Barnardo's has today announced a three-year partnership with Ikea UK, which it hopes will generate hundreds of thousands of pounds for the children's charity's young carers services.

Ikea UK has made an initial donation of £100,000 to Barnardo's and will supplement this with a range of additional fundraising initiatives and gifts in kind.

Barnardo’s collection tins will be in all Ikea UK stores on National Children’s Day UK on Sunday to mark the start of the partnership.

Ikea UK is a member of the Real Play Coalition, which encourages play as a way for children to develop and learn.

Its 22 UK stores are all located close to front-line Barnardo's services and, as part of the partnership, staff at both organisations will work together locally on various schemes that create more child-friendly neighbourhoods.

Ikea Glasgow and Ikea Edinburgh have already launched a textile take-back scheme, which gives customers the chance to donate unwanted clothing and soft furnishings to their local Barnardo’s centre.

And employees at Ikea Warrington have been using their home-furnishing expertise to help refurbish a property that supports young people transitioning from the care system.

Javed Khan, chief executive of Barnardo's, said he was excited to see how the partnership would develop.

"With young people at its heart, this partnership will make a positive impact on the lives of some of the most vulnerable children and young people in the UK," said Khan.

Hege Sæbjørnsen, country sustainability manager at Ikea UK, said: "Together with Barnardo’s we have an amazing opportunity to create a long-term positive impact on the lives of the most vulnerable children and young people in society through sharing expertise and resources, leveraging our unique skills and scale, and more traditional fundraising."