From Contact to Connection: Navigating Culture Change in Adoption Practice

Who this is for

Adoption practitioners and managers (Voluntary Adoption Agencies, Regional Adoption Agencies, Local Authorities, and independent social workers), children’s social care services, children and family social workers, foster carers, kinship carers, designated teachers, and other professionals working with children and families.

Details

Adoption practice is changing. Adoption England has made cultural change a key priority, making it essential to update how adopted children keep safe, meaningful connections with their birth families and other important people.

Global research consistently shows that preserving links to a child’s birth history is highly positive. These connections are vital for adopted and care-experienced people as they form their identity and transition to independence. Failing to maintain these links can cause identity struggles, unanswered questions about heritage and medical history, and emotional difficulties during major life events.

This expert-led session will give social workers and managers the tools to create effective, ongoing relationship plans that align with this new cultural standard.

What We Cover:

• New Legal Directives: An in-depth analysis of the November 2023 Public Law Working Group report and its major recommended changes to post-adoption contact arrangements.
• Key Case Law: Reviewing recent, high-profile appeal cases that are reshaping how judges approach post-adoption contact.
• Practical Application: How to use existing legal provisions, specifically Sections 26 and 51 of the Adoption and Children Act, to establish more inclusive and effective contact practices.
• Translating Research: Examining the latest international research and its direct impact on policy and practice implementation.

Make sure your practice reflects the new standard for safe, meaningful, and future-focused connections.

Learning 0utcomes

• Understand the importance of maintaining relationships for children placed for adoption, and the long-term impact on identity, emotional well-being, and access to heritage.
• Recognise the risks associated with loss of connection, including identity struggles, lack of medical history, and disrupted sibling relationships.
• Explore the strategic priority of culture change in adoption, as outlined by Adoption England, and its implications for practice.
• Examine the legal framework—specifically Sections 26 and 51 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002—and how these provisions can support meaningful post-adoption contact.
• Analyze recent developments in adoption law and policy, including the 2023 Public Law Working Group report and subsequent case law.
• Apply insights from current research to inform planning, decision-making, and support for children and families in adoption contexts.

About the trainers

Dr. Beverley Barnett Jones MBE

Dr Beverley Barnett-Jones H.C. MBE is a qualified registered social worker. She has worked with children and families for over 30 years, 29 of these as a qualified social worker. Beverley has been in the frontline of Children’s Social care undertaking a variety of social work practice and management roles in Local Authority and Family Court Settings. She was a member of the FDAC (Family Drug and Alcohol Court) partnership.

In 2023 she was invited to become an Advisor to the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. She is a Trustee for the Charity Kinship. She is currently the Associate Director for the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, (the Nuffield FJO), which produces research and data to improve outcomes for children and families going through the family courts. She led on the Observatory’s modernizing Adoption work and continues to support initiatives such as the Black adoption Project which seeks to address the racial disparities that exist in Adoption.

Beverley holds an Honorary Doctorate of the University of Essex and the NHS Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust in recognition of for her work in child protection, family justice and in setting up and promoting the FAMILY Drug & Alcohol Court in the UK. She will be retiring from her role as AD at the NFJO at end of 2025 and will be opening her own small consultancy specialising in family justice and children’s social care.

Vicky Swift

Vicky is a qualified social worker who joined the Adoption England national team in June 2022. Vicky is skilled in working with vulnerable children and families and is committed to promoting the experiences and voices of birth families and relationships important to children pre- adoption. Vicky leads the strategic priority of maintaining relationship, focused on finding ways for adopted children to have safe and meaningful relationships with the people who were important to them pre- adoption.

Vicky is passionate about exploring new ways of modernizing adoption and the way that adopted people maintain links and connections to their birth identity. She works on several projects with adoption agencies and partners looking at improving services for birth relatives and adopted people’s experiences of accessing their records and post adoption support. Vicky says- “I really feel passionate about listening to the voices of people who experience services to drive forward the change we hope to achieve.”

Instructions

A member of staff will be in touch with attendees one week prior to the event to share a pre-event delegate pack.

If you have any questions regarding this webinar, please contact us at [email protected]. We will aim to answer your query within two working days.

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