The History of Care

Theo is a Young Producer who is care-experienced.

In 2024, Theo met with English Heritage historians to begin a research project, exploring the history of care and how it relates to English Heritage properties.

With historical consultancy from Dr Kate Gibson of Manchester University, Theo researched and wrote four articles for the Shout Out Loud blog:

Explores the history of care through stories connected to three English Heritage sites—Framlingham Castle, Wrest Park and Eltham Palace, showing how children experienced different forms of care across time.

Looks at how the definition and experience of children in care have changed from medieval times to the present, highlighting the growing role of the state and legislation.

Uses the Red House workhouse at Framlingham Castle as a case study to show how children were cared for through early institutional systems and workhouse schemes.

Examines how gender has influenced experiences of care across history and today, affecting placement types, roles, and outcomes.

 

Located on the site of the former Foundling Hospital, the Foundling Museum explores the history of the UK’s first children’s charity, telling a wider story about the development of institutional care for vulnerable children over the past two hundred years.

The Foundling Museum runs a traineeship called Tracing our Tales, a training programme to develop creative skills and confidence for care-experienced young people aged 18-29.

 

Theo spoke to the group about the inspiration for his research project, and shared the learning and process of writing his blogs.The group got to work creating their zine (or visual guide) to bring the terminology to life.

Each young person created a collage, using images, art and pictures inspired by the word they had chosen and what it meant to them.

Theo creating the page for his zine

Creating the zine