DUKE OF GLOUCESTER OPENS THE NEW CORAM CHILDREN’S LEGAL CENTRE
His Royal Highness was greeted by Coram Chief Executive Carol Homden, CCLC patron and barrister, Cherie Blair QC, CCLC’s Interim Director, Carolyn Regan and the Mayor of Camden Abdul Quadir, as he opened the new Coram Children's Legal Centre in Bloomsbury, North London.
His Royal Highness, the Duke of Gloucester has officially opened the Coram Children’s Legal Centre.
Coram Children’s Legal Centre (CCLC) was recently formed, following the amalgamation between specialist legal charity, The Children’s Legal Centre, and Coram.
The Duke was greeted by Coram Chief Executive Carol Homden, CCLC patron and barrister, Cherie Blair QC, CCLC’s Interim Director, Carolyn Regan and the Mayor of Camden Abdul Quadir.
His Royal Highness then took a tour of CCLC’s new premises, Gregory House, before meeting staff and unveiling a commemorative plaque, to formally open the offices, which are located on Coram’s campus in Bloomsbury.
Coram Children’s Legal Centre unites Coram’s social-work led expertise with the legal expertise of The Children’s Legal Centre, and will advance and promote the rights of children throughout the UK and beyond.
CCLC’s Interim Director, Carolyn Regan said, “This partnership will improve access to free legal support and representation, and its official opening represents another step forward for children. We are grateful and honoured that The Duke of Gloucester is marking this important day.”
Chief Executive of Coram, Carol Homden said, “Coram’s long history of providing intensive support to large numbers of children coupled with The CLC’s rights-based approach makes us both a stronger force in the UK and will help to extend our global reach – by working together we can really make a difference now and in the future.”
CCLC, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary, provides free legal advice and representation to children, young people, families, their carers and professionals. The national charity is staffed by lawyers and professionals who specialise in child, family and educational law. They work to ensure that children’s interests are represented at every level of the legal process and in the production of legislation both here in the UK and globally through the charity’s international projects. The charity hosts the Migrant Children’s Project and the Refugee Children’s Rights Project, influencing policy, carrying out strategic litigation and advising professionals working with migrant children.
Coram, founded in 1739 as the first children’s charity, provides intensive support to more than 15,000 children, young people and families each year, and reaches a further 800,000 school children through educational programmes. Coram’s specialist services include adoption, Coram Life Education, creative therapies and support for young people and families.
CLC has 38 staff working across two sites, in central London and Colchester, Essex. Coram’s Bloomsbury head office is now home to the London team, with its Essex legal practice and Child Law Advice Line continuing at its existing Colchester base in partnership with the University of Essex.
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Notes to editors
For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Rachel Jasper, Marketing and Communications Officer, on 020 7520 0427 or rachelj@coram.org.uk
Coram - www.coram.org.uk
Coram has been providing better chances for children since 1739, through adoption, education and a wide range of other programmes to support children and families.
This is not the first time Coram has amalgamated with another charity. In 2009, Coram successfully partnered with the charity Life Education, taking a 75 per cent membership stake in Life Education, but enabling the charity to retain its own identity and culture. Coram Life Education continues to go from strength to strength, benefitting from Coram’s infrastructure, financial and fundraising capacity and opportunities for joint project working.
Coram’s adoption service has one of the highest placement success rates in the country. The charity has been pioneering Concurrent Planning for more than 10 years, which involves close working with the courts to achieve consistent care for vulnerable children. Concurrent Planning involves babies being placed with specialist foster carers while their long-term future is being decided, so that babies who cannot return to their birth parents can be adopted by those foster carers, avoiding unnecessary and often traumatic disruption.
Coram Children’s Legal Centre - www.childrenslegalcentre.com
Coram Children's Legal Centre (C CLC) is an independent national charity concerned with law and policy affecting children and young people. CCLC provides legal advice and representation to children, young people, their carers and professionals throughout the UK.
CCLC opened in 1981 and is staffed by lawyers and professionals with experience in child, family and education law. We are funded by grants from central Government and charitable trusts.
CCLC provides the following services:
FREE legal advice online: www.childrenslegalcentre.com
FREE Child Law Advice Line: 08088 020 008
- Family and children's legal advice and representation
- Education legal advice and representation
- International consultancy (we host the Children and Armed Conflict Unit –a joint project with the Human Rights Centre, University of Essex)
- Expert publications for professionals
- Legal policy and research
- Migrant Children's Project
- Refugee Children’s Rights Project (a partnership with Islington Law Centre)
Child Protection project – a new bespoke source of tailored information and legal advice for professionals and not-for-profit organisations
