Children First

Protecting Scotland’s Children

Linda Brown

For more than 140 years, Scotland’s national charity, Children First, has been working tirelessly to improve the childhoods of the nation’s children and young people. Founded as the RSSPCC in 1884 by Glaswegian philanthropist, James Grahame – who was deeply moved by the horrific poverty, neglect and abuse suffered by the city’s children – the charity’s mission has always been driven by his simple but powerful question – ‘If not us, then who?’

That founding spirit still motivates the organisation today. As Fiona McBride, Assistant Director at Children First, explains to me from the charity’s North Ayrshire office.

“Our vision is that every child in Scotland grows up safe, loved, respected and has the right to a happy, fulfilled childhood.”

Children First has had a dedicated presence in Irvine since 2003 delivering local initiatives to support children and families.

“Our Family Wellbeing Service works alongside families where a parent has experienced challenges around drug or alcohol use. We support parents, and work with them to make sure children are safe, and that the wellbeing of the whole family is protected,” Fiona says.

Referrals to Children First come from social services or drug and alcohol services, although families affected by drug and alcohol issues can also approach the charity directly.

“Our centre is open to the community in Bourtreehill and Broomlands where we run quite a few sessions,” she adds. “We have a children’s after-school group on a Tuesday, and a group for teenagers on a Thursday. We also have a parents’ Coffee and Connect group, which I visited this morning, hearing some of the lovely things that parents had to say.”

Coffee and Connect welcomes parents from all over North Ayrshire who have been connected to Children First’s services over the years.

“Two parents at the group were telling me they’ve been coming for more than ten years,” Fiona says. “So, we’re really seen as a trusted organisation and somewhere people can come and not feel judged.”

In addition to their Family Wellbeing service, Children First’s workers make visits to local high schools.

“We speak to young people about drug and alcohol use, helping them to understand these issues, and to answer questions that they might be too scared to ask their parents or teachers.”

Another vital service is Bairns Hoose, which supports children from across all three Ayrshire local authority areas who have been victims or witnesses of crime. These children often face not only the trauma of the incident itself, but the additional stress of police interviews, social work involvement and court processes.

“As you can imagine, all this can be really traumatic,” Fiona says. “Our workers support children and young people, as well as their families and carers, to help them navigate that process and recover from trauma they’ve experienced.”

Bairns Hoose’s essential work ensures that no child has to deal with the justice system without compassionate guidance.

All Children First’s work in Ayrshire is carried out by a team of eight workers based at Irvine.

“We’ve had volunteers assist us in the past,” Fiona tells me, “but they moved on to permanent jobs in social care. So, we are presently recruiting new volunteer workers.”

I ask what skills these volunteers need.

“Just a commitment to the wellbeing of children, and to the values of Children First. People who volunteer come to us with a wide variety of skills and experience. We are looking for adult volunteers, over 18 years old, and of course they would need to be PVG checked to make sure all safeguards are in place. We also run a training programme for applicants, to help them work out if volunteering with us is suitable for them or not.”

Does Children First offer any practical assistance to families in need?

“Yes, we are able to offer practical support through our national Children First Support line. Our financial wellbeing service can sometimes offer vouchers or financial assistance to people experiencing an emergency, but more importantly, it helps people with income maximisation, making sure they’re claiming all the benefits they’re entitled to, and helping them with any unmanageable debts and negotiations with creditors. We help people get their finances back on a steady footing,” Fiona explains.

The Children First Support line and webchat, staffed by an expert team, delivers not only practical and financial help, but also emotional support to parents, families and young people.

“You don’t need to be a parent to seek help – anyone that’s concerned about a child can phone up and get support from our team. In the past year, calls to our national helpline have increased by 50% – a stark reflection on how stressed people are feeling, unfortunately, in today’s society.”

But the good news is, Children First’s work during 2025 in North Ayrshire benefited 167 children and 127 adults plus reached an additional 1125 children through schools and community groups. Statistics show that 92% of families who’d experienced feeling unsafe – due to substance/alcohol misuse, community safety issues, domestic abuse or mental health concerns – reported improvements in their safety after working with Children First frontline workers. Meanwhile 96% of people experienced improvement in recovery from trauma and 94% reported an overall improvement in their emotional wellbeing.

“In terms of our work here, across the communities with parents, children and teenagers, 94% of people said that they felt more connected and involved in their community just as a consequence of being involved in our activities,” Fiona adds.

Naturally, all the work and these impactful projects need funding, therefore my last question to Fiona is, how can people fundraise for Children First?

“Our national fundraising team have events going on all the time. We had sponsors walking in the recent Kilt Walk. We’ve had small events locally like bake sales, but some people do big challenges like running the London Marathon, abseiling from the Kelpies and skydiving. But you don’t need to jump out of a plane to donate,” Fiona laughs. “Just go on to Children First’s website and you can donate there.”

Phew, that’s a relief! And so easy to do: www.childrenfirst.org.uk
Children First Support line
08000 28 22 33