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

The impact of adoption is lifelong, and many adult adoptees experience difficulties in getting the right support at the right time. Over the last few years, there has been increasing awareness of the importance of appropriate support throughout adulthood, however, this is an area that is still often overlooked.

This session will explore emotional well-being through the eyes of adult adoptees, what the needs are, and provide some of the research and theory behind the importance of lifelong support.

This webinar will allow practitioners working in the Adoption field to enhance their knowledge and explore ways to offer meaningful support.

Learning 0utcomes

• To understand the reasons why specialised support is needed for adults.

• Hearing from speakers with lived experience to understand the importance of peer support and a sense of community amongst adoptees.

• To give some practical suggestions around supporting adults.

About the trainers

Dr Hannah Ryan

Clinical Psychologist & PATH Clinician at Adoption UK Hannah is a Clinical Psychologist with Adoption UK. There, she is a clinical lead for the Adults Affected by Adoption Pathway. On behalf of AUK, she co-facilitates a pilot project in Wales, supporting adult adoptees and first/birth parents affected by historic adoptions (pre-1976) to access therapy and peer support, whilst access to records and intermediary work is provided by a partner organisation. As well as her direct work with adults affected by adoption, she also provides educational and therapeutic parenting support to adoptive parents. She feels passionately about adult adoptees and first/birth parents having better access to adoption-experienced and trauma-informed therapeutic services.

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.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.

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

This is an interactive practice webinar to help support professionals working with families who are approaching, or are in, blocked care. This course helps supporting professionals to identify blocked care, understand how and why it happens as well as discuss how we can overcome it and help people reconnect to the children they are caring for.

This was a really clear and helpful overview of the subject, with useful strategies which I can use in practice.

The trainer, Lisa Biggs at Adoption Focus, will look at factors that can increase a person’s chances of experiencing blocked care, the changes that happen in a person’s body and brain when they experience blocked care and offer strategies to help protect our parents and carers from experiencing blocked care as well as support them to move through it to a place where they can connect with feelings of compassion for the child / children they are caring for.

Lisa got the balance right between providing info and giving participants time in break out rooms to discuss and reflect on what they had heard…Very well paced training. Thought provoking and lots of practical strategies to try.

The course will also explore the potential impact on professionals of supporting families who are struggling, especially where there is actual or likely disruption.

Learning 0utcomes

• To understand why blocked care / compassion fatigue happens
• To explore how blocked care / compassion fatigue presents
• To discuss strategies to support people who are in or are approaching blocked care / compassion fatigue
• To provide support for professionals who are working with those who are experiencing blocked care / compassion fatigue

About the trainer

Lisa Biggs

Lisa is a Training Officer and Post Adoption Support Worker at Adoption Focus. She joined Adoption Focus in 2022 and prior to that has 15 years’ experience of supporting vulnerable children and their families within educational settings. She is also an adoptive mother.

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.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.

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

Learning outcomes

• Understand the numbers by considering the prevalence and diversity of single adopters in the UK.
• Explore recruitment opportunities and barriers for single adopters, considering agency and practitioner attitudes and myth busters.
• Increase practitioner confidence in the assessment and preparation of single adopters consider the challenges and diversity issues specific to single adopters
• Increase practitioner confidence in providing Post-approval support to single adopters, including managing transitions, and the use of family network meetings in consolidating support for adopters.
• Learn from the Felt experience of single adopters, reflect on the emergence of adopter- led support groups for single adopters (presented by a single adopter).

About the trainers

Mahongo Shibemba 

Mahongo has been a social worker for over 30 years, working in voluntary and statutory services. She is currently Adoption Support Team Manager at Adopters for Adoption and has worked in Adoption Services for 10 years. For many years, Mahongo worked in local authority Children’s Services, in various roles including as locality service manager with oversight of permanence planning and children with disabilities.

Penny Rowntree

Penny has been a social worker for over 30 years, working with children and families and often in the area of adoption either as the child’s or adopter’s social worker. Since qualifying she has worked for Durham LA, The Catholic Children’s Society and as an Independent Social Worker. She qualified as a play therapist in 1999 and has worked in and managed a therapeutic social work team, held a role developing mental health services for Care Experienced children and young people as part of the CAMHS Strategy and set up play therapy and schools counselling services across several London Boroughs. She has worked with AFA since it’s inception 2015

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.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.

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

Mentalization allows parents to make sense of both their own and child’s internal states and can play a crucial role in understanding and supporting a child. Children can learn to mentalize through interaction with a caregiver who is able to take an interest in them, understanding their internal states and reactions.

Using mentalizing tools in adoption assessments supports practitioners to assess prospective adopter’s capacity to support and understand a child who has experienced early adversity.

