Becoming Coram Hempsall’s

We think it was a perfect way to mark the start of our 25th year. Naturally, with any new beginning, there is a need to look back and to look forward in equal measure. 

Our idea way back in 1999 was to do what we could to support practitioners, providers, and local authorities with the challenges presented by the national childcare strategy, Sure Start, and the expansion of out of school childcare. We have seen enormous change in the sector since, and initiatives have come and gone, some good, some less so. Change is never easy, and its success depends upon multiple factors. We know, from the experience of our national implementation programmes, that we need the best quality data and evidence, accurate and credible information, the tools and resources to use, impact focused support, and targeted interventions where blocks and barriers present themselves. These activities typify how we have approached our work, and it always will. 

The relationship between government and childcare, and the funding of early education, has grown incrementally and exponentially since Sure Start was launched from the Coram Campus in 1997. We all continue to be asked to deliver on public policy to achieve across multiple outcomes: those being quality early education, reliable and available childcare for working parents, tackling disadvantage and inequalities, early identification and intervention, and the safeguarding of children. This is both a privilege and a moral responsibility. 

Since the early days of the work of Jack Tizard, the early childhood centre at Coram have worked hard to populate the evidence-base that has proven the value of our work, and its return on investment. As a result, the sector’s profile is without doubt the highest it has ever been – publicly, professionally, and politically. However, with that comes continuous and significant new challenges of workforce development and the needs of families and, as an organisation supporting the sector, to ensure that we have the scale and skills we need for the future. 

Over the past decade, we have built a shared understanding of how to bring about change with colleagues at Coram through joint projects and other collaborations.  Now, by joining the group, we have an even better prospect to find solutions to the problems faced by the sector and families, and to take practical steps to resolve them. The integration of Hempsall’s into the Coram Group holds enormous potential to enable us to grow further, to extend our capacity and reach, and to make even more difference to early years and childcare for all stakeholders. 

We all agree there is still plenty to do. We have the greatest of ambitions to adopt and implement approaches to achieve lasting change in the UK and across the world. Coram Hempsall’s mission will stay the same: to deliver change together in ways that open opportunity for children and families. What’s new for us will be the ability to engage with Coram’s extensive network of partners and play an even bigger part in the evolution of childcare and early education, which will be high on the agenda for government and policy makers in the months and years ahead.

James Hempsall is managing director, Coram Hempsall's