What The Challenging Behaviour Foundation does

The Challenging Behaviour Foundation (CBF) is a UK registered charity (charity number 1060714, company number 3307407) founded in 1997 by Vivien Cooper OBE. It is the only UK charity specifically focused on the needs of children, young people and adults with severe learning disabilities whose behaviour may be described as challenging, and on their families. CBF operates in the United Kingdom from its registered office in Chatham, Kent, and serves an addressable population of at least 30,000 families caring for someone with a severe learning disability whose behaviour challenges.

The charity delivers its work through a portfolio of direct services, educational resources, and strategic advocacy initiatives. Core services include the Family Support Service (one-to-one phone and email support), the Family Carers' and Professionals' Email Networks, peer support via Carers' Catch-Ups and Listening Ear Calls, and a catalogue of workshops co-delivered by Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) professionals and family carer co-trainers on topics such as Understanding Challenging Behaviour, Supporting Behaviour Change, Pica Awareness, Communication, Trauma Awareness, and Whole Family Approaches. Educational resources comprise the tri-annual Challenge Newsletter, the Challenge Accepted podcast, the Planning for Adulthood Information Packs, the Meeting the Challenge guide series (co-produced with Mencap and Respond), the PBS information pack, the Quick Read Challenging Behaviour Guide, and the Family Carer Advocacy Resource. Strategic initiatives include the Challenging Behaviour Charter, the Challenging Behaviour National Strategy Group (CB-NSG), and the Frontline Families project initiated during COVID-19. All content is built on a co-production model placing family carers at every stage of design.

CBF's revenue model is donation-dependent. The charity relies on public donations (online, by post, or by standing order) supplemented by an annual '100 Club' membership priced at £12 per year with monthly prize draws. Workshops delivered to organisations are commissioned by professional buyers, but services to family carers and the newsletter are provided free of charge. The charity has secured partnerships with a range of UK learning-disability and research bodies — including Mencap, Cerebra, Respond, University of Warwick, Council for Disabled Children, SCIE, the Tizard Centre at the University of Kent, the Institute of Health Visiting, and Kids — to co-produce content and conduct strategic influencing.

Name

The Challenging Behaviour Foundation

Legal name

The Challenging Behaviour Foundation

Website

https://challengingbehaviour.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Challenging Behaviour Foundation is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting children, young people and adults with severe learning disabilities whose behaviour challenges, and their families. It delivers free family support, co-produced workshops, information resources, and national advocacy across the United Kingdom.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Learning Disability Support Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (624110), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Behavioral & Social-Emotional Support (ABA, PBIS, Counseling) (EDAJAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

ABA Supervision, Clinical Oversight & BCBA Consulting (EDAKAHAH), Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) Consulting & Coordination (EDAKACAF)

Keywords

• Learning disability support
• Positive behaviour support
• Family carer advocacy
• Challenging behaviour training
• Disability information resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Chatham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Funding: The CBF operates as a registered charity relying on donations from the public to continue their work providing support, information and strategic influencing for families caring for someone with severe learning disabilities whose behaviour challenges. Donations can be made online via credit/debit card, by post (cheque), or by standing order.
2. 100 Club Membership: Annual membership at £12 per year, with monthly prize draws (winning number receives £25, rising to £50 for November draw). Helps raise vital funds towards basic running costs including rent, photocopying, telephone, stationery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Challenging Behaviour Foundation (CBF) is a UK registered charity that provides information, support, training, and advocacy for families and professionals caring for children, young people, and adults with severe learning disabilities whose behaviour may be described as challenging. Core offerings include a Family Support Service (phone and email), training workshops on Positive Behaviour Support and related topics, downloadable information packs and resources, email networks, a quarterly newsletter, and a podcast, alongside strategic influencing and advocacy initiatives such as the Challenging Behaviour Charter and the National Strategy Group.

Product overview

The Challenging Behaviour Foundation (CBF) operates as a single-charity organization offering a portfolio of support services, educational resources, and advocacy initiatives for families and professionals supporting children, young people and adults with severe learning disabilities whose behaviour challenges. The core offerings include: direct family support via the Family Support Service, Family Carers' Email Network, and peer support; training workshops (Understanding Challenging Behaviour, Supporting Behaviour Change, Pica Awareness, Communication and Challenging Behaviour, Trauma Awareness, and Whole Family Approaches); informational resources including the Challenge Newsletter, Planning for Adulthood Information Packs, Positive Behavioural Support Information Pack, Quick Read Challenging Behaviour Guide, and the Meeting the Challenge Guide Series; the Challenge Accepted Podcast; and strategic initiatives including the Challenging Behaviour Charter and the Challenging Behaviour National Strategy Group. All workshops are co-delivered by professional trainers and family carer co-trainers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Family Support Service Individual support and information about challenging behaviour delivered by Family Support Workers via phone or email, including peer-to-peer support through Carers' Catch-Ups and Listening Ear Calls, for anyone supporting a person with a severe learning disability.
• Understanding Challenging Behaviour Workshop Workshop providing a fundamental understanding of severe learning disability and behaviour described as challenging, including functional assessment overview and proactive/reactive strategies, co-delivered by a PBS trainer and family carer co-trainer.
• Supporting Behaviour Change Workshop Workshop covering behaviour support plans, tools for recording behaviour, and partnership strategies to reduce challenging behaviour and improve quality of life.
• Pica Awareness Workshop Specialised workshop addressing Pica (eating inedible objects), helping families and professionals understand and respond to this specific challenging behaviour.
• Communication and Challenging Behaviour Workshop Workshop exploring communication difficulties and how better communication can reduce challenging behaviours in people with severe learning disabilities.
• Trauma Awareness Training for Professionals Training workshop helping professionals understand trauma and its relationship to challenging behaviour in people with severe learning disabilities.
• Whole Family Approaches Workshop Workshop focusing on supporting the wellbeing of the whole family, recognising the impact of caring on parents, siblings and children.
• Family Carers' Email Network Email network enabling family carers to connect with others around the UK, share experiences, information and receive mutual support.
• Professionals' Email Network Email network for professionals supporting people with severe learning disabilities to share information and best practice.
• Challenge Newsletter Newsletter produced three times a year providing opinion, news and resources for families and professionals, free by email or print.
• Challenge Accepted Podcast Podcast series sharing stories, advice and support for family carers of people with severe learning disabilities.
• Planning for Adulthood Information Packs Information packs for families planning transition to adult services, available for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, covering education, housing, employment and community involvement.
• Medication Pathway Resource Online resource and printed pack developed for family carers concerned about psychotropic medication use for relatives with learning disability, autism or both, developed as part of the STOMP programme.
• Positive Behavioural Support Information Pack Information pack explaining Positive Behaviour Support, what it looks like in practice, questions to assess quality of delivery, and guidance on training for family carers.
• Quick Read Challenging Behaviour Guide Quick start guide using Positive Behaviour Support principles to reduce challenging behaviour, including tips for crisis planning.
• Meeting the Challenge Guide Series Series of factsheets produced alongside Mencap and Respond covering understanding challenging behaviour, getting advice and support, and family member rights.
• Family Carer Advocacy Resource Practical resource providing information on the rights of adults with learning disabilities, what advocacy is, and how to access advocacy services.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CerebracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the 'Investing in early intervention report' highlighting how and why early support should be provided for children with learning disabilities and their families. Report produced in partnership with Cerebra, Mencap, University of Warwick and the Council for Disabled Children.
• MencapcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced the 'Meeting the Challenge' guide series together, providing information and guidance for families on understanding challenging behaviour and getting advice and support. Also collaborated on the early intervention report.
• University of WarwickcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the 'Investing in early intervention report' alongside Cerebra, Mencap and the Council for Disabled Children.
• Council for Disabled ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the 'Investing in early intervention report' alongside Cerebra, Mencap and University of Warwick.
• RespondcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-produced the 'Meeting the Challenge' guide series alongside Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation, providing factsheets on understanding challenging behaviour, getting advice and support.
• Institute of Health Visiting (iHV)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative project 'Changing Conversations – Understanding Behaviour' to raise health visitors' awareness of restrictive practices and evidence-based alternatives, including developing surveys, animations, focus groups and workshops.
• Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced 'At a Glance' guides in partnership with SCIE setting out how to get the right support for children, teenagers and adults with learning disabilities.
• Tizard Centre, University of KentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CBF works with the Tizard Centre on research and co-production of resources, including the E-PAtS programme developed by the Tizard Centre with family carers and input from CBF.
• Kids (children's charity)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with children's charity Kids to take family carers and young people to 10 Downing Street to ask the Prime Minister to improve the experience of young people moving from child to adult services. Delivered open letter to government.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Respond: Respond is a UK charity supporting people with learning disabilities and their families, and a co-producer with CBF and Mencap of the 'Meeting the Challenge' guide series. Directly comparable mission, beneficiary population, and family-support orientation.
• Mencap: Mencap is the largest UK charity for people with learning disabilities and a direct strategic partner of CBF, having co-produced the 'Meeting the Challenge' guide series. Highly comparable mission, beneficiary base, and policy advocacy footprint, though operating at significantly larger scale across broader learning disability issues.
• Cerebra: Cerebra is a UK charity for children with neurological conditions, partnered with CBF on the 'Investing in Early Intervention' report alongside Mencap and the University of Warwick. Comparable mission supporting families of children with complex disabilities and shared advocacy focus on early intervention.

Broad incumbents

• Hft (learning disability charity): Hft is a major UK charity providing direct support services to people with learning disabilities, including those whose behaviour challenges. Comparable beneficiary population but operates more as a service provider rather than a family-information/advocacy organisation like CBF.
• MacIntyre: MacIntyre is a UK charity providing lifelong learning, living, and support services for people with learning disabilities, including those with behaviour that challenges. Similar beneficiary population and PBS-aligned approaches, but operating as a direct service provider rather than a family-information charity.
• National Autistic Society: The National Autistic Society is the UK's largest autism charity and overlaps with CBF where learning disability and autism co-occur and behaviour challenges arise. Larger and broader in scope, but engages similar families and professionals on behaviour support topics.
• United Response: United Response is a large UK disability charity providing supported living and personalised services for people with learning disabilities and complex needs. Comparable beneficiary focus on severe learning disabilities and PBS-aligned support, though delivered via direct services rather than information and advocacy.
• Sense (UK disability charity): Sense supports people with complex disabilities including those with learning disabilities and behaviour that challenges, and overlaps with CBF on family information, advocacy, and PBS. Comparable mission but broader remit covering deafblindness and multi-sensory impairments.

Others

• Tizard Centre, University of Kent: The Tizard Centre is an academic unit at the University of Kent focused on intellectual and developmental disabilities and PBS, partnered with CBF on research and resource co-production including the E-PAtS programme. Functions as an academic evidence-base partner rather than a direct competitor, but shapes the same PBS practice landscape.

Regional players

• Ambitious about Autism: Ambitious about Autism is a UK education charity focused on autistic children and young people, including those with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour. Comparable age group (children/young people), education-and-family support orientation, and PBS-adjacent practice, though autism-focused rather than severe learning disability-focused.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CBFdn
• Facebookfacebook.com/thecbf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-challenging-behaviour-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/cbfdn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 The Challenging Behaviour Foundation