How to use this learning and assessment resource to improve practice?

This guide can be used to support practitioners and parents/carers to increase their knowledge and understanding of the needs of care experienced children and young people but also more broadly to support understanding and knowledge of all children and young people who may have been impacted upon by issues relating to attachment, adverse childhood experiences and early trauma and loss. It is particularly pertinent as adopted young people are, according to recent research by Adoption UK, particularly at risk of exclusion from school.

It offers helpful information on relational and developmental trauma and the impact that this can have on the developing child. It also explores areas such as executive functioning, toxic stress, shame, structure and supervision and offers practical advice on how to support children and young people. Although specifically written with parents/carers in mind, much of the information will be helpful for practitioners working with children in the classroom and playroom setting. It also provides some additional teacher notes specifically for practitioners.

Improvement questions

Schools and early learning and childcare settings should ask themselves:

• To what extent are our staff aware of the specific needs of care experienced children and young people?
• How well have we developed strategies and approaches to support the needs of care experienced children and young people?
• What knowledge and understanding do we need to develop in our wider staff team to help us to understand the needs of care experienced children and young people and how do we use this to inform practice for the wider group of children and young people who have similar needs?

Download (s)

PDF file: Let's Learn Together (Adoption UK) (6 MB)

Further information

Adoption UK Scotland is an independent support service offering information and advice. This service offers training workshops around educational issues, therapeutic interventions and approaches to support children affected by relational and developmental trauma and abuse, along with free factsheet resources and a helpline that is open Monday – Friday from 10 – 2.30pm to answer queries about adoption and issues of support.