This webinar provides a short introduction to understanding mentalization concepts and then the application of these to assessment practice. Using mentalization questions can help identify how prospective adopters make sense of their own childhoods. Blocks to mentalizing can be fear, anger and shame, taking a mentalization focus can support practitioners to explore this. Mentalizing tools can enable prospective adopters to think about their own expectations of parenthood, whilst allowing them to contemplate the impact their own experience of childhood has had on them.

The speakers use case studies to bring alive mentalization ideas and principles, discuss how to use mentalizing questions to inform adoption assessments and supervision and to support prospective adopters to be able to mentalize.

Learning 0utcomes

• Have a basic understanding of mentalization
• Understand the value of this framework within the adoption setting
• Feel confident applying the knowledge acquired about mentalization in interactions and discussions with adopters.
• Feel confident in the use of the mentalization based tools in assessments of adopters.
• To be able to apply the learning from this session to the overall understanding and analysis of adoption suitability and
necesssary support.

About the trainers

Dr Polly Cowan

Polly works as a part-time Practice Manager in a VAA and has a research interest in adoption, her PhD research was on adoption breakdown. Using mentalization in adoption assessment is a practice focus for her. Recent publications have been around eating behaviors in care experienced children and young people. She is as associate tutor at the University of Stirling. She sits as a tribunal member for the Additional Support Needs Tribunal in Scotland.

Dr Alice Loving

Alice has worked within the field of Child Protection for fourteen years, working directly supporting families in the community and within a mother and baby residential setting. She completed her PhD within the Social Care department at Royal Holloway University, which focused on exploring influencing factors on the outcomes for parents working with social services.  She delivers training on ‘Applying Attachment, Trauma and Mentalization based principles in social work practice’, to social care practitioners within the UK and Ireland. She is passionate about improving the teaching and training of social workers to better prepare them for relationship-based practice that facilitates more positive outcomes for families.She has published work in the Child and Family Social Work and Children England journals. Her most recent publications include a chapter titled ‘Working with cases of neglect and emotional abuse,’ featured in ‘Child Protection and the Care Continuum’. She has recently produced a practice guide titled ‘Attachment Trauma and Parenting’, commissioned by Community Care.

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.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.

Who this is for

Intermediaries, adoption practitioners and managers (Voluntary Adoption Agencies, Regional Adoption Agencies, Local Authorities, and independent social workers)

Details

“Intermediary.” One word to describe such a massive event! The bringing together of parents and their adult children and their siblings, mostly separated from very young, in a way that  supports all their high emotions, wants and fears and can hope to build for a future relationship. No wonder it’s a glorious minefield of uncertainty, legality, best practice, individual experience and big complex emotions. Its not all Long Lost Family…

It was a great session and would definitely recommend to my colleagues. Thanks so much!

Through personal testimony from adopted people and birth relatives, clear and precise examination of practice and the law, case studies and discussion we’ll look at the differing perspectives involved, the  legal framework and changes to it, the challenges and risks of intermediary with historic and contemporary adoption and making contact, mediation and building relationships.

It was an excellent mix between direct teaching and opportunity to share practice.

Learning outcomes

• Understand the differing perspectives and needs of adoptees, birth family and adoptive family in intermediary
• Understand the legal framework governing intermediary and changes over the years including Pre and Post Commencement and Descendants of Adopted people.
• Best practice in support, making contact, mediating , reunion and building relationships
• Risks and safeguarding in historic and modern adoption
• Intermediary in a digital world of social media and DNA

About the trainers

Mike Hancock 

Mike is the National Strategic Lead and Head of Adult Services (Leeds) at PAC-UK, supervising social workers and counsellors who work with birth relatives and adopted adults. Mike worked with contemporary birth parents for a number of years in Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and Halifax seeing them at community bases and at home. He has run groups for these service users as well as presenting training for professionals around adoption issues. Mike has a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling and is an accredited member of the BACP.

Emma Crowther – Duncan

Emma is the North Adult Services Regional Manager at PAC-UK. Emma has worked predominantly within Local Authorities including Derbyshire and Manchester as a Social worker and Senior Practitioner within Child Protection teams. Most recently Emma has worked with an adoption and permanence team progressing children’s adoption plans and preparing children for adoption which included life story work with children and birth parents. Emma has also worked as a Social Worker within a residential assessment centre undertaking court directed PAMs Assessments for parents with learning difficulties.

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.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.

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.

