Adoptive parents

Accessing support  

Adoption is a lifelong process that is rewarding. However, at times it can also be challenging. Children who have experienced a difficult and unsettled start to life may benefit from extra, tailored support as they grow and develop. 

The Local Authority that placed your child with you is responsible for assessing your adoption support needs for three years from the date of the granting of an Adoption Order. 

Adopt North East does this on behalf of:

• Gateshead Council

• Newcastle City Council

• North Tyneside Council

• Northumberland County Council

• South Tyneside Council 

After three years it becomes the responsibility of the Local Authority where you are resident (if different).  

If you reside in an area of responsibility of one of the five local authorities listed above, post-adoption support is provided by Adopt North East. If you reside in County Durham, Sunderland or Cumbria, it is the responsibility of Adopt Coast to Coast. To the south of our Region, it is likely to be Adopt Tees Valley.  

Please contact Adopt North East on (0191) 643 5000 to explore adoption support. 

Adoption Support Team

Adopt North East has a dedicated and skilled Adoption Support Team who can explore and identify support and services to meet a family’s needs. It might be that you need to chat about something informally with one of our specialist support workers, benefit from additional support within your own network, be signposted to relevant services within your community, or receive support provided by or commissioned by Adopt North East, such as therapeutic support.

Our role is to walk alongside you on your adoption journey from the beginning of the adoption process until early adulthood. Post adoption support is available for as long as your family should need it.

Our Adoption Support team will be available to provide further information on services available.  

Adopt North East support groups

Adopt North East hold regular Support Groups with a range of different themes. There are also various training courses throughout the year to support you to develop skills related to therapeutic parenting, developmental trauma and attachment, life story and contact with birth family. 

 We also offer free membership to CATCH (formerly The Adopter Hub), an online community offering a variety of resources including webinars, forum, e-learning and online community of peer support.  To login or Request a login click here

Assessment of Need 

The Assessment of Need is an opportunity for an Adopt North East Social Worker to meet with you to explore the needs of your family and consider the most appropriate support to meet these needs. This assessment will identify the strengths within your family, your concerns, early life experiences of your child, their health and wellbeing needs, your family network, and any previous support you have accessed. It may be that the Social Worker wishes to speak to your child or the young person whom you are contacting us in respect of to gain their voice and view. 

It may be that this assessment recommends that your family would benefit from specialist therapeutic support, and in this instance, we would look to identify the most appropriate intervention and access this using the Adoption Support Fund.  

Please contact Adopt North East on (0191) 643 5000 to explore post-adoption support.

Adoption support fund

The Adoption Support Fund was established after it was understood that many children, young people, and families needed and benefitted from therapeutic support following adoption. 

Currently, adopted children and young people have access to:

• £5000 per financial year for therapeutic support and

• £2500 for specialist assessment

The therapies and assessments that are within scope of this funding are specific to adoption and the criteria is subject to change.  

The following interventions are within scope of Adoption Support Fund funding: 

• Specialist Assessment — The ASF defines that this assessment must identify the attachment and trauma needs of the child and provide a holistic view of the therapy require to meet the assessed need

• Theraplay 

• Play Therapy 

• Sensory Integration therapy 

• Creative therapies 

• Dyadic Development Psychotherapy (DDP) 

• Filial Therapy 

• Psychotherapy 

• Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing 

• Extensive Therapeutic Life Story Work 

• Non Violence Resistance 

Further information about what is and is not in scope can be found at: 

• First for Adoption

• GOV.UK

The Fund is available for children living in England up to and including the age of 21 (or 25 with a Statement of Special Educational Needs or Education Health & Care Plan).

Adopt North East can support children via the Adoption Support Fund who: 

• are adopted and were previously in local authority care in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

• are adopted from overseas

Education

Many adopted children can find school difficult. Complex behaviour will often present itself because of the trauma they experienced at critical times in their development. As a result, times of transition and new education environments may create a feeling of threat and lack of safety which can disrupt their learning. 

Find out more about education support at First 4 Adoption.

With this being understood there are support systems in place to better understand and support the needs of adopted children within the education system: 

Virtual School

The Virtual School Heads promote the educational achievement of children who are previously looked after by the local authority they work for, this includes adopted children.

The Virtual School are knowledgeable and experienced in supporting children who have experienced trauma and instability and can offer their support in relation to this within the school environment.

Contact details for the Local Authority Virtual Schools:  

Northumberland Virtual School Head

Jane Walker
Tel: 01670 622779
Email jane.walker@northumberland.gov.uk

Tara Prescott
Tel: 07767 221092
Email Tara.Prescott@northumberland.gov.uk

North Tyneside Virtual School Head

Jane Pickthall
Tel: (0191) 643 8366 
Email Jane.Pickthall@northtyneside.gov.uk 

Newcastle Virtual School Head

Karl Harms
Tel: (0191) 277 3616
karl.harms@newcastle.gov.uk

Gateshead Virtual School Head

Linda Mason
Tel: 07525387750
LindaMason@Gateshead.Gov.UK

South Tyneside Virtual School Head

Helen Hall
Helen.Hall@southtyneside.gov.uk
Tel: (0191) 427 3490 

Designated Teacher

The Designated Teacher should be a central point of initial contact within the school. This helps to make sure that the school plays its role to the full in making sure arrangements are joined up and minimise any disruption to a child’s learning.

The Designated Teacher has responsibility for supporting staff within an education setting to understand how a previously looked after child experiences the world and their needs when it impacts their learning.  They have responsibility for promoting the educational achievement of previously looked-after pupils who are no longer looked after in England and Wales because they are the subject of an adoption, special guardianship or child arrangements order.  The support that schools and designated teachers give to children should not be seen in isolation.  All previously looked-after children will have a wide range of support mechanisms that will assist in promoting their educational achievement. The child’s prospective adopters / parents will have day-to-day responsibilities for the child.

