West London Action for Children

What West London Action for Children does

West London Action for Children (WLAC) is a UK registered charity (charity number 1135648; company number 07181950), founded in 1917 and operating continuously for over a century, originally as the West London Diocesan Children's Committee and rebranded to its current name in 2021. The organisation provides free, confidential counselling and psychotherapy to vulnerable children, young people, parents/carers, and families in the London boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea. Services are delivered at the registered centre at 15 Gertrude Street, London SW10 0JN, and directly embedded in local primary and secondary schools. The portfolio spans nine named programmes: One-to-one Counselling, School-based Counselling, Cool Moves (Year 6 transition), Mighty Me (Years 4-6 confidence), CAMEO Parent & Toddler Group, Individual Counselling for Parents, Dads Matter, Family Therapy, and Parent-Infant Psychotherapy, supplemented by EMDR trauma therapy. Clinical staff include Clinical Psychologists, UKCP-registered Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists, Family and Systemic Therapists, and EMDR-accredited practitioners, several with prior NHS CAMHS experience.

All services are provided free of charge at the point of delivery, so WLAC has no service-fee revenue model. The organisation is funded by a mix of local authority commissioning (Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea; London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham), grants from charitable trusts and foundations (The Lightbulb Trust, The City Bridge Trust, BBC Children in Need, John Lyon's Charity, K&C Foundation, The Childhood Trust, Young Hammersmith & Fulham Foundation, West London Zone), individual donations, and community fundraising events (Lightning Talks, London Marathon team, Antiques Roadshow Quiz, auctions). Go-to-market is community-led: clients access services via self-referral, school and professional referrals through a formal online referral pathway, and direct engagement at the centre. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; the firmographic headcount band is 11-50 employees and the entity operates as a charitable company limited by guarantee with a multi-skilled volunteer board of trustees.

Name

West London Action for Children

Legal name

West London Action for Children

Website

https://wlac.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1917

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

West London Action for Children is a registered charity, founded in 1917, providing free counselling, therapy, and group programmes to vulnerable children, parents, and families in Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea, funded by local authority grants, charitable trusts, and community fundraising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children and Family Mental Health Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Child and Youth Services (62411), Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) (62133)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health & Emotional/Trauma-Informed Childcare (anxiety, PTSD) (HSAAAIAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family & Parent Support Services (Parent Coaching, Advocacy) (EDAJALAK), Family Coaching, Parent-Mediated & Home Visiting EI Services (EDACAFAJ), Family Advocacy, Parent Training & Support Services (EDAJAKAK)

Keywords

• Children mental health services
• Family counselling therapy
• Youth psychotherapy programmes
• Community mental health
• Parent infant therapy

Headquarters

HQ city

Carmel

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Trust and Foundation Funding: WLAC receives funding from trusts, foundations and charitable bodies including The Lightbulb Trust, The City Bridge Trust, BBC Children in Need, John Lyon's Charity, K & C Foundation, and The Childhood Trust. Since founding in 1917, the organization has remained independent through these funding sources.
2. Local Government Grants: Funded by local authorities including Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham to provide community services.
3. Donations and Fundraising Events: Individual donations, event fundraising (marathons, auctions, Lightning Talks), and support from local businesses and community organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

West London Action for Children provides free, confidential counselling and therapy services to vulnerable children, young people, parents, carers, and families in the London boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea. Offerings include one-to-one counselling, school-based counselling, therapeutic group programmes (Cool Moves, Mighty Me, CAMEO, Dads Matter), family therapy, and parent-infant psychotherapy. All services are delivered at no cost to beneficiaries.

Product overview

West London Action for Children is a registered charity providing free, confidential counselling and therapy services for children, young people, parents, carers, and families in Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea since 1917. The organization operates as a unified service portfolio offering individual counselling, group therapy programmes, and school-based support. The core products span three main categories: services for Children (One-to-one Counselling, School-based counselling, Cool Moves, Mighty Me, CAMEO Parent & Toddler Group), services for Parents (Individual Counselling and Therapy, Dads Matter), and services for Families (Family Therapy, Parent-Infant Psychotherapy). All services are provided free of charge to vulnerable families.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• One-to-one Counselling
• School-based counselling
• Cool Moves
• Mighty Me
• CAMEO Parent & Toddler Group
• Individual Counselling and Therapy for Parents
• Dads Matter
• Family Therapy
• Parent-Infant Psychotherapy

Quantifiable outcome

• Families report improved bonds with children
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Home-Start UK: UK family support charity helping parents with young children through volunteer-led home visiting and family support; comparable whole-family, community-based early intervention approach with similar grant and local-authority funding model.
• Kids Inspire: Essex-based UK charity delivering therapeutic support to children, young people and families affected by trauma and mental health challenges; closely comparable community-therapy model and beneficiary profile, though regionally focused outside London.
• Relate: UK provider of relationship and family counselling (including parent-infant and family therapy); overlaps directly with WLAC's family therapy and parent-infant psychotherapy offerings, though Relate primarily serves adult relationship issues.
• TLC: Talk, Listen, Change: UK charity delivering counselling, family therapy and relationship support across the North West; closely comparable therapeutic service portfolio (individual, family and parent-infant work) and similar charity funding model, though regionally focused outside London.
• Family Action: National UK charity supporting families and children through counselling, parenting programmes and early intervention; directly comparable whole-family, community-based service philosophy and similar reliance on grant/commissioned funding.
• Place2Be: UK charity providing school-based counselling and mental health support for children, with a comparable delivery model (in-school one-to-one counselling, group work) and similar beneficiary focus on vulnerable pupils and families.

Broad incumbents

• YoungMinds: UK charity focused on children and young people's mental health through advocacy, training and parent helpline services; overlaps with WLAC on children/young people mental health support but operates at national scale through campaigning rather than direct therapy.
• Anna Freud Centre: Larger UK children's mental health charity offering therapy, training and research across children, parents and families; comparable therapeutic approach (e.g., parent-infant psychotherapy, family-focused work) but at materially greater scale and with a national remit.
• Mind: UK's largest mental health charity providing information, support and counselling across age groups; overlaps with WLAC on mental health service delivery but operates as a national, multi-condition organisation rather than a child/family specialist.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wlachildren

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles27 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 West London Action for Children