The Children's Trust

The leading Charity for children with brain injury in the UK

Placing the care and rehabilitation of children and young people at the heart of everything they do for over 37 years.

It can be devastating for a child to be left with a brain injury following an illness or accident. No longer being able to walk, talk, stand, sit, or feed themselves, many find themselves needing support in order to live the best life possible.

With around 40,000 children in the UK affected by brain injury each year The Children’s Trust aims to help them rebuild their lives as much as possible, access the rehabilitation they need and prepare them for their lives ahead.

The Tadworth Court Mansion in Surrey has been home to The Children's Trust since its formation in 1984. Helping children learn to live with acquired brain injury, return to education and access community services that support their needs.

The Children's Trust services

The aim of The Children's Trust is to support children with brain injuries throughout their rehabilitation and beyond.

The school

Tadworth House is the largest residential specialist centre in the UK for paediatric brain injury rehabilitation. It offers flexible support for those who are minimally conscious right through to those who have fully recovered physically but have problems with their cognition, memory, communication and behaviour.

Housed at Tadworth House is the school, which offers offer age-appropriate education and activities specifically for children and young people with profound and multiple learning difficulties and complex health needs. From dedicated early years classes for the youngest children, to further education-style classes for older teenagers, the school offers intellectual, physical, emotional and social development to enrich each and every pupil.

The community

The Brain Injury Community Service monitors the needs of a child with brain injury, offering community-based multidisciplinary neurorehabilitation, as well as varying levels of therapeutic support for the everyday tasks they may find more challenging.

The service also helps raise awareness of acquired brain injury and delivers clinical training to those working with the children, helping them maximise participation in everyday life.

Short breaks

The Children's Trust offers overnight stays in comfortable, fully-accessible bedrooms, available seven days a week at Tadworth House.

Fabulous facilities on site range from a nature trail to sensory gardens and a wheelchair-accessible tree house, as well as an outdoor basketball court and playground. 

Children participate in fun leisure activities, facilities and outings, arts and crafts, themed weeks, and group and individual activities.

They also offer camps and clubs during school holidays and on selected Saturdays.

Funding and referrals

Referrals into The Children's Trust come from a range of different health professionals, private funding bodies and families.

Run by a dedicated Placements Team available Monday – Friday 8:30am – 5:00pm, the aim is to make the referral and funding process as quick and simple as possible.

When it comes to funding, it very much depends on what service is required and what the child’s needs are. This varies from health authorities to local authorities to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) or even social care.

Find out more about how to refer a child, the charity's commitment to the process and placement funding click here.

 Support and fundraising 

As a charity The Children’s Trust relies on around £8 million of fundraising income each year. This helps fund the 550+ staff, the facilities and services at the school, the community service and the short breaks for those who need them.

More than 1,270 volunteers and thousands more fundraisers all support the charity with one aim: to ensure The Children's Trust remains an outstanding service for children, young people and families. 

There are a variety of ways you can support The Children's Trust and help raise much needed funds for the charity:

• Make a donation here (and don't forget to gift aid them!)
• Get involved in a fundraising campaign
• Open a tribute fund
• Fund raise at your school
• Hold your own event
• Get involved in the Trust's weekly lottery
• Leave a legacy
• Choose The Children's Trust as your charity of the year
• Set up a fund raising group in your area

Find out more online about the impact The Children's Trust has on children and young people with brain injuries.

Click here to support their work by getting involved in fundraising projects or volunteering some of your time.