Coram

Sharon, a former Headteacher of an ‘Outstanding’ school, has been a Coram Trustee for many years, reflecting her commitment to Coram and to children’s wellbeing. She told us about her decision to pledge a Gift to Coram in her Will: “I turned to Coram as a Headteacher, needing to structure the health and wellbeing curriculum throughout our Primary School. Initially, I used Coram’s excellent programmes and facilitators to deliver inspiring lessons, which in turn strengthened pupil’s learning.” “Interweaving the work of Coram throughout the school contributed greatly to achieving outstanding outcomes for all our pupils through developing teachers’ knowledge and skills, enabling each pupil to thrive.” “After joining the Coram board, I saw first hand the depth and breadth of Coram’s inspiring work and its impact on thousands of young people’s lives. So, it really was a ‘no brainer’ to take action, altering my Will to leave a gift to Coram.” “In my view, pledging a gift to Coram is a lasting legacy to my lifetime commitment of providing excellent education for all young people.” “I trust Coram to use the money where it is most needed, helping some of the most vulnerable young people in society to truly be the best they can be.” To find out more about leaving a Gift in your Will to Coram, visit https://lnkd.in/eHsp4irh #BetterChancesForChildren #WeAreCoram #GiftsInWills #WillWriting #CharityWillGift #LegacyGiving #ChildrensCharity

We are delighted by today's decision from the High Court that school exclusion hearings are covered by the European Convention of Human Rights, opening the possibility of legal aid being granted in appeals against exclusion. Sabrina Simpson, the instructing solicitor at Coram Children's Legal Centre, said: “No one wins when a child is excluded from school. Today’s decision by Mr Justice Lavender has provided a clear path to assisting children and families accessing justice when challenging a permanent school exclusion by receiving legal aid funding, which is a vital safety net to ensuring a fair education for all and an end to systemic discrimination in education.” More info here: https://lnkd.in/dMBnut-y Garden Court Chambers #UK #Law #Exclusion

Coram has recently published a free online toolkit designed to support social workers, foster carers, children’s services and all those with a role to play in finding families for children who need long-term foster carers. There is currently a nationwide shortage of foster carers, and Ofsted data has shown year-on-year decreases in the number of approved fostering households in both the local authority and independent fostering agency sectors. Our toolkit aims to ensure children are afforded permanence and stability without delay. Areas of family finding practice covered include: - All about me: a direct work tool - Profiling children: good practice tips for social workers and family finders - Taking photos and videos of children in care: good practice tips for foster carers - A guide to running an exchange day for fostering: good practice tips for local authorities Ana Parr, Group Manager of the Permanency Service, London Borough of Bromley, says: “This is an excellent resource pack for family finders, defining best practices within the array of family finding activities. This toolkit will incite practitioners to think creatively together with the children and their carers, and is full of practical tips for redefining children’s narratives in a mindful language.” To find out more information and to download the foster care toolkit, visit https://lnkd.in/e-i7qMVg #BetterChancesForChildren #WeAreCoram #FosterCare #LongTermFosterCare #FosterCareResources #FosterCareSupport

A new toolkit for social workers and other stakeholders in adoption aims to support and improve matching chances for children. Funded by The Hadley Trust, Family finding for long-term foster care: A toolkit has been designed by Coram to support fostering agencies’ existing policies and procedures for family finding, offering a set of resources that can be used by individuals and organisations. https://lnkd.in/ewuYJfFH ⭐ Subscribe to Social Work Today https://lnkd.in/dTiQb8e ℹ️ Got a social work job you need promoting? We can help! Drop us a message or go to - https://lnkd.in/g4xg8abs London Borough of Bromley Sally Beaumont Sara Sherlock

In episode two, our guest is Dr Jim Goddard, Chair of The Care Leavers Association. In a conversation that covers his own time in care and his work helping people access their care files, Paolo Hewitt and Paul Anderson-Walsh FRSA also talk about the work of Thomas Coram. Full episode here https://lnkd.in/eqSaMcJq Coram #care #careleavers #careleaver #fostercare #adoption #inspiration #paolohewitt #paulandersonwalsh #podcast #coram

