Description:This photograph shows children having tea with their home ‘mother’ at Erdington Cottage Homes in the mid twentieth century. Life with a new family was documented in different ways by the homes to record how children got on in their ‘new life’, be it with a foster family, as in Middlemore or in a Children’s home, like the Cottage Homes. It is interesting to think about how this was recorded at different time and what impression of the new life the photographer wanted to give.
Questions to think about: How does this photo make you feel? Would you know this is taken in a children’s home? How is this photo different to the photos of children in the sports day photo or the shoe making workshop? Do you think this photo is older or more recent than the workshop and sports day photos? How do you think Children’s Homes changed over time in the city?