Coram-i and After Cloud have signed a formal collaboration agreement that will see the two organisations work together to create a digital repository for children in care, that they can access whenever they want.
Photos, videos, stories and letters play an important role in helping people form and retain memories in addition to helping to tell their life story, and for children in care, who can live with lots of different people, this can be particularly challenging. Children’s care files tend to have little content from their day-to-day lives, and a child cannot see their file before they turn 18. The proposed digital repository would give children a store of memories that they could access at any time.
Coram-i delivers expertise and resources designed to enable local authorities improve the outcomes they achieve for children, while After Cloud is a technology service that creates apps for social good. The partners will work together to develop and improve an existing app to store digital content for children, ensuring that all those important to the child are able to contribute safely. The app will be available both via smartphone and through a web browser.
The initial agreement covers a one-year development and piloting period, at which stage there will be an assessment of progress and potential interest from the sector. The pilot will not only test the app, but also explore ethical issues, what needs to be put in place to assure the safety of children using it and how it can support ongoing life story work with children.
Kevin Yong, managing director of Coram-i, said: “This partnership between Coram-i and After Cloud aims to build a product that that will potentially make a huge difference to so many children in care. Memories from childhood are precious but more often than not children in care struggle to keep hold of them without the kinds of digital memories around them that most people take for granted – we want to change that.”
Darren Evans, CEO of After Cloud, said: “We are thrilled to announce our strategic partnership with Coram. This collaboration leverages After Cloud’s innovative technology to profoundly impact the lives of children in care, giving them an independent voice and ensuring their precious memories are digitally preserved.”
Jane Keenan, managing director of After Cloud Children’s Service, said: “An inspirational colleague once spoke of how ‘our nomadic little people need someone to hold their stories for them.’ They also need us to hold hope and aspiration for the future… we can use powerful storytelling, including their own voices, to help our children write and imagine those future chapters.”
About Coram-i
Coram-i is part of the Coram Group and supports other organisations to improve the quality of the services they provide for children. It specialises in developing sustainable, innovative solutions through long-term, cross-sector partnerships, and in building the capacity of the sector by facilitating the sharing of good practice and learning. Coram-i pioneers improvements using technology as well as developing new ways of working, all with the aim of driving better outcomes for children.
About Coram
Coram is the first and longest serving children’s charity in the UK. Established as the Foundling Hospital in 1739, today we are a vibrant charity group of specialist organisations – the Coram Group – supporting hundreds of thousands of children, young people and families every year.
We do this by championing children’s rights and wellbeing and making their lives better every day through our range of services. These include reading support and life skills education in schools for over 500,000 children, adoption services for children waiting to find a home, mental health support, cultural programmes, and legal advice and advocacy for thousands of children and families every year.
About After Cloud
In a world where digital technology plays an increasingly important role in our lives, the need to manage and preserve our digital assets and legacy has become even more significant. After Cloud not only addresses this need but does so in a way that is innovative, intuitive, and accessible to everyone.
After Cloud is a multi-award-winning technology platform that provides solutions to enable individuals to capture their life stories and assist organisations in showcasing their own history or assets in a visually compelling and impactful way.