British Academy Children's Awards facts for kids

Quick facts for kids British Academy Children's Awards
Country	United Kingdom
First awarded	1996
Last awarded	2022

The British Academy Children's Awards were special awards given out every year by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). These awards celebrated the best TV shows, movies, and video games made for kids and young people.

The awards started in 1996. Before that, children's shows were part of the main British Academy Television Awards. The last Children's Awards ceremony was held on November 27, 2022, in London. It was hosted by TV presenter Lindsey Russell. This ceremony was important because it was the first one after a three-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2023, BAFTA announced that the Children's Awards would become part of the bigger annual BAFTA ceremonies for film, games, and television. New categories for children's content were added to these main awards starting in 2025.

History of the Awards

The British Academy Children's Awards began in 1996. They were held every year, except for 2020 and 2021, when they were paused because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before 1996, children's shows were recognized at the main British Academy Television Awards. From 1983 to 1996, there were two special categories for children's programs: one for factual shows and one for fiction or entertainment.

The very first Children's Awards in 1996 had seven main categories. These included awards for Animation, Drama, Entertainment, and shows for Pre-School children. There were also two special awards given to important people in children's media. Over the years, new categories were added, like "International" and "Feature Film" in 1999, and "Game" in 2007. Until 2016, kids could even vote online for their favorite movies, TV shows, video games, and websites.

Award Categories

In 2022, the British Academy Children's Awards had fourteen different categories. These awards recognized many types of children's media.

Recent Award Winners (2022)

Here are some of the winners from the last British Academy Children's Awards ceremony in 2022:

Animation

• The award for best animation went to The Snail and the Whale.

Performer

• The award for best performer was given to Chris O'Dowd for his work in Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth.

Young Performer

• The award for best young performer went to Taiya Samuel for her role in JoJo & Gran Gran.

Pre-School

Animation

• The award for best pre-school animation was won by Hey Duggee.

Live Action

• The award for best pre-school live action show went to Lovely Little Farm.

Presenter

• The award for best presenter was given to George Webster from CBeebies.

Writer

• The writing team of Joe Markham, Mic Graves, and Tony Hull won for The Amazing World of Gumball.

Director

• The directors Max Lang and Daniel Snaddon won for The Snail and the Whale.

International

• The award for best international show went to Bluey.

Feature Film

• The award for best feature film was given to Wolfwalkers.

Game

• The award for best game went to Sackboy: A Big Adventure.

Scripted

• The award for best scripted show was won by Dodger.

Non-Scripted

• The award for best non-scripted show went to FYI Ukraine Invasion Special.

Content for Change

• The award for content that brings about change was given to El Deafo.

Special Award

• In 2022, no special award was given. This award honored people or groups who made a big difference in children's media. Past winners included The Jim Henson Company and author Jacqueline Wilson.

Retired Award Categories

Over the years, some award categories were changed or stopped. Here are a few examples:

Channel of the Year

This award recognized the best children's TV channel. CBeebies won this award many times.

Comedy

This award celebrated the best comedy shows for children. Horrible Histories won this award several times.

Drama

This award was for the best drama series. The Dumping Ground and Katie Morag were past winners.

Entertainment

This award recognized fun and exciting entertainment shows. Dick & Dom in da Bungalow and Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up were popular winners.

Factual

This award was for non-fiction shows that taught kids about the world. Newsround and Deadly 60 were among the winners.

Interactive Awards

There were categories for interactive content, like websites and games. These categories changed over time, sometimes splitting into "Original" and "Adapted" interactive experiences.

BAFTA Kids' Vote

This was a special award where children could vote for their favorites. It later split into separate votes for "Website," "Feature Film," "Television," and "Video Game." Popular winners included Club Penguin for website, Frozen for film, Hannah Montana for television, and Minecraft for video game.

Award Ceremonies

The British Academy Children's Awards ceremonies were held in different locations in London. Many famous presenters hosted the shows over the years.