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The purpose of this paper is to describe how Barnardo's, a large children's charity, has developed a system for measuring and reporting on service user outcomes as part of its performance management approach. The challenges that confront third sector organisations when adopting this approach are summarised, as are the benefits that can accrue.

The paper's approach is to describe the development of an outcome monitoring tool (OMT) and to explore some of the benefits of and challenges to embedding this tool across Barnardo's services.

Third sector organisations operate in competitive, resource‐constrained environments, where funding arrangements are often short‐term and piecemeal. The ability to evidence the effectiveness of services through demonstrating positive outcomes for service users is becoming an increasingly important factor in the process of securing and sustaining funding. An outcome‐focused approach contributes to the development of excellent services by helping to ensure that services are making a difference to the people that use them. Barnardo's OMT offers a model for evidencing the impact of services on the people who use them, thus contributing to the organisation's competitive edge.

This paper is informed by current thinking on outcomes and evidence‐based practice and offers a practical example of how to implement an outcome‐focused approach in a third sector organisation.

This article describes the background to the What Works initiative launched by Barnardo's in the early 1990s, with a focus on the What Works for Children series of reports published from 1995 onwards. The author describes the intellectual and social context of the initiative, the approach taken, and some of the barriers to and levers for the adoption of research in practice are identified. The article describes more briefly the ways in which those in the Research and Development (R&D) team at Barnardo's worked towards knowledge transfer, both inside and outside the organisation. The article concludes with reflections on the impact of Barnardo's initiatives, the journey still to be travelled to strengthen the knowledge base of those providing services to children in education, health and social work, and the need for further work both to strengthen the evidence base and to increase synergies between research, policy and practice.

Describes the circumstances behind the foundation and development of the Barnardo′s photographic archive in relation to Thomas Barnardo′s work in providing for destitute children in the late nineteenth century. Indicates the reasons for the development of a photographic archive and describes its history and eventual preservation as well as the contents of the archive.

Numerous contributors to the BJLPS have commented about the importance of a conceptualisation of leadership at a range of organisational levels. For our interview in this issue Graham Towl was in conversation with Alan Griffin, Children's Services Manager at the Chilston Service at Barnardos in Tunbridge Wells. The Chilston project enjoys a national reputation as a centre for good practice in working with some challenging and vulnerable children. The high‐quality resources of the project are drawn upon from throughout the South East (and sometimes beyond). Such effective local leadership is probably one of the more demanding but hidden roles in public services.Alan Griffin has a background working in both the health sector and Social Services. Working for Barnardos has been his first job in the third sector. He is a qualified social worker and therapist.

There are still barriers preventing Black disabled children and their families from accessing short break services. The paper highlights results of two studies highlighting some of these barriers, together with messages for front‐line staff and managers of children's services.

This paper aims to examine consumers’ non-profit brand image, brand typicality and past behaviour as determinants of intention to donate to two children charity brands.

Data for this study were obtained from two separate studies via a questionnaire, both in the context of two children charities, one for Barnardo’s and the other for BBC Children in Need charity. A theoretical model is developed, tested and compared across the two charity brands.

Findings highlight that different factors influence intentions to donate time and money according to the charity brand. Brand typicality is a key determinant of time donations, while the impact of non-profit brand image dimensions on time and money donations differs across the two charities. Past behaviour affects intentions to donate money in both charities but impacts time donations in only one of the two charities investigated.

The study examines specific dimensions of non-profit brand image across two different charity brands and offers theoretical insights about the value of brand image in a non-for profit context in shaping consumer outcomes (i.e. consumer intentions to donate).

The study sheds further light into the notion of typicality put forward by Michel and Rieunier (2012) for two children’s charity brands that differ in terms of their strength and income levels and examined past behaviour as a determinant to donate to charity brands.

The paper describes how children's services in Wiltshire have been involved in research (in collaboration with Barnardo's) and have attempted to make research findings count in the development of services.

The purposes of this paper are threefold. First, to draw attention to an overlooked feature of children’s institutions in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; namely, the widespread existence of boys’ brass bands. The second purpose is to explain why these were created and the third is to consider what implications membership of a band had for a boy’s subsequent life.

The paper relies upon archival and secondary sources.

The study traces the influences that led to the formation of so many boys’ bands. These included the background of brass bands in popular culture; the belief in the power of music as an agent of social reform; the money-spinning value of a band that gave public performances, and the opportunity for a band-boy to join a military band, thereby securing a foothold in the juvenile labour market. Over and above these findings is the fact that so many boys from deprived backgrounds could be taught to play a musical instrument to a competent standard.

As far as the author knows this is the only study of children’s homes’ bands. Its value lies in emphasising the fact that some of the most disadvantaged children are likely to have latent aptitudes and talents that can be discovered and developed. That is the message for today.