Digital storage keeps children’s memories safe

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Virtual Memory Box is an innovative digital solution that enables children and young people in care and care-leavers to safely store their precious memories online.

The project was designed in response to research that found care-experienced young people could have had their possessions misplaced, damaged or stolen over the course of multiple placements.

The findings from the study carried out by South Tyneside Council suggested ways in which technology could help address these issues that specifically affect children in care.

“There were care-experienced adults who said they had large gaps in their knowledge from their time in care – and the state of their physical memory boxes meant they really didn’t have much to show for it,” explains Christian Brock, managing director of Virtual Memory Box.

“They were then trying to get in touch with local authorities to understand how to get their memories back, but that was difficult as social workers and foster carers had moved on.”

He describes hearing “heartbreaking” stories from children and young people in care who had been left with few or, in the case of one young person, no photographic memories of their parents.

“One young lad lost his dad and during one of the moves, he’d then lost the only picture he had of him,” recalls Brock. “It’s hard to imagine the impact that would have had on his life.”

Since its launch more than two years ago with funding from the Department for Education, Virtual Memory Box has gone on to become a standalone limited company headed by Brock.

It is still supported by Nebula Labs, whose chief executive officer Dylan McKee was involved from the beginning and built the original platform. He remains as co-founder and technical lead for Virtual Memory Box Ltd.

Brock says projections for the end of the year are to have 25 local authorities involved and around 15,000 children and young people using the platform.

McKee explains how a decision was made early on to make Virtual Memory Box a web-based solution that can be accessed via a browser.

“It means you can use it on any mobile phone, laptop or tablet,” says McKee. “One of the reasons for that came from the research we did with South Tyneside that focused on the demographic in the North East.

“We found a lot of people were using shared computers, with some in positions of digital poverty, so we didn’t want to create an app that forced them to download something onto their phone.”

Brock adds that the wide age range of users was another important consideration.

“We have people from the age of five all the way up to carers in their 70s, so we needed it to be a simple solution that people could embrace,” he explains.

Various forms of content can easily be uploaded to each user’s memory box including photographs as well as audio and video recordings.

Brock says the platform will not allow users to delete material either intentionally or accidentally, with a “soft delete” option that allows content to be hidden temporarily.

He adds: “We realise that it can be an emotional rollercoaster for children and young people and they might want to get rid of things that they could regret further down the line. So, there’s an option for them to send feedback to say they don’t want to see a particular memory right now.”

McKee says content on the platform is secure – it passed with “flying colours” after being tested by “ethical hackers” – and is hosted on the same cloud system used by government departments such as HM Revenue and Customs.

Each user is given their own login which is subject to a two-factor authentication – a code is generated and emailed to them – when accessing the site.

Younger children who are not old enough to have their own email address can use a foster parent’s email address where authentication codes can be sent, explains McKee.

Brock says the platform has been designed to facilitate “unlimited users with unlimited storage” to ensure children and young people are not forced to leave anyone out.

“Ultimately there’s going to be more children coming into care over the next 10 years and if there’s more adults in a child’s life, it’s got to be a good thing,” he says. “They can have as many people as they want on the platform.”

For local authorities like Blackpool that have recently launched Virtual Memory Box, it will be made available to more than 500 children in care and nearly 400 care-experienced young people.

Rachel Barnes, Blackpool’s head of children’s services, says the platform complements the council’s life story policy and its aspirations for children and young people in care.

“It’s about how you can store memories in different ways and uploading audio and video clips that allow children to hear voices of people that have meant something to them in the past is incredibly powerful,” she says.

Another function of the site allows users to tag memories geographically, she adds.

“It helps give our children a sense of where they moved and how different memories interact with each other,” explains Barnes.

“There’s also the ability to comment on a memory that’s been uploaded which has been positively received.”

Impact

In terms of measuring the future impact of Virtual Memory Box, Blackpool says it will monitor the ways and frequency its children and young people access the platform.

“They don’t need a professional now to help them access their records – they can see them whenever they want,” says Sara McCartan, Blackpool’s head of adolescent services. “So take-up and feedback from young people will be key.”

She is keen that the authority continues to develop the platform in conjunction with its children and young people.

“So much work has already gone into co-production and Virtual Memory Box has been so open to the suggestions that have been made by our young people,” McCartan explains.

“We would like to see more things like celebration photos and certificates – achievements that will support them into their adulthood. We’re looking forward to what we see next.”

Read CYP Now's Special Report on Digital Solutions in Children's Services here.