Learning outcomes

• To explore recruitment strategies
• To consider the tailoring of training for prospective and approved adopters
• To think about assessment tools we may be able to use
• To explore specific resources we may need to provide in adoption support

Sharing Yorkshire Adoption Agency (YAA) best practice regarding:

•  Tips for encouraging more prospective adopters to consider brothers and sisters e.g. the why not attitude we have in the team
•  Training support we use in YAA to support the above
•  Practical advice on supporting brother & sister placements such as our introduction and placement support offer
•  Examples of successful brother and sister placements

About the trainers

Leonie Hegedus

Leonie is an Assistant Director, qualified as a Social Worker in 2011 at Sheffield Hallam University, obtaining a BA (Hons) in Social Work Studies. Leonie is registered with Social Work England. She has eight years’ experience within the field of Child Protection, Care Proceedings, Children in Care and Adoption as a Child’s Social Worker. After initially being employed as an Adoption Social Worker at Yorkshire Adoption Agency, she has been with the team since October 2018 and was then a Team Manager between December 2019 to August 2022 before commencing her current role. Leonie is the lead on all social work operations at the agency, including being the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Leigh Smith

Leigh Smith is the Training Manager at Adoption Focus where she has worked since 2017. Before this, she worked in a Local Authority supporting children in care and an independent fostering agency supporting foster carers.

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.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.

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 and other professionals working with children and families.

Details

In this practice webinar, we will be exploring how we support our prospective adopters when they wish to adopt for the second time. As an adoption agency, this starts from the point of referral, into assessment, right through to supporting the placement itself.

During the webinar, we will uncover the nuances of adopting again and navigating the intricacies of a second adoption. Together we will learn effective strategies for nurturing a harmonious relationship among adopted siblings and we will learn to understand how to prepare an existing child for the arrival of an adopted sibling.

“Good quality of presentation, helpful slides, useful opportunities for discussion, enjoyed having the adopter’s input.” -Attendee, 2023

Donna and Ayesha will discuss navigating the challenges of transitions with another child in the family and will explore methods for completing life story work when your children’s backgrounds differ.

We will also explore the topic of keeping in touch arrangements with children’s birth relatives when they vary between adopted children.

“The trainers were open and honest about areas of learning and development of practice for them as an agency and they were approachable and relatable.” -Attendee, 2023

This webinar is essential for adoption professionals involved in the assessment processes. From understanding the dynamics of adopting again to practical tips on sibling relationships and transitioning, this session provides valuable knowledge to enrich your services.

Learning 0utcomes

• The rewards and challenges of adopting again
• Parenting adoption siblings
• Preparing their 1^st child for welcoming an adopted sibling
• Managing transitions with another child
• Completing life story work when their children’s backgrounds are different
• How to manage differing contact arrangements
• Learning from Serious case reviews of second-time adopters – themes and what to consider

About the trainers

Donna Mease

Donna is a highly skilled and experienced social worker specialising in supporting children and families through the transition into adoption. Donna is responsible for co-ordinating ARC’s Therapeutic Adoption Support Service and is trained in Theraplay; DDP and Therapeutic work with Looked After Children, including Therapuetic Life Story Work.  She leads a highly skilled and committed team to ensure ARC Adoption offers the best possible support tailored to the individual needs of children and their adoptive families.

Ayesha Foster

Ayesha has worked with children for over 25 years and started her career as a nursery nurse. She is a highly skilled social worker who is committed to improving outcomes for children and families involved in adoption. She transferred to the position of Social Work Assistant in a busy Children’s Team in Newcastle in 2001 where she was seconded to undertake a Master’s Degree in Social Work at Durham University. In July 2006 she then spent two years working within child protection, children in need and looked after children teams. Ayesha then moved to North Tyneside’s Adoption Team and completed focused work with adopters on concurrency and foster to adopt placements. During her time with the local authority, Ayesha continued her professional development and gained the PQ Specialist Child Care award in 2012. Ayesha joined ARC Adoption at its inception in 2014 and is proud of her contribution to the agency’s success.

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.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.

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

You will have an opportunity to learn what Adoption Focus are doing in terms of a specific aspect of this work, whilst at the same time having the opportunity to identify the situations you find most challenging and work in smaller groups to consider various solutions.

You will be able to hear from the latest research, practice and lived experience.

“Well paced seminar with good use of break out rooms to offer group discussion. Provided a lot of food for thought and ideas from other agencies sharing good practice.” – Attendee, 2021

You will be able to network with practitioners from other agencies, share best practice and glean new ideas.

“The presenter was very engaging and invited comments and questions as we went along. People shared their own ideas and were happy to share helpful resources.” – Attendee, 2023

Learning outcomes

• To consider the needs and experiences of older children awaiting adoption
• To think about what we need from prospective adopters for older children
• To discuss best practice

About the trainer

Lisa Biggs
Lisa is a Training Officer and Post Adoption Support Worker at Adoption Focus. She joined Adoption Focus in 2022 and prior to that has 15 years’ experience of supporting vulnerable children and their families within educational settings. She is also an adoptive mother.

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.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.

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

Adolescence can be a particularly challenging time for both adopted young people and their parents. It is a time when parents need not only a great deal of support emotionally, but also strategies to help them think about how to best support their young person.

