Join the Coram Society
The Coram Society offers a series of thoughtfully programmed events and updates throughout the calendar year that bring together supporters of Coram and those working in our sectors.
Join us as we not only look back at Coram’s important history, but look around us and to the future at ways that we can collectively work towards better chances for children.
Past event recordings
Marking 90 Years - the Foundling Hospital at Berkhamsted
Wednesday 9 July 2025, 12-1pm, online
Seeking a healthier environment, the Governors built a new Foundling Hospital School, modelled on the original building, that survives today as Ashlyns School in Hertfordshire. In this webinar, we reflected on this moment in Coram’s history and its significance for Founding Hospital pupils from then until 1954 when the residential school closed, and the parallels and contrasts in how Ashlyns School and Coram provide opportunities for children and young people today. The event featured contributions from Coram, Ashlyns School, and a former pupil of the Foundling Hospital.
Please watch the recording below.
Annual TCRU/Coram Lecture | Supporting the lives and aspirations of children and young people migrating to the UK alone
Thursday 22 May 2025, 5-7.30pm, in person
Every year thousands of children below the age of 18 arrive in the UK to seek asylum without an accompanying adult. Categorised within the system as ‘unaccompanied asylum-seeking children’, they are subjected to often contradictory processes of care and control. Those who turn 18 may become ineligible for social care support and/or be detained and removed to their country of origin.
Based on research over two decades with many colleagues, Professor Elaine Chase (University College London) highlighted some of the persistent challenges in providing children and young people with the support and resources they require to build safe and fulfilling lives in the UK. Against the backdrop of an increasingly hostile immigration and asylum system, the talk focused on the embedded disconnects between the realities of young people’s lives and largely unworkable policy responses which frequently undermine their welfare, wellbeing and access to basic social and economic rights. The talk was followed by responses from Amina Meshnuni and Abdullahi
Yusuf, graduates of Coram’s Young Citizens programme, a discussion panel on directions for policy reform, and an audience Q&A.
Please watch a recording of Professor Chase’s lecture below.
In Conversation with Hallie Rubenhold: hosted by Madeleine Pelling
Monday 28 April 2025, 6-8pm, in person
Coram hosted a ‘Tea and Talk’ with Hallie Rubenhold to celebrate the publication of her new book, Story of a Murder: The Wives, The Mistress and Dr Crippen. Hallie is the bestselling and prize-winning historian and author of The Five: The Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, whose expertise lies in revealing stories of previously unknown women and episodes in history. Story of a Murder is a grand experiment in subverting a famous history, retelling the infamous historical true-crime story of wife-murderer Dr Crippen and how he was brought to justice by an extraordinary group of music hall women. Hallie has previously engaged with Coram’s history through the short film, ‘No Place Like Home: The Story of the Foundling Hospital’.
Coram x The Churchill Fellowship | Documentary screening: Towards Brotherly Love
Monday 31 March 2025, 6-9pm, in person
Launched in 2022, the three-year partnership between Coram and the Churchill Fellowship aims to improve the lives and outcomes of children and young people with experience of care through new knowledge, best practice, and innovative solutions derived from global approaches. This event platformed the work of Omar Mohamed, a Churchill Fellow in 2024, and his project entitled ‘Improving Outcomes for The Black Care Experienced Community’.
Omar’s new documentary, Towards Brotherly Love: Care, Catastrophe and Change, explores the journeys of Black children and young people with care experience in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The film explores the reality of the children’s social care system in the US, how it and the lives of those within it are shaped by systemic racism, and stories of resilience and community innovation that inspire new routes for change and reform.
Please see below for a recording of the discussion between Omar and others involved in the film’s production and themes and music from care-experienced singer-songwriter Xoul. Omar’s full documentary can be watched at his Churchill Fellowship page.
INSIGHTS Public Lecture by Newcastle University: The long march to women and children’s rights
Thursday 6 March, 2025, in person
Dr Carol Homden, CEO of Coram, the first and longest-serving children’s charity in the UK, to explore the ongoing struggle for a just and equitable society. Engaging with the new Coram Digital Archive, the discussion will situate the Foundling Hospital and the progressive legacy of Thomas Coram within a broader historical framework, emphasizing their unique contributions to advancing care and justice, and setting out what must still be done to honour the inseparable rights of women and children.
Watch a recording of the session below:
A Portrait of my Parents: Film Screening and Discussion with Philip Sinden
Monday 21 October 2024, 6 – 8pm, Coram Campus
Coram Society marked National Adoption Week 2024 with an in-person screening of a new short film, ‘A Portrait of My Parents’. ‘A Portrait of my Parents’ is a poignant, self-filmed documentary that follows photographer Philip Sinden on a deeply personal quest to uncover the missing chapters of his life. Driven by a profound desire to connect with his biological roots, Philip embarks on an emotional and often challenging journey, equipped only with determination and a handheld camera. As he navigates through various cities, the documentary captures the highs and lows, the anticipation, and the uncertainty that accompany his search.
Watch a recording of the discussion below.
“His Innocent Subjects”: A Historical Exploration of the 'Deserving' and ‘Undeserving Poor'
Monday 29 January 2024, 6 – 7.30pm, online
The dichotomy of the ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving poor’ can be traced back centuries, but still carries considerable weight in the popular perceptions and political narratives that surround socio-economic need. Our panel of speakers Polly Toynbee and Professor Harriet Ward examined how our understanding of poverty and need has evolved, or not, since the time of Thomas Coram, and the impact this has on the contemporary world.
Watch the recording below.
Forgotten Foundlings? Voicelessness and invisibility in the story of care
Monday 30 October 2023, 6 – 7.15pm, online
Coram Society and In Between Lines held an online event marking the close of Black History Month 2023. The event centred on the voices of those that have been missing from the historical record, as well as the experience of our speakers and young people in the Voices through Time: The Story of Care programme.
Watch the recording below.
Caring and leading – women of the Foundling Hospital past and present
Tuesday 28 March 2023, 4-5pm, online
A free event for Women’s History Month 2023, focusing on women who worked for the Foundling Hospital. These include the nurses who played such an important part in caring for the foundlings immediately after their admission and up to the age of five, and some of the inspectors who supervised the nurses. Speakers included Dr Kate Gibson, Coram’s historian Carol Harris and our CEO Dr Carol Homden who reflected on recent developments in the care system.
Watch the recording below.
Become a member
There is no joining fee but we are grateful for donations to support the work of Coram.
You don’t need to be a Coram Society member to join our events, but you will be the first to know about any new events if you sign up for our email updates. Please email events@coram.org.uk for more information or sign up using the form below.
Sign up for the Coram Society
Learn more about Coram’s history
We are digitising the oldest records in our archive to preserve Coram’s unique history, help care-experienced young people connect with their predecessors, and enrich thinking about care today.
Read more