Her parents, Alfred George and Emily Kathleen Langridge were Methodists and keen on reading.

Her family believed in working for their community but it was at Barbara's prompting that she gained an adopted sister who was a Jewish girl escaping persecution in Europe.

[1] Kahan studied English literature at Newnham College, Cambridge between 1939 and 1942,[2] where she was active in politics.

[3] The Pindown Inquiry was launched by Staffordshire County Council to investigate an aggressive behaviour management policy of children in their care.

[4] The inquiry, the first into residential care, led to the Quality Protects initiative, launched by the Department of Health in 1998, which sought to improve a range of childcare services.