“I loved the sharing of concrete strategies that I can take away and use with families I am working with. I also appreciated the knowledge and expertise of the facilitators” – Attendee, 2023

In this practice webinar, you will be able to learn from senior adoption practioners at Coram what they consider best practice in supporting young people entering adulthood. The adoption team at Coram has created a program based on the Ministry of Parenting’s parenting skills course, with additional content tailored specifically for families of adopted adolescents.

“The speakers were completely knowledgeable about their subject and were able to communicate this well. The round table discussions were a good opportunity to meet others and share practice ideas” – Attendee, 2023

Together with fellow adoption support colleagues, you will be able to explore their practice that has been informed by the families Coram had worked with over the years. You will spend some time on their reflections and how their learning can improve your practice going forward.

Learning 0utcomes

• a space to think about the extra challenges of adolescence for adopted young people
• strategies and ideas to hold in mind when working with adoptive parents with young people in adolescence
• practical takeaways to sufficiently support the families you work with
• reflecting on your own practice
• networking with adoption colleagues in the same/similar role

About the trainers

Annie Moser 

Annie is a senior social worker, working in the Adoption Support Team at Coram. Annie worked in the Recruitment and Assessment Team at Coram for many years before that, including at a time when cases were held throughout the whole adoption process. Annie qualified as a social worker in 1983, and worked in advice, support and counselling for young homeless people, an HIV health outreach team and as a hospital HIV/drugs social worker. Annie moved to Coram in the 1990s and have worked there since. Annie now works as the lead on parenting groups, and also focuses on education work, alongside case work with families.

Debbie Connolly

Debbie qualified as a social worker in the mid-1980s. Her first job was as a hospital social worker linking with the oncology, ante natal and maternity wards and a community child development team. Throughout the 1990s and since, Debbie has worked in the area of adoption- recruiting and assessing families, family finding for children and the matching and linking process. Debbie has worked specifically in adoption support work for the last 10 years. Alongside my work at Coram, Debbie also worked part-time for twelve years for The Post Adoption Centre as an Outreach Counsellor, working with birth parents, adopted people and adopters. Debbie now focuses at Coram on group work- the parenting groups, and a support group we have recently set up. Debbie has a specific interest in ‘Life- Story Talk’.

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.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.

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 and other professionals working with children and families.

Details

In this practice webinar, we will be exploring how we support our prospective adopters when they wish to adopt for the second time. As an adoption agency, this starts from the point of referral, into assessment, right through to supporting the placement itself.

During the webinar, we will uncover the nuances of adopting again and navigating the intricacies of a second adoption. Together we will learn effective strategies for nurturing a harmonious relationship among adopted siblings and we will learn to understand how to prepare an existing child for the arrival of an adopted sibling.

Donna and Ayesha will discuss navigating the challenges of transitions with another child in the family and will explore methods for completing life story work when your children’s backgrounds differ.

We will also explore the topic of keeping in touch arrangements with children’s birth relatives when they vary between adopted children.

This webinar is essential for adoption professionals involved in the assessment processes. From understanding the dynamics of adopting again to practical tips on sibling relationships and transitioning, this session provides valuable knowledge to enrich your services.

Learning 0utcomes

• The rewards and challenges of adopting again
• Parenting adoption siblings
• Preparing their 1^st child for welcoming an adopted sibling
• Managing transitions with another child
• Completing life story work when their children’s backgrounds are different
• How to manage differing contact arrangements
• Learning from Serious case reviews of second-time adopters – themes and what to consider

About the trainers

Donna Mease

Donna is a highly skilled and experienced social worker specialising in supporting children and families through the transition into adoption. Donna is responsible for co-ordinating ARC’s Therapeutic Adoption Support Service and is trained in Theraplay; DDP and Therapeutic work with Looked After Children, including Therapuetic Life Story Work.  She leads a highly skilled and committed team to ensure ARC Adoption offers the best possible support tailored to the individual needs of children and their adoptive families.

Ayesha Foster

Ayesha has worked with children for over 25 years and started her career as a nursery nurse. She is a highly skilled social worker who is committed to improving outcomes for children and families involved in adoption. She transferred to the position of Social Work Assistant in a busy Children’s Team in Newcastle in 2001 where she was seconded to undertake a Master’s Degree in Social Work at Durham University. In July 2006 she then spent two years working within child protection, children in need and looked after children teams. Ayesha then moved to North Tyneside’s Adoption Team and completed focused work with adopters on concurrency and foster to adopt placements. During her time with the local authority, Ayesha continued her professional development and gained the PQ Specialist Child Care award in 2012. Ayesha joined ARC Adoption at its inception in 2014 and is proud of her contribution to the agency’s success.

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.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.