(At Groundwork)
63-75 Duncairn Gardens
Belfast
BT15 2GB
Office: 028 9077 5211
Helpline: 028 9009 9118
www.adoptionuk.org
NEWSLETTER MAY2016
• welcome from Stephen McVey & Priscilla McLoughlin
• teens and parents group
• Queen’s University – post adoption contact research
• let’s learn together training
• help us understand more about adoption by foster carers
• could you be an adoption panel member?
• support group dates
• getting ready for placement training
• family day invitation to Spruce Meadows Adventure Farm
• TESSA – questions & answers
TEENS AND PARENTS GROUP
Hello!
I am delighted to report that following advertising and
interview Priscilla McLoughlin has been confirmed as
Director for N.Ireland and will be job sharing for a
period with me. Priscilla brings a vast array of skills
and experience to the organisation and I am sure the
future of Adoption UK in NI is in safe hands.
The move into our new offices has been completed
and can I take the opportunity to thank the N.I. team
for all their hard work. Please feel free to drop in at
anytime.
As the summer approaches we are busy planning
activities. You will find attached dates for our
forthcoming family event and support groups which I
hope many of you can attend. Please feel free to talk
to our team with any ideas for future events and topics
for the groups.
We are grateful for contributions/donations received
from some of our members. Unfortunately we do not
receive any government funding for our family events.
For those members who would like to support us
through fund-raising events, sponsored walk or coffee
mornings or whatever, please be assured that every
pound raised will be used in N.I to fund the activities.
Stephen
A few words from Priscilla McLoughlin
My thanks to Stephen and the team in Belfast for the
warm welcome you have given me. I’m very pleased to
have the opportunity to work directly with adoptive
families and have already learnt so much since I joined
Adoption UK in December. I have particularly enjoyed
visiting some of the support groups and I look forward
to attending further meetings planned for May and
June. A very sincere thank you to all our group coordinators for the amazing job you do. I look forward to
meeting with you all later in the month when we get
together to plan next year’s programme of events.
This group of teenagers (or almost teens) and their
parents met recently at Belfast Activity Centre for an
afternoon of conversation and activity. It has to be said
that the young people were the active ones taking part
in team games and rising to the challenge of high
climbs and the Leap of Faith, while their parents
enjoyed the comforts of Malone House tea-room. The
event was a little out of the ordinary for the group –
two researchers, Dominic and Montse from Queens
University, Belfast joined us to talk about their ongoing study ‘Care Pathways and Outcomes’. This
study follows a group of children who were in care in
Northern Ireland on 31st March 2000. Some of these
children, now aged 17 to 22, went on to be adopted.
The research team consulted first our group of
adopted teenagers and then their parents on the
methodology of the latest phase of the study.
It was a great opportunity for frank discussion about
adoption issues and both children and parents gave
the researchers a lot of food for thought.
Our Teens and Parents group meets three or four
times a year. If you are interested in joining us, get on
the mailing list – contact
[email protected]
The Care Pathways research team need parents and
adopted young people to join their parent and young
people’s advisory groups. If you are interested and
would like to know more, please contact Montserrat
Fargas [email protected] or
[email protected]
And, for more information on the study, log on to:
http://blogs.qub.ac.uk/pathways/2016/04/14/whatdoes-formal-education-mean-for-care-experiencedyoung-people/
If you have any suggestions for topics you would like
the support groups to cover, we’d love to hear your
ideas.
Priscilla
Let’s Learn Together Training
.
Understanding the nature and extent of post
adoption contact in NI and the associated
support needs of adoptive families.
In our last newsletter, we advised you about a study of
post adoption contact Adoption UK is undertaking with
Queen’s University on behalf of the Health and Social
Care Board. The study aims to find out more about the
extent of post-adoption contact in Northern Ireland,
what form that contact takes and with which birth
relatives and to understand the associated challenges
and benefits for adoptive families. It also aims to find
out what assistance is currently available if families
require help with contact, and how they might best be
supported.
When completed, the findings from the study will be
published and will help inform the commissioning of
services.
We will shortly be forwarding details of an online
survey to all our members which will provide you with
the opportunity to get involved in this study. The
survey can also be made available in hard copy on
request.
We have also planned a series of focus group
meetings to allow adoptive parents to share their views
of post adoption contact and the supports they need
with the researcher, Dr Mandi MacDonald. These
meetings are being hosted by three of the AUK
support groups- details of dates and venues are as
follows:
Monday 23rd May 7.30pm
Bridge Centre, 50 Railway Street, Lisburn
Thursday 26th May 7.30pm
Holiday Inn, Ballymena Road, Antrim
Wednesday 1st June 7.30pm
Ranfurly House, 26 Market Square, Dungannon
We would love to hear your family’s views on and
experience of post adoption contact - both the rewards
and the challenges. We know that many of our
members have strong feelings about post adoption
contact so come along to one of these meetings and
have your voice heard on this crucial issue for
adoptive families.
Please let us know if you plan to attend one of
these meetings so that we can send you further
information.
This will also help us in organising these events
[email protected] or Tel: 028 9077 5211
Thanks to a very generous donation from the Allen
and Overy Foundation, we are delighted to be able to
offer a limited number of Lets Learn Together training
sessions for schools attended by an adopted child
aged 13 and over. If your teenage child is struggling in
school and you feel teaching staff would benefit from
developing their understanding of the challenges faced
by adopted children, please contact
[email protected] 028 9077 5211
Please note that training for schools attended by
younger aged children will now be offered through
TESSA. Contact Sheila Lavery for more information
[email protected] 028 9046 9211
Help us understand more about adoption by
foster carers
Adoption UK is currently working with the Fostering
Network on behalf of the Health and Social Care
Board to try to understand more about why some
families who foster subsequently choose to adopt a
child placed in their care. If you are a foster carer who
is thinking about adoption or you previously fostered
before adopting a child placed in foster care with you,
we would like to you to meet with us to share your
thoughts on how and why you made the decision to
adopt.
Please come along to the Adoption UK office on
Thursday 30th June at 6.00pm. We have arranged
some food and entertainment for your children while
you get the chance to relax and share your adoption
journey with other former foster carers. In order for us
to plan for this event, it would really help if you could
let us know if you plan to attend.
Please note that this meeting is planned for
parents who were approved initially as foster
carers rather than as dual approved foster carers
and adopters.
Could you be an adoption panel member?
The Northern Health and Social Care Trust are
currently recruiting an independent adoption panel
member and would particularly like to hear from
applicants who have personal experience of adoption.
The NHSCT Adoption Panel usually meets on the first
Wednesday of every month but there are often
additional meetings. Panel members are expected to
read papers in advance of meetings and to contribute
fully to panel discussion.
For more information on this role, please contact
Eithne Day, Adoption Services Manager,
[email protected] 028 9448 8285