme that supports children in London who have been affected by domestic abuse with funds from City Bridge Trust.
For over 60 years, Buttle UK has been providing practical support to children who cannot afford necessities, such as a fridge, a cooker, a bed or a table, the kind of things that require a small investment but can make a big difference to children’s lives. More recently, Buttle UK has also been providing an ‘enhanced’ package of support, which combines material help with support to meet children’s educational, social and emotional needs. Given its track record of working creatively and nimbly, and making timely and tailored interventions in partnership with other agencies, it seemed appropriate for Buttle UK to develop programmes that could make an even bigger difference to some of the most disadvantaged children in the country.
Anchor is one of a number of Buttle UK projects testing a different model for working with families, a model that can have bigger and longer lasting impacts than the more typical Buttle UK small grant of around £300. With funding from City Bridge Trust, Anchor provides a grant of up to £2,000 to families in London who are in the recovery stage after fleeing domestic abuse. The grants aim to help families to set-up a new home and to support children’s educational, social and emotional outcomes by funding services such as therapy, counselling, after-school activities and tuition. Grant applications are made on behalf of families by statutory and voluntary agencies, who are also responsible for administering the grant.
Anchor was launched in March 2014 and by the end of March 2017, 515 grants had been awarded with an average value of £1,500.
