I didn't know there was help like Buttle... it was like a huge weight off my shoulders

WALKING her children to school should have been a joyful experience for Sarah — five minutes out of her busy day as a student midwife and mother-of-three to enjoy some family time, but arrears of more than £400 for after-school clubs left her dreading the daily journey.

- Robert Dex

The 27-year-old from east London, who left her relationship because of domestic violence, could not afford to pay the bill and was considering leaving her training because of the demands of childcare.

She said: “If I couldn’t pay, the kids would no longer be able to do after-school clubs and if I didn’t have that option and no one to pick them up from school earlier, then I can’t be on placement and I can’t be at lectures.”

Sarah (not her real name) had previously been helped by a social worker and the last thing they did before closing her case was ask for help from a charity set up 70 years ago by a far-sighted East End clergyman. Frank Buttle raised just short of £1 million before his death in 1953 and that fund, which has now grown to more than £50 million, continues to support the work of the charity that bears his name and still follows his idea of giving grants to improve the lives of some of our most vulnerable children.