Now as much as I am interested in the story of British Home Children, there is another equally fascinating one which focuses on the welfare of young people in Britain, during the second half of the 20th century and on in to this one.
For some it will always be less important than the study of BHC and given the close personal connection we all have with the subject this is only to be expected.
There is a book yet to be written on the subject from the British perspective and one that concentrates on Canada, rather than all of the old bits of Empire to which children were migrated.
The most recent British book is New Lives for Old which was published in 2002 and is both a history and resource book, giving the broad story with many useful addresses.*
And in this context it is worth highlighting that excellent site British Home Children in Canada, which has a section devoted to the literature of BHC.**
Here in Britain the care of young people whose home backgrounds placed them at risk continued to grow and develop, after the charities stopped migrating to Canada in the 1930s and Australia four decades later.
It is a story I have already written about*** but is continuing to evolve.
Some of the charities involved with the welfare of young people in the 19th century have faded and disappeared.
Others like the Band of Kindness became the “Crippled Children’s Help Society” specializing in helping disabled children and has become Disabled Living, “providing impartial information and advice about products, equipment (assistive technology) and services for disabled adults, children, older people, carers and the professionals” thus “people to maintain independence and improve the quality of their life, and that of their family”. ***
Of those charities still remaining in the field of direct child welfare, the two most people are aware of, are Barnardos and the Together Trust.
And of these it is the Together Trust which interests me most. This is partly because they originated in Manchester where I live, and stopped migrating children in 1914 long before most charities but also because their work today helps explain the developing transformation of care for “looked after children and young adults”.****
Added to which they have commissioned me to write their history to coincide with their 150th anniversary in 2020 but we won’t pursue that bit of personal self interest..
During the last fifty years, the thinking behind how services for children and young adults should be delivered has undergone changes.
Care homes have become less institutionalized and smaller, recognising the commitment to more intimate family units. At the same time there have been moves to integrate disabled children into mainstream schools.
All of this has been done against a backdrop of cuts in public spending, the advance of privately owned care homes, and legislation seeking to put more emphasis on the role of the family while developing a more holistic approach to the needs of young people in care.
And if that sounds a bit jargon loaded it is, but together those changes have had profound effects. In some cases they have led to the Together Trust moving away from activities it had once done while developing new ones.
The work remains focused on the partnership with local authorities who since 1948 have been the agency responsible for the welfare of looked after children, but given that it is a charity it is able to move into areas of need which local government do not handle.
And in that respect points to the continued role of charities in this area, particularly in the light of cash strapped local authorities and perhaps the withdrawal of the private sector from some aspects of this work.
We shall see.
Location; Britain
Pictures; courtesy of the Together Trust, 1902-1986
* New Lives for Old The Story of Britain’s Home Children, Janet Sacks and Roger Kershaw, 2002
** British Home Children in Canada, http://canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com/historical-books.html
*** “The best single test of any civilisation is the way in which children are treated” ...... the continuing story, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/the-best-single-test-of-any.html
& The Partnership..... “it shall be the duty of the local authority to receive the child into their care”, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/the-partnership-it-shall-be-duty-of.html
**** Disabled Living, http://www.disabledliving.co.uk/about-us/history/
****The Together Trust, https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/ Started as the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuge, became the Boys’ And Girls’ welfare Society and is now called the Together Trust
 |
| 1962 |
There is a book yet to be written on the subject from the British perspective and one that concentrates on Canada, rather than all of the old bits of Empire to which children were migrated.
The most recent British book is New Lives for Old which was published in 2002 and is both a history and resource book, giving the broad story with many useful addresses.*
And in this context it is worth highlighting that excellent site British Home Children in Canada, which has a section devoted to the literature of BHC.**
Here in Britain the care of young people whose home backgrounds placed them at risk continued to grow and develop, after the charities stopped migrating to Canada in the 1930s and Australia four decades later.
 |
| 1902 |
Some of the charities involved with the welfare of young people in the 19th century have faded and disappeared.
Others like the Band of Kindness became the “Crippled Children’s Help Society” specializing in helping disabled children and has become Disabled Living, “providing impartial information and advice about products, equipment (assistive technology) and services for disabled adults, children, older people, carers and the professionals” thus “people to maintain independence and improve the quality of their life, and that of their family”. ***
 |
| 1985-86 |
And of these it is the Together Trust which interests me most. This is partly because they originated in Manchester where I live, and stopped migrating children in 1914 long before most charities but also because their work today helps explain the developing transformation of care for “looked after children and young adults”.****
Added to which they have commissioned me to write their history to coincide with their 150th anniversary in 2020 but we won’t pursue that bit of personal self interest..
During the last fifty years, the thinking behind how services for children and young adults should be delivered has undergone changes.
Care homes have become less institutionalized and smaller, recognising the commitment to more intimate family units. At the same time there have been moves to integrate disabled children into mainstream schools.
 |
| 1957 |
And if that sounds a bit jargon loaded it is, but together those changes have had profound effects. In some cases they have led to the Together Trust moving away from activities it had once done while developing new ones.
 |
| 1984-85 |
And in that respect points to the continued role of charities in this area, particularly in the light of cash strapped local authorities and perhaps the withdrawal of the private sector from some aspects of this work.
We shall see.
Location; Britain
Pictures; courtesy of the Together Trust, 1902-1986
* New Lives for Old The Story of Britain’s Home Children, Janet Sacks and Roger Kershaw, 2002
** British Home Children in Canada, http://canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com/historical-books.html
*** “The best single test of any civilisation is the way in which children are treated” ...... the continuing story, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/the-best-single-test-of-any.html
& The Partnership..... “it shall be the duty of the local authority to receive the child into their care”, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/the-partnership-it-shall-be-duty-of.html
**** Disabled Living, http://www.disabledliving.co.uk/about-us/history/
****The Together Trust, https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/ Started as the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuge, became the Boys’ And Girls’ welfare Society and is now called the Together Trust
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