We are stoked to now be entering our Terrific Twos! It’s two years since Virtual Memory Box Limited was set up – and what a journey it has been so far.
Our mission is to give all children in care across England their own Virtual Memory Box so they have a safe, secure space to store precious memories. We knew we were being ambitious when we started but we’re proud to already be heading well on our way to achieving this, milestones reached so far include:
💚 Now working with 14 local authorities so that over 16,000 children, young people and care leavers can access their own Virtual Memory Box across the country. In addition, each VMB is used by the carers, social workers, family time workers, independent reviewing officers, residential staff, SEND professionals, education teams, and other adults in their lives.
💙 Positive feedback about the impact VMB has, including from local authorities and Ofsted. North Tyneside’s Ofsted report 2025 said, “A significant number of children in care now have digital life-story books. These are beautifully presented, interactive and engaging, easily accessible to the child. Family members and professionals working with the child can input into the child’s life story, but with strict security firewalls which prevent any information being uploaded to the child’s record unless reviewed and signed off by the child’s social worker. This innovative work helps children to accept and integrate their past, make sense of their present, and develop a clear sense of identity for children’s futures.”
💛 Developing VMB to also support communication between adopted young people and their birth families – we are piloting a bespoke version of VMB with Adopt North East before rolling it out to other regional adoption agencies.
🩷 Building positive relationships with others as well as our local authority partners, including Adoption England, Creative Life Story Work, Blue Cabin, Care Leavers Covenant, and others involved in making life better for children and young people in care, and leaving care.
💜 Gaining coverage in the media including the BBC, and being awarded Highly Commended in the Tech for Good category at the 2024 Dynamites Awards – this all helps us highlight the issues children and young people in care face to a much wider audience.
And we have only just got started – we are so excited about where we are going on this journey. With firm foundations in place, positive partnerships, and a great team, we are focusing on expanding and scaling up to reach even more children and young people – and confident we will be helping change the lives of even more children and young people in the next two years.
