8 years old or younger is the age of a growing number of children across Northern Ireland who have caring
responsibilities at home
There was a 40% increase in the number of referrals for young carers aged 8 receive by Barnardo’s NI Young Carers Service,
during 2023 to 2024
There are estimated to be more than 17,500 young carers in Northern Ireland
500,000+
more children (those in a household on Universal Credit) will receive free school meals from September 2026
This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty, says the government
Since 2018, children have only been eligible for free school meals if their household income was less than £7400 a year
1,665,540
children were living in Universal Credit households impacted by the 2-child limit policy in April 2025 (England, Scotland
and Wales)
453,600 Universal Credit households were not receiving the child element for t least 1 child because of the policy, with 1,613,980 children living in these households
63%
of UK parents and carers of children aged 18 and under believe their own childhood was safer than their own children’s
54% believe their childhood was easier, and 55% think it was full of better experiences
The top 3 barriers identified to in-person play for children were children’s safety (33%), ease of going online (26%), and cost of living (25%)
