What Kids does

Kids is a UK-registered charity (founded 1973) that provides direct services and advocacy for disabled children and young people aged 0-25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families. The organisation operates across 60+ Local Authorities in England, delivering early years nurseries, family groups, home learning support, adventure playgrounds, short breaks (after-school, weekend, and holiday clubs), holiday homes, young carers support, and SEND advice resources. Its support infrastructure also includes award-winning SEND Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Services available in 40+ Local Authorities and SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Services).

The organisation runs a small digital ecosystem: a main website (kids.org.uk) with a postcode-based Service Finder, the Young People's Hub (hub.kids.org.uk) for 13-25 year-olds, and participation via a Digital Services Consortium (co-founded with Sense) that delivers a Digital Inclusion Programme targeting 20,000+ beneficiaries. Kids does not operate a software product business; its technology stack supports service delivery, fundraising, and youth engagement rather than monetised digital products.

Kids is funded through three primary streams: (1) individual donations and fundraising events via the website and partnerships with Enthuse and Run for Charity; (2) corporate partnerships including textile-recycling arrangements with Help 2 Collect and Fundraise Together; and (3) commissioned services paid for by Local Authorities and other public bodies. All direct services to children and families are provided free of charge. Kids is regulated by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, and the Civil Mediation Council, and is registered with the Fundraising Regulator. In May 2026 Russell House services were transferred to Action for Children, and CEO Katie Ghose has announced her departure in autumn 2026 alongside the appointment of Mark Devlin as Board Chair in January 2026.

Name

Kids

Legal name

Kids

Website

https://kids.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Kids is a UK charity (founded 1973) that delivers free SEND services including nurseries, mediation, SENDIASS advice, short breaks, and youth voice programmes to disabled children and young people aged 0-25 and their families across 60+ Local Authorities in England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability and Special Educational Needs (SEND) Support Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Individual and Family Services (6241), Child Care Services (62441)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Down Syndrome & Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Childcare (HSAAAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Autism Parent/Caregiver Education & Training (School-Linked) (EDAKAKAJ), Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC), Parent & Caregiver Training for LD/Dyslexia Support (EDAKAJAJ)

Keywords

• Disability support services
• Special educational needs
• Children's charity services
• SEND mediation
• Early years nursery

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations via website (one-off and monthly options), fundraising events including marathons, skydives, and community challenges. Fundraisers use Enthuse platform to create personal fundraising pages.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate support through partnerships, cause marketing, and employee fundraising programmes. Companies like Help 2 Collect and Fundraise Together donate funds based on clothing collections (£100 per tonne from Help 2 Collect, guaranteed £27,000 from Fundraise Together starting 2019).
3. Commissioned Services: Services commissioned by Local Authorities and other public bodies to deliver SEND support, mediation, early years education, and family support services. Operating in over 60 Local Authorities across England.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Kids is a UK charity providing direct services to disabled children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) aged 0-25 and their families. Operating across 60+ Local Authorities in England, it delivers nurseries, family groups, home learning, adventure playgrounds, short breaks, holiday homes, SENDIASS advice, and award-winning SEND Mediation and Disagreement Resolution services. The charity also runs a Digital Inclusion Programme through a 12-charity Digital Services Consortium co-founded with Sense.

Product overview

Kids offers a comprehensive portfolio of services for disabled children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families. The organisation operates across 60+ Local Authorities in England and provides early years nurseries, family groups, home learning support, adventure playgrounds, short breaks (after school, weekend, and holiday clubs), and holiday homes. Key support services include SENDIASS (information and advice), SEND Mediation and Disagreement Resolution (available in 40+ local authorities), Youth Voice/Participation programmes (including The Collective and YPPT), and Young Carers Support. The Digital Inclusion Programme, delivered through a consortium of charities, addresses digital disadvantage for over 20,000 disabled children and families. Many services are Ofsted or CQC regulated.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nursery Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 41 London Marathon runners raised over £84,000 for Kids
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• Action for ChildrenmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Russell House services transferred to Action for Children in 2026. Previously delivered by Kids, services are now provided by Action for Children to ensure continued support for families and professionals.
• Fundraise TogetherminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Doorstep clothing collection partnership. Fundraise Together collects unwanted clothes and donates funds to Kids, with a guaranteed donation of £27,000 starting from 2019. Collections operate across the UK approximately every six weeks.
• Help 2 CollectminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2016Clothing and household goods collection partnership. Help 2 Collect provides free home collections for unwanted items and donates £100 to Kids for every tonne collected. Operating in London, Essex, and surrounding areas since 2016, with over £33,000 donated to date.
• Run for CharityminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEvent partnership for Team Kids running events. Run for Charity provides access to events including 10Ks, half marathons, marathons, Tough Mudder, and triathlons for Kids fundraisers.
• Digital Services ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance of 12 charities, founded by Kids and Sense, working with disabled or seriously ill children and young people. The consortium designed a digital inclusion programme targeting 20,000+ disabled children and families in England, providing kit, skills training, and opportunities to feed back on digital service design.
• Disabled Children's PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on reports including 'Locked Out: Digital Disadvantage of Disabled Children, Young People and Families during the Covid-19 Pandemic'. The partnership works to amplify the voices of disabled children and push for urgent reform to the SEND system.
• SensecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder of the Digital Services Consortium with Kids. Sense is a charity supporting people with complex disabilities and works with Kids on the consortium addressing digital disadvantage among disabled children.
• Zoe Amar DigitalminorOthersFeatured in the 'Locked Out' report launch, providing expert commentary on digital disadvantage through a quote from founder Zoe Amar, FCIM.
• AbilitynetminorOthersFeatured in the 'Locked Out' report, with Advice & Information Officer Alex Barker providing expert commentary on digital disadvantage faced by disabled children and families.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Council for Disabled Children: Umbrella body for the disabled children's sector; overlaps with Kids' policy influencing work and SENDIASS-type information, advice and support services.
• National Autistic Society: UK autism charity providing information, education, and services; directly overlaps with Kids' SEND advice guides and SENDIASS offerings for autistic children and families.
• Contact: UK charity supporting families with disabled children; directly comparable to Kids' family support, SEND advice guides, and SENDIASS offerings.
• Mencap: UK's leading learning disability charity serving children and adults; a significant peer in the SEND and IDD services space, with similar advocacy and direct service offerings.
• Action for Children: Major UK children's charity that acquired Russell House services from Kids in 2026; operates overlapping SEND, family support, and residential services for vulnerable children.
• IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice): UK charity providing SEND legal advice and support to families; closest direct peer to Kids' SENDIASS and mediation services supporting dispute resolution.
• Sense: UK charity supporting people with complex disabilities; co-founder with Kids of the Digital Services Consortium and natural strategic partner in SEND and digital inclusion services.

Others

• Disability Rights UK: UK charity advocating for disabled people's rights; relevant as an adjacent/policy-influencing peer given Kids' Youth Voice programmes and Parliamentary engagement on SEND reform.

Emerging players

• Ambitious about Autism: UK charity focused on autism education and youth voice; comparable to Kids' work with young people aged 13-25 with SEND and its participation programmes.
• Together for Short Lives: UK children's palliative care charity; relevant peer given Kids' short breaks, family respite, and regulated Children's Home/residential care services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kidscharity
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCj3e4MebQgj5y_uDO1BmULw/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/KIDScharity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kids_2
• Instagraminstagram.com/kidscharityuk

Compliance12 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kids