Educational settings can offer an important layer of support to all learners and their families through warm, positive, trusting relationships. This can be particularly important for care experienced learners who have been adopted who may require support with their wellbeing or to access and engage with education. Education is an important part of the scaffolding of care for adoptees and their families.

Adoption, care experience and education

Adoption is the legal process by which a child, who cannot be brought up within their birth family, become full, permanent and legal members of their new family. Most adoptees have lived in foster care for part of their childhood and therefore are care-experienced. The needs of this group of children and young people however, often remain hidden. Once a child or young person is adopted, they are no longer considered ‘looked after’ and there is no legal requirement for adoptive parents to declare their child’s previous experience of care to their educational setting. Educational settings therefore may be unaware that a child or young person is adopted and even if they are aware may not know how best to support adoptees and their families to access and engage in education.

This resource will help practitioners understand the needs of care experienced learners who have been adopted and their families. It provides some ideas about how educational settings can effectively support adopted learners. This resource is a useful reference for whole staff or individual professional learning.

Self-directed learning for individuals

If you want to undertake and log this professional learning as an individual go to Self-directed professional learning, PLA section. Log in and go to the self-directed learning section, then the professional learning activities (PLAs) section, and search for ‘Supporting care experienced learners who are adopted’. You do not need a GLOW account to log in. Simply register and then you will have access to all the professional learning available on this site.

Whole school professional learning

Powerpoint presentation: Supporting care experienced learners who are adopted (PPT)

Script from presentation (Word)

Signposting

Adoption UK Charity – Direct support for Adoptees and Adopters

Supporting Education and Schools - Adoption specific support for educational settings

Improvement questions

• How do I identify the needs of learners who are adopted?
• How am I helping learners who are adopted to continue to engage in learning?
• What support and information can I signpost learners and their families to?
• How can partnership working be utilised further to better support the wellbeing of learners who are adopted and help them to achieve and sustain positive educational outcomes?

Further professional learning

Please visit our Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities professional learning framework for more professional learning in the areas of:

• Rights and Equalities
• Relationships
• Wellbeing and Care
• Inclusion

In the framework you will find resources at both an Informed and Skilled level.