Find out how the UK's oldest children's charity Coram continued to create better chances for children during the pandemic
Throughout the pandemic, the Coram Group of charities has focussed on two key priorities – to sustain services for children and current needs today and to step-change impact in addressing the challenges of tomorrow, with a keen focus on diversity, inclusion and social justice.
Key achievements
- Supporting 118,000 children, parents, carers and professionals – continuing direct and virtual delivery in every area throughout the pandemic, whilst championing and campaigning for their rights and needs.
- Creation of the first timeline of care from Coram’s formation as the Foundling Hospital in 1739 to the present day enabling young people to engage with the past, learn skills in the present and inform the future of care.
- Driving our Call for Change to mark the 30th anniversary of the UK as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and marking the 40th anniversary of CoramBAAF which represents the UK’s community of practice in adoption and fostering reaching 65,000 subscribing professionals.
- Realisation of a leading Regional Adoption Agency led by a voluntary adoption agency in partnership with nine local authorities and with families benefitting from a range of new adoption support programmes.
- Using the benefits of remote access and pioneering approaches to support children, young people and parents through virtual therapeutic groups, Coram Life Education’s SCARF schools’ resources – with 42,000 subscribing teachers – including Harold’s Daily Diary for pupils in lockdown.
- Forming Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation, which delivers the largest youth drama festival, to secure social, emotional and cultural equity for children, as part of our vision to be the essential partner to schools in developing children’s wellbeing.
- Launching a pioneering approach to find solutions to the challenges faced by children’s services with nine founding local authorities and partnerships with Microsoft and EY, and delivering the Randomised Control Trial of Family Group Conferencing for the What Works Centre.