A generous gift of £750,000 from service retailer Timpson Ltd will be used to fund a new research programme at the REES Centre for Research in Fostering and Education.
The REES Centre is based in the University of Oxford's Department for Education, and aims to make a difference to the life chances of children and young people currently in foster care, as well as those who have previously been in care. It is renowned for the quality of its research, and for the impact that its findings have had on helping vulnerable children and young people.
The gift will be released over the course of a five-year period, and will be used to establish the Timpson Attachment Programme, a research programme focused on attachment awareness. Attachment is an important concept in the care system, and draws on the theory that a strong emotional and physical attachment to at least one primary caregiver is critical to a child's personal development.
Judy Sebba, Professor of Fostering and Education and Director of the REES Centre, says: 'The generosity of Timpson Ltd in supporting attachment awareness research in schools across England will contribute to a step-change in our understanding of how vulnerable young people, including those in care, can be better supported to learn and will benefit thousands of children and young people.'
John Timpson, Chairman of Timpson Ltd, commenting on the research says: 'Understanding about attachment was a light bulb moment which helped my wife, Alex, and I really understand how to look after looked after children. I hope this research will help to develop the care they receive at school.' In addition to having three children of their own and adopting two more, John and his late wife Alex fostered 90 children.