The Chairman's message “The Royal Wanstead Children’s Foundation has been helping hundreds of needy children (more than 1,500 children over the past 35 years) whose lives and prospects have quite simply been transformed by boarding school. This 178-year-old charity works with other charities, and parents or guardians to help support vulnerable children at a wide range of schools throughout the UK.” Colin Morrison Chairman November 2006

• Be considered for many more of the children currently in the care of local authorities
  
• Become a factor in the search for solutions to the acute national shortage of foster carers. Many more working couples might be able to contemplate becoming foster parents for children who attend boarding school
  
• Generate a bipartisan political consensus that boarding schools are a valuable modern resource in a society of failing family units and erratic parenting; and that boarding should be substantially expanded after decades of decline.

The Foundation’s annual conference, public statements, lobbying, and participation in government and local government discussions supports our conviction that boarding schools need to survive and thrive. The DfES pathfinder scheme to place some local authority-supported children in boarding schools and the commitment to expand some state-maintained boarding are early signs of real progress in this campaign.

The thousands of children we have helped at the hundreds of boarding schools convince us that ‘welfare boarding’ helps ‘save’ children. More schools, more boarding places, and more resources - and not just for the vulnerable and needy children this Foundation seeks to help.

Boarding school is not suitable for all children, but all those concerned with child welfare should have a modern view and an open mind regarding what boarding can offer.

How other charities, trusts and foundations can work with us to help these children

The Royal Wanstead Children’s Foundation works with a range of other charities (some regularly, some on an ad hoc basis) to provide ‘syndicated’ financial support to pay boarding school fees. We would invite charities, trusts and foundations interested in this vital area of child welfare to contact us for informal discussions on how we might work together to support many more of the children who need us.

If you wish to discuss any aspect of the Agenda or ways in which we can work with other charities, trusts and foundations, please contact, in confidence:

Colin Morrison, Chairman, Royal Wanstead Children’s Foundation, Sandy Lane, Cobham, Surrey KT11 2ES.

morrisoncolin@gmail.com