About Coram Family and Childcare
Many parents in the UK today are frozen out of work by the cost of childcare and disadvantaged children fall behind their peers before they even start school. Coram Family and Childcare works to change this and to make the UK a better place for families.
We focus on childcare and the early years to make a difference to families’ lives now and in the long term. We work to make sure that every child has access to high quality childcare and every parent is better off working once they have paid for childcare. Families who face disadvantage, social exclusion and poverty are at the heart of our work.
Our history
Our parent-led programmes support families to achieve their potential and services to deliver solutions that meet families’ needs. Our Parent Champions National Network has been running since 2007, helping families that are more likely to miss out on services to get the support that helps them to thrive.
Our research provides definitive data on the issues families face, including our Childcare Survey which is the most widely used source of information on the costs and availability of childcare in the UK.
Bringing together what we learn from our on the ground work with families and our research, we make change happen by campaigning for solutions that families need.
Before August 2018, we were known as the Family and Childcare Trust.
What we do
Research, campaigns and policy
Our research and advocacy focuses on making Britain as supportive of fulfilling family lives as possible, and on holding central and local government to account for doing all it can to remove barriers for families.
Membership organisation supporting local authorities
The National Association of Family Information Services (NAFIS) is the only national membership organisation supporting local authorities to deliver high quality information and advice to families. It provides a focal point for lobbying government, access to key decision makers, a monthly newsletter and more.
Parent-led programmes
We run a range of parent-led programmes aimed at providing support for parents in the everyday but not-always-easy job of being a parent. Many of these focus on supporting parents to build the extended support networks that other parents can take for granted. Coram Family and Childcare developed our Parent Champions programme to help parents who miss out on vital information.
Our annual reviews
Our annual review is a record of our achievements over the past year, providing details on our funders, staff and members of our trustee board.
Coram Family and Childcare was formed when the Family and Childcare Trust joined the Coram group of charities in 2018.
Meet the team
Lydia Hodges, Head of Coram Family and Childcare
Lydia joined Coram Family and Childcare in 2024. Lydia was previously Head of Family Support for the Actor’s Children’s Trust, and has led services at several charities, including the National Autistic Society, where she worked for 12 years and her passion for supporting children and families began.
Policy and research team
- Sam Shorto, Senior Quantitative Researcher
- Emma Goddard, Senior Policy Officer
- Lynne Stockbridge, Projects and Communications Officer
Programmes team
- Ellie Grace, Programmes and Development Manager
- Flora Jenkins, Senior Programmes Officer
- Susie Gething, Senior Programmes Officer
- Tamsin Hutton, Programmes Officer
- Alicia Knights-Toomer, Learning and Research Officer
Careers at Coram Family and Childcare
We are part of the Coram group of charities, you can find a list of our current vacancies on the dedicated group jobsite.
Support Coram Family and Childcare charity
Coram Family and Childcare is part of the Coram charitable group, and fundraising activities are undertaken and assured by the central fundraising department. As the parent charity, Coram is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and adheres to the Fundraising Code of Practice.