Coram Family

Advisers on childcare and parenting for ivillage, Coram Family give an overview of their work

Coram Family is one of the longest established children’s charities in England. Established by Captain Thomas Coram as the Foundling Hospital, we began caring for vulnerable children and young people in 1739. At that time, the charity was supported by key figures in the world of art and music. Hogarth donated a number of paintings, while Handel performed the Messiah for the charity on a regular basis.

Today we have three broad aims in our work with children:

To enable children who have experienced trauma or who have been separated from their parents to develop a sense of self-esteem and stability.
To support vulnerable children and families.
To raise public awareness of the needs of children and young people.

The Coram Community Campus provides facilities for local families in the Kings Cross area of Camden in London to support children within their families. The services include nursery education and day care, an after school and holiday playscheme, support for children with special needs and their parents, as well as support for homeless families. Advice from social services and a speech therapist are available on the campus. The Coram Parents Centre supports and advises parents about all aspects of parenting through classes and support groups. This centre together with the Thomas Coram Early Childhood Centre forms one of the innovatory Early Excellence Centres.

The team is also involved in research.

Listening to Young Children, is a three year project exploring ways of listening and responding to children under eight. The idea is to use drama and video to enable children to express their views and, through this work, develop ways to help them articulate their concerns and anxieties.

Coram Family is based in a diverse area of London, and responds to the stresses that families can experience when their cultural background differs from the majority of families in their area. The Moyenda Project was established in 1991 to offer practical support to African, African-Caribbean and South Asian families combatting individual and institutional racism. The project has taken a particular interest in parenting mixed race children, their education and the problem of school exclusion.