Over the past five decades, Coram has been dedicated to the task of putting children first and ensuring, where they need it, that they can grow up in safe, loving, adoptive families.
Registered as a voluntary adoption agency in 1972, Coram (formerly The Foundling Hospital) has built on its centuries of experience as the birthplace of children’s social care.
It has championed progressive practice from LGBT+ adoption and early permanence (enabling infants to be matched with foster carers who could go on to adopt them) to national matching practice and pioneering therapeutic and parenting programmes.
Our recent report, ‘A lifetime of difference’, features the development of the early permanence quality mark, now being developed into practice standards in partnership with regional adoption agency leaders; the impact of adoption activity days, which have enabled the matching of 1,400 children with families over the past 10 years; co-production with young people; and distinctive cross-sector partnerships.
Coram’s work as the first voluntary adoption agency to deliver local authority adoption services began in 2006, with a ground-breaking 10-year partnership with the London Borough of Harrow.
During the first three years, there was a cost benefit of £400,000 – a significant sum given the small scale of the service placing 10 to 12 children each year – with a high proportion securing early permanence placements.
The distinctive approach was taken up by the London Borough of Redbridge, City of London and, later, Thurrock Council, and two five-year programmes with Kent and Cambridgeshire both won ‘excellence in practice’ awards.
Such partnerships were the precursor to the development of regional adoption agencies, as part of the Government’s drive to speed up the matching of children with families.
In 2019, Coram became the first voluntary adoption agency to deliver a regional adoption agency, Coram Ambitious for Adoption, in partnership with local authorities across London. This exceptional partnership working was recognised by Ofsted in its ‘outstanding’ judgement in 2021.
At the heart of the work remains the fundamental shared commitment to children, like Anthony, adopted at 20 months into a family of mixed heritage.
Now a 21-year-old postgraduate student, who has taken part in fundraising events for Coram, he speaks out for other adopted young people.
He says: “I wanted to give back to an organisation that gave me the life I – and all other children in care – should’ve had: a life with a loving family that enabled me to fulfil my potential.”
In our 50th anniversary year, we celebrate this lifetime of difference while recognising the challenges for all parts of the sector.
Children face unprecedented challenges in securing a stable loving home and in accessing support they need, especially in their teenage years.
Despite the availability of approved adopters, data shows that the number of children adopted in England has fallen by more than 13 per cent in the past two years and 23 per cent in the past four years – at the very time when more children need timely permanent homes.
It is only by working together across regional and voluntary sectors, and supporting early permanence, co-production and lifelong links, that we can ensure that every child has the loving family they need for life.