SOS Children’s Villages UK is to leave the international federation structure it is part of due to differing views about how families can best be supported.

It said that while the federation’s strategy of support for children is through a ‘villages’ model of ‘family like care’, it’s focus is “more on helping families around the world stay together, and ensuring children are well supported within their families and communities”.

It said that it will take sole ownership of its work to “empower us to best represent the children we are here for”.

Over the coming months it will transition to a fully independent organisation, complete with its own identity.

In a statement the Cambridge headquartered charity said: “This move is a continuation of the direction in which our charity has been heading, and is a natural progression towards supporting more community-based programmes which benefit greater numbers of children.

“We remain fully committed to the children, young people, and families we are here for.

“Our partnerships are already locally led, and in the UK, we hold ourselves to the highest possible standards when it comes to our safeguarding and due diligence processes.

“We will therefore carry on working closely with our local overseas partners to ensure children continue to get the very best support possible, and will maintain and build on our current network of strong partnerships and relationships across the world.

“We are excited and proud to take our supporters on this journey with us, and will continue to share updates as our voice as a champion of children without or at risk of losing parental care grows in the UK.”

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