Lumos is the charity focused on ending the institutionalisation of children that J.K. Rowling founded in 2005.
The organisation was originally established as the Children’s High Level Group, following Rowling’s concern about reports describing children living in institutions in Eastern Europe. It later adopted the name Lumos, taken from a light-producing spell in the Harry Potter books.
Lumos advocates for family-based care and community services instead of large residential institutions. Its work has included supporting reforms, helping children return to families where possible, and promoting alternatives for children who cannot safely live with their birth families.
The charity’s name can cause confusion because Lumos is also a fictional spell in the Harry Potter universe. In the charitable context, it refers to the international organisation and its campaign to help children leave institutional care and grow up in families or family-like settings.