Please also refer to our Quick Links webpage for recommended websites for trauma and attachment resources and services.
Adoption UK is the leading charity providing support, community and advocacy for all those parenting or supporting children who cannot live with their birth parents. The Adoption UK website is full of useful information, downloads and resource links for schools and parents. They have also recently published a set of information leaflets designed for parents and education settings to support with transitioning children.
Adoption Partnership South East (APSE) have produced two really useful guides. The first is a Guide to Adoption Support for Children and Young People explaining about the APSE service, information on participation days and groups for young people they may be interested in joining. The other guide is for parents, explaining the APSE service for post adoption. It contains many links to resources, training and further reading, covering a range of relevant topics for parents of adopted children.
The Adoptables School Toolkit - Register for the toolkit
Created by adopted young people aged 13 to 25 with specialist educators from Coram Life Education. It explores the issues highlighted by the young people as particularly sensitive or challenging, such as friendships, relationships, family, certain lesson topics, and also what they would like teachers to know.
The Toolkit involved consultation with teachers and is matched to PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) Association Learning Opportunities within the areas Relationships, Living in the Wider World and Health and Wellbeing. It comprises two separate resources, one aimed at those teaching Key Stage 2 pupils (aged from nine to 11) and one for those teaching Key Stage 3 students (aged from 11 to 14).
The Toolkit canters around a collection of fun interactive lesson plans alongside creative short films which help students understand what it’s like to be adopted and how adopted young people can feel at school. For Key Stage 3 students the Toolkit can also include the participation of a peer educator who is part of the Adoptables network.
Responses to the pilot sessions of the Schools Toolkit have been very positive with 95% of Key Stage 3 class participants rating it good or very good and all teachers strongly agreeing that the pupils engaged well with the session and the content was appropriate.
First 4 Adoption is the national information service for people interested in adopting a child in England. The First 4 Adoption website is a good source of information for Pupil Premium Funding and educational links.
Kinship is a leading care charity dedicated solely to supporting kinship families across England and Wales and the Kinship website provides online advice and information guides. They work closely with the Government to influence national and local policy making and are working with the Department for Education to develop a training and support programme for kinship carers.
Kinship Compass is an independent information hub for all kinship carers. The Kinship Compass website is packed with resources and free training for kinship carers, ranging from webinars around education topics such as understanding the EHCP and SEND processes to online advice on allowances, mental health, legal help and bereavement support.
PAC-UK is the ‘country’s largest independent Adoption Support Agency with an Education Service working with children, parents and schools to improve the educational experience of previously LAC/adopted children.’ The PAC-UK website has a vast array for educational resources.
PAC-UK Special Guardianship Support Service website provides comprehensive and up to date information, guidance and support for special guardians. The membership is free to all special guardains and Kent professionals and offers a dedicated website containing comprehensive and up to date information and guidance, downloadable resouces and signposting to other sources of support. They also offer a specialist Advice Line and Education Advice Line staffed by qualified and experienced PAC-UK counsellors who can provide advice and information on all aspects of special guardianship.
Recommended Books and Classroom Resources
The diverse nature of today’s family structures means that schools need to be inclusive to all types of families as well as providing education as to the importance of social acceptance.
There is a vast array of books and classroom resources for all age groups. These can be used, not only in PSHE lessons, but across the curriculum.
The lists below are a good starting point, but there are many more available.