We understand how important post-adoption support is and as a partnership offer a comprehensive range of services and training to help our adopters and children at every stage of their journey.
We offer a suite of free, regular, online and in-person training to ensure our adopters are supported throughout their journey. If you are adopting/have adopted with any of the Family Adoption Links partners or adopted elsewhere 3 or more years ago and live within Leicestershire, Leicester, North Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, Rutland or Northamptonshire, you can book onto any of these courses…
In addition, if you require more bespoke training, we can arrange an Assessment of Needs, source expert practitioners, and manage your application to the Adoption Support Fund.
If you feel you need support, please follow these simple steps…
Thanks to the skillset of the Family Adoption Links team, we may be able to provide some of the therapeutic support you may need, this could include Theraplay, Play Therapy and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP).
Got a question? A problem? Or just need some advice? Then please get in touch using the details below. We can help in the following areas…
(Telephone lines – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10am – 2pm)
(Telephone lines – Wednesday, 9am – 12 noon)
This gives you an overview of the support that all adopters in the UK are entitled to. Take a look to make sure you're benefitting from everything available to you.
The Adoption Passport - children
If your child is 2, they can enjoy a free Early Years education place. Find out more here.
When they are aged 3-4, their Early Years education provider can access the Early Years Pupil Premium Support which is an additional £302 of funding per year which can be used to enhance your child’s learning.
When it’s time to go to school, you’ll be pleased to know that you get priority access meaning your child should be able to attend whichever school best meets their needs. Guidance to school admission authorities can be found here.
Educational Support
Some adopted children require additional support in school to help them thrive. If you think your child needs this, please get in touch and we can provide an Assessment of Needs. Likewise, if you think your child may have special educational needs we can also assess for this too.
The Education Passport
Have you seen the Education Passport?
We developed this as a communication tool designed to be parent-led, enabling you to facilitate communication between home and school, with specific focus on the following;
The Adoption Passport – adopters
When you adopt a child, you may be entitled to adoption leave and pay (this is very similar to maternity/paternity leave and pay). This also includes the right to time off during the introduction period before they move in with you. Find out more.
Adopters may be given priority for council housing. If you are living in council housing and claiming Housing Benefit or Universal Credit while waiting for a child to move in, you can also apply for funding (Discretionary Housing Payments) so that you are not penalised financially while you have an empty spare room. Find out more.
A Life Story Book
Every adopted child is entitled to a Life Story Book, an invaluable resource to help them make sense of their past history. Find out more.
Finally, when you adopt your child, you will be given a summary of your child’s health from his/her local authority’s Medical Adviser.
We contacted Social Services again after six years when we were experiencing some difficulties with the children. Ringing up felt a bit like having failed. But if we hadn't sought the support when we requested it our son would not have got what he needed.
Thrive - the adoption support newsletter
Events for adopters and their children
Creating networks where our adopters and adoptive children can meet others in the same situation is incredibly beneficial. Shared experiences, the opportunity to talk and most importantly having fun together are the objectives of our events. See what’s on in your area.
Online Support Groups
Sometimes the best support and advice come from those who are in similar situations, with this in mind, we’d like to invite you to join our online support groups. Taking place every month between 8 and 9pm, we’ll be discussing different subjects (see below) and inviting participants to share their experience and advice. Simply send us an email and we’ll send you the link to the meeting.
| 27/3 | ‘Cherishing your nearest and dearest ‘, Your adult relationships and how to care for them |
| 24/4 | ‘Playfulness’, How can we grow in being playful without being sarcastic? |
| 29/5 | ‘Acceptance’, How do we balance accepting where our child is at, with aspiring for more for/better from them? |
| 26/6 | ‘Curiosity’, Keeping conversations about feelings and hopes and fears going with our child across the ages |
Mental health referrals
If you feel your child is struggling with their mental health, we can assist with this by providing a referral to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services). Your GP can also provide this service. Please contact the advice service in the first instance.
Essential Resource Hub
There are a wealth of resources available to adopters so we’ve trawled the internet and brought them all onto one page – see it here.