Welcome to Allergy School. Today is a game-changer for children with food allergies. We know the challenges they face in school, which can leave them feeling isolated and excluded. We also know that schools want to do the right thing, but they need help and support. Allergy School is a brand new educational suite of completely FREE, high-quality, resources created to support nursery, primary/junior schools and out-of-school clubs and groups. It includes fun and engaging films, lesson plans, and assembly packs amongst other resources, all aimed at educators responsible for children aged 3-11 years. We have worked in partnership with leading education experts Coram, St John Ambulance, High Speed Training, The King's Foundation, Tesco, CHELSEA FC FOUNDATION, LMP Group, NASUWT and Natalie Hopkins at Allergy Badge to make sure our resources support all those who are responsible for children in their classrooms and clubs. All Allergy School resources are compatible with the national curriculum, making them as straightforward as possible for teachers to use. They are designed to help busy #teachers feel supported to ensure their pupils feel empowered, included and protected - and for everyone at #school to feel more confident around the subject of food #allergies. Stephen Morgan, Minister for Early Years Education has said: “The safety of our children is the most important thing both in and outside of school, and I welcome the important work being carried out by the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation. I encourage all settings to make use of engaging programmes such as these, alongside taking the necessary steps to manage allergy risks as clearly set out in the government’s allergy guidance.” Teachers can download our resources for FREE by visiting www.allergyschool.org.uk Please like and share this post, get in touch with your nursery/school/out-of-school clubs, and ask them to sign up at https://lnkd.in/gEWRVzNQ

Coram is incredibly proud to be part of this important partnership with The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, The King's Foundation, St John Ambulance and Tesco Stronger Starts. The new Allergy School programme launched by NARF, the UK’s food allergy charity, provides free resources to all nurseries, primary schools and out-of-school clubs and groups to encourage greater awareness and understanding of food allergies. “Awareness of food allergies among the whole community is vital. Children with food allergies are often excluded from events, because of a general lack of knowledge and understanding of the issues they face. They can also experience bullying because their allergy can make them appear different to other children. The lessons and assemblies we have developed with Natasha’s Foundation, work together to help everyone learn about the challenges and risks faced by children with food allergies – focusing on facts and, crucially, on developing empathy and caring, attitudes. We are delighted to be part of this great work.” Jan Forshaw MBE, Head of Education at Coram Life Education.   Coram Life Education’s Healthy Harold and NARF’s Arlo the friendly, food-allergic armadillo have also joined forces in education films produced for the programme 🫶 Read all about NARF and our partnership here: https://lnkd.in/eTDEMri4 #natashaallergyresarchfoundation #childhealth #allergyawareness #CharityPartner

To reduce the impact of harmful conflict on children’s mental health, Coram has launched a free Family Harmony Toolkit for professionals working with families. Developed by Coram’s Creative Therapies team in collaboration with the Department for Work and Pensions, the Family Harmony Toolkit provides practical resources, including session guides and activities that draw from family therapy, music therapy, and art therapy interventions. These approaches are designed to help families improve communication and strengthen their relationships using creative activities that promote connection and listening. The toolkit is based on the Family Harmony Intervention, developed and facilitated by Coram's Parenting and Creative Therapy service. The intervention is a multi-family group programme to promote family attunement, with a strong emphasis on healthy communication, enhancing skills in emotional regulation, mentalising, mindfulness, attentive listening and calming techniques. Dr Anna Harris, clinical psychologist and head of Coram’s Creative Therapies team, said: “We are really proud to introduce the Family Harmony Toolkit. This initiative empowers families to strengthen their relationships and build emotional resilience in ways that are both therapeutic and engaging. We anticipate this will provide many creative opportunities to support families to have fun and connect together.” To download the free Family Harmony Toolkit or to read the evaluation of the Family Harmony Programme, visit https://lnkd.in/eaJ2k_Um #BetterChancesForChildren #WeAreCoram

📢 CEO Nicholas Connolly spoke to Children & Young People Now about councils' failure to provide suitable housing for homeless 16 and 17-year-olds, as revealed in a damning Coram report. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ea6SvwMt

Coram has today published its responses to HM Treasury’s call for written submissions regarding Phase 2 of the Spending Review 2025 that will determine the Government’s spending priorities in the coming years and the Public Bill Committee’s call for evidence as it scrutinises the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently progressing through Parliament. Some of the key responses from Coram include: We welcome the proposed legal duty on local authorities to offer family group decision-making (FGDM) to parents of children at pre-proceedings stage – while this will already be standard practice for many authorities, the new duty will help to ensure greater consistency of practice; We are surprised that schools and educational settings are not being made a statutory safeguarding partner in line with recommendations from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care and other reviews; Coram supports the introduction of the register for home-educated pupils as a critical protection to a child’s right to education and to safeguarding; We recommend the reintroduction of the national adoption register to ensure that all children waiting for adoption receive a proactive matching service; Coram supports the introduction of the Single Unique Identifier. However, clarity and guidance are also required to make clear when data should not be shared. Published in full on our website, read more here: https://lnkd.in/e5fXgqNs #WeAreCoram #ChildrensCharity #UK #Politics