The Thomas Coram Foundation for Children is a large children's charity in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

which uses the working name Coram (formerly Coram Family). It originated as part of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

's oldest children's charity, the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word " hospita ...

, established by royal charter in 1739.

Activities

Coram is structured as an umbrella group of charities working with vulnerable children in different areas. Coram's headquarters are at

Brunswick Square Brunswick Square is a public garden and ancillary streets along two of its sides in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is overlooked by the School of Pharmacy and the Foundling Museum to the north; the Brunswick Centre to the w ...

, but they work with children and young people across the UK and beyond.

Adoption and care

Coram Adoption is an independent adoption service working in London, the East Midlands and Cambridgeshire. They also work in partnership with local authorities. Their partnership with the London Borough of Harrow was the first use of the model. Coram were also one of the pioneers of 'concurrent planning' (also known as 'foster to adopt'), and received government funding to become a 'National Centre of Excellence in Early Years Permanence' in 2012. In 2015 the British Association for Adoption and Fostering went into administration. Coram took over many of the services in England, offering a total of £40,000 and taking on 50 of the 135 employees. The membership, training and research organisation became CoramBAAF. The Independent Review Mechanism (England) was taken over by

Coram Children's Legal Centre Coram Children's Legal Centre (CCLC) is a UK charity founded in 1981 that works to promote children's rights both in the UK and abroad. The CCLC is funded by grants from central government, UNICEF, and charitable trusts, and donations. Coram Chil ...

. The National Adoption Register for England is now run by First4Adoption (jointly run by Coram and Adoption UK). Coram also provides sheltered housing and support for care leavers.

Creative Therapies

Coram provides creative therapies (art and music) for children, either in the new centre in London or in school and community settings in London, Kent, Cambridgeshire and the East Midlands.

Education

Coram Life Education runs programmes in schools to educate children about health, wellbeing and drugs. It was formed in 2009 as an amalgamation between Coram and Life Education. Coram was already working with families affected by drug and alcohol abuse and the education programme allows it to work both on prevention and helping parents talk to their children about the issues.

Family support

Coram offers support for separating parents, parents of adolescents, young parents, and parents of particular faith or ethnic groups. They offer particular support in Camden through their Parents Centre and Camden Futures (in collaboration with other agencies). They also run the Family Drug and Alcohol Court in collaboration with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. This team supports families going through care proceedings at the Central Family Court.

Legal advice and advocacy

In 2011 the Children's Legal Centre and Coram were amalgamated into Coram Children's Legal Centre. The organisation offers free legal advice to children and people involved in their care, advice and training on the rights of young refugees and migrants, and international advocacy programmes. In 2013 the charity Voice merged with Coram to form Coram Voice. It continues to campaign on behalf of children, and offer an advocacy service. The service visits children in residential care, secure children's homes and psychiatric units, and they also run an

Independent Visitor The role of Independent Visitor was created in the United Kingdom under the 1989 Children Act to befriend children and young people in care. Independent Visitors are adult volunteers who give up some of their free time to take a special interest in ...

Service for children with little family contact. It also provides people to assist in investigations for complaints made under the

Children Act 1989 The Children Act 1989 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which allocates duties to local authorities, courts, parents, and other agencies in the United Kingdom, to ensure children are safeguarded and their welfare is promoted. It centres on t ...

, and secure accommodation reviews.

Officers

Dr Carol Homden CBE has been Coram's Chief Executive since 2007. Its Chair of Board of Trustees is Paul Curran, and its president is Sir David Bell.

History

The

was begun by the philanthropic sea captain

Thomas Coram Captain Thomas Coram (c. 1668 – 29 March 1751) was an English sea captain and philanthropist who created the London Foundling Hospital in Lamb's Conduit Fields, Bloomsbury, to look after abandoned children on the streets of London. It is said ...

, who was appalled to see abandoned babies and children starving and dying in the streets of London. In 1742–1745 a building was erected north of

Lamb's Conduit Street Lamb's Conduit Street is a street in Holborn in the West End of London. The street takes its name from ''Lambs Conduit'', originally known as the ''Holborn Conduit'', a dam across a tributary of the River Fleet. Lamb's Conduit Lamb's Conduit w ...

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest ...

. Boys were housed in the West Wing of the new home. The East Wing was built in 1752 to house girls. Popular artists of the 18th century became patrons and governors of the

and donated some of their work to the foundation. The art collection contains works by

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like ...

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

and Sir

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

, including a full-length portrait of

himself, along with musical scores by

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

including a fair copy of ''Messiah'' bequeathed in his will. The Foundling Hospital became fashionable as a cause, a gallery and a concert hall. Governors of the hospital decided in 1926 to realise the value of the London site (it was sold for £2 million) and to build a new hospital on the Ashlyns site at

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new to ...

. The children were sent to temporary premises in Redhill until 1935 when the Georgian-style buildings in Berkhamsted were ready for occupation.

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

County Council took responsibility for the school part of the hospital when it became

Ashlyns School Ashlyns School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The school was established in 1935 as the final location of the Foundling Hospital, a children's charity founded in London in 1739. The Be ...

in 1951. Boarders at The Thomas Coram Foundation for Children were 'phased out' by 1955, when the Foundation sold the buildings to the

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

Foundling Museum

The historic collections of the Foundling Hospital were moved in the 1920s to

, London, where a museum was established. In 1998 the building and collections were formally constituted as a separate charity, the Foundling Museum.

References

External links

Coram

The Foundling Museum

Old Coram Association
{{Authority control Organizations established in 1739 Charities based in London Children's charities based in England 1739 establishments in England Foundling Hospital