Personal Education Plan

Looked after children / children who are not formally adopted and are of school age who join a new school should have an existing Personal Education Plan. It should contain all the information about educational progress and how they learn best, and arrangements should have been made to have it transferred to the child’s new school. If the local authority has not provided the most recent PEP, the designated teacher should follow this up with the authority that looks after the child, either through the VSH or the child’s social worker.

The designated teacher would normally have overall responsibility for leading the process of target setting for looked-after children in school, should monitor and track how their attainment progresses, and ensure that identified actions are put in place. The designated teacher will help the school and the local authority that looks after the child to decide what arrangements work best in the development and review of the PEP.

Pupil Premium Plus (PP+)

Looked-after children and children adopted from care are eligible for PP+ funding.  This is additional funding provided to help improve the attainment of looked-after and previously looked-after children and close the attainment gap between this group and their peers.

The extra funding provided by the PP+ reflects the significant additional barriers faced by looked-after and previously looked-after children.  The designated teacher has an important role in ensuring the specific needs of looked-after and previously looked-after children are understood by the school’s staff and reflected in how the school uses PP+ to support these children.  The VSH (for looked after children only) and school (for previously looked after children) manage their PP+ allocation for the benefit of their cohort of looked-after or previously looked-after children and according to children’s needs.

Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) is additional funding for early years pre-school settings to improve the education they provide for disadvantaged 2 and 4 year olds including, but not restricted to, those adopted from care.

Find out more at First 4 Adoption.  

Education Psychologists 

Educational psychology is concerned with children and young people in education and early years settings. Educational psychologists tackle challenges such as learning difficulties, social and emotional problems, issues around disability as well as more complex developmental disorders.  

Education providers can also support you to explore Educational Health and Care Plans (EHCP) if needed. 

SEND Education Team and SENDIASS 

Available within the five Local Authorities to access Information, Advice and Support service providing impartial and confidential information, advice and support for parents/carers, children and young people around issues relating to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. 

Gateshead
Telephone: (0191) 478 4667
Web: Gateshead Local Offer

Newcastle
Telephone: (0191) 211 6255
Web: Newcastle SENDIASS

North Tyneside
Telephone: (0191) 643 8317
Web: North Tyneside SENDIASS

Northumberland
Telephone: (01670) 623 555 
Web: Northumberland Information, Advice and Support Service

South Tyneside
Telephone: (0191) 424 6345
Web: South Tyneside SENDIASS

Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

If your child has SEND, their Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan will name a school for them. The school must give your child a place.  You can ask your local council to carry out an assessment if you think your child needs additional support with their educational, health and social needs.

The designated teacher should ensure that:

• the special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice 0 to 25 years, as it relates to looked-after children, is followed; and

• children’s PEPs work in harmony with their EHC plan to, coherently and comprehensively, set out how their needs are being met.  The EHC plan adds to information about how education, health and care needs will be met without duplicating information already in a child’s care plan or PEP. Equally, the child’s care plan, including PEP, should feed into the care assessment section of the EHC plan.

• with the help of the VSH, they have the skills to identify signs of potential SEN issues, and know how to access further assessment and support where necessary, making full use of the SENCO and local authority support team where applicable

Free nursery placements

Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) is additional funding for early years pre-school settings to improve the education they provide for disadvantaged 2 and 4 year olds including, but not restricted to, those adopted from care.

Find out more at First 4 Adoption.  

Adopt North East Education Support Groups

Adopt North East run regular support groups alongside the Virtual School Heads in relation to education issues.

You can contact us on our contact page for more information https://www.adoptnortheast.org.uk/enquire-now

Education and the Matching process and panel attendance

As you know, education is often a major issue for adopted children and young people.  Our partner Virtual School Heads are committed to working together to support positive outcomes for children and young people.

To ensure that the child’s educational needs are being fully considered during the matching process, the following may happen:

• at the Life Appreciation Day, the relevant school representative will attend (Class Teacher / Designated Teacher / Support Assistant)

• prospective adopters will have the opportunity to meet with the school Head / Class Teacher of the child’ current school

• the Virtual School Head details will be included in the Adoption Support Plan with any tailored individual support needs

• Virtual School Heads will be invited to attend matching panel if the child is of school age and it is felt that due to their needs, their presence will be of benefit to families and to panel

• your adoption social worker will support and guide you through the process and ensure you speak with the relevant professionals involved with the child’s education

Choosing a School

The Department of Education released guidance for adoptive parents, schools and local authorities to support adopted children or children placed for adoption (that are of compulsory school age) changing to a new school.

It is now a requirement that the above children are given the highest priority for school admissions.

Check out the government website for further information.

You can find out more about the schools you are interested in by:

• visiting the school - most schools have open days

• reading the school’s most recent Ofsted reports

• checking school performance tables

• talking to other parents about what they think of the school

Helpful Resources

In recognition of the range and diversity of resources that are available to support adopters, Adopt North East curates the resources in the following ways. Recommended resources are those that Adopt North East is able to recommend based on our knowledge or experience of the resource and its contribution to effectively supporting adopted children and their families. Other Resources are those not known or less well known to us but which adopters might, nevertheless, find of help and support. We hope, in this way, that Adopt North East can act as a credible and helpful signpost to what support is out there that might help make a difference.

Recommended Resources

• Children’s attachment: attachment in children and young people who are adopted from care, in care or at high risk of going into care

• Promoting the education of looked after children and previously looked after children, statutory guidance for local authorities (DfE, