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• 4 in 10: The End Child Poverty London Project

Child Poverty In London: The Facts

4 In 10: The End Child Poverty London Project

View the 4in10 campaign film "4in10" here:

650,000 London children live in poverty. London is the sixth richest city in the world and yet 4 in 10 London children live in relative poverty¹, 12% above the national average. To find out more about the situation in London , and the specific challenges London children and families face, please follow this link .

4 in 10: The End Child Poverty London Project, funded by the City Parochial Foundation and the City Bridge Trust, has two aims: the first to raise awareness of the extent of child poverty in London and increase advocacy and campaigning on the issue; the second is to identify projects and schemes that have been shown to have a positive impact on the levels of child poverty in the capital and to develop strong networks through which knowledge of this good practice can be shared.

4 in 10 is a two-year London-based project coordinated by End Child Poverty. The End Child Poverty coalition is made up of over 130 organisations (including children's charities, unions, child welfare organisations, social justice groups, faith groups and others) who believe child poverty in the UK is unacceptable. Follow this link to find out more about the national campaign. 

Successful campaigning is crucial to raising awareness of the extent of child poverty in London and addressing the stigma that is often faced by people living in poverty. A Campaigners Network will link up activists and organisations throughout London already campaigning on the issue enabling them to share ideas, to mobilise support for their campaigns, to seek guidance and to share successes. The 4 in 10: The End Child Poverty London Project will scope out activities taking place in London to see where we can add support or value to local campaigning activities. If you are a national, regional, local or grassroots organisation campaigning on issues affecting London children and families find out how you can get involved.

In the London Child Poverty Commission's ( www.londonchildpoverty.org.uk ) final report (Capital Gains), the group noted:

“Many small scale and local schemes offer innovative approaches to tackling child poverty and disadvantage. Unfortunately, London seems to be much better at experimenting on a small scale than at building on the results… there is a need to develop better strategies to allow successful local initiatives to grow or be replicated in other areas.” ( London Child Poverty Commission, 2008: Capital Gains)

The second arm of 4 in 10: The End Child Poverty London Project will look to overcome the challenge described by the Commission. The project will encourage national, regional, local and grassroots organisations operating in London to promote their own good practice and to learn from that of others. Through:

• Keeping members informed of developments in London through both the website and a quarterly newsletter
• Providing workshops on the four identified themes of child poverty
• Developing an online database of good practice that can be easily accessed by organisations
• Signposting member organisations and individuals to:
  • New research and findings published concerning child poverty in London
  • Sources of funding available to organisations working with, or campaigning on behalf of, London children and families
  • Contact details of decision makers for your area.
  • Coordinating an awards scheme that will recognise the significant time and effort dedicated by London organisations to ending child poverty in the capital.

The project will seek to develop a lasting legacy of highly-valued networks of organisations throughout London . This will facilitate the continued development and dissemination of good practice beyond the project lifetime. If you are a national, regional, local or grassroots organisation working with London children and families find out how you can get involved.

The project will centre on four key themes, identified by the London Child Poverty Commission as key issues children and families living in poverty in London face:

• Child Development, Education and Well-being, including :
  • Pre-school childcare
  • Education (including extended schools, supporting the Primary-Secondary transition, supporting 16-18 year olds into employment and parental support in development)
  • Health (including healthy eating, sexual health and family planning, disability and mental well-being)
  • Intensive support for literacy
• Parental Support, including :
  • Financial advice (including benefits advice, increasing take-up and debt management)
  • Mental well-being
  • Adult education (including literacy)
  • Developing employability and support in the transition to employment
• Housing, including :
  • Employment and benefits advice
  • Regeneration of local area
  • Support for families in temporary accommodation
• Black and Minority Ethnic Groups including :
  • Advancement for recent migrant families
  • Inclusion of Black and Minority Ethnic groups in the workforce
  • Targeting of Black and Minority Ethnic groups in services/support
  • Language and literacy support

We particularly want to hear from organisations whose operations fall under one or multiple themes, as well as organisations that campaign on these issues; if you feel your organisation does find out how you can get involved.

In the first year of the project, the scheme will focus on 10 inner London boroughs . This will be extended to 20 inner and outer London boroughs (to be confirmed) in the second year of the project. Whilst good practice and campaigning activities will be identified and highlighted throughout the capital, the project will be primarily focused within these boroughs.

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1. After housing costs; Poverty is defined as living below 60 per cent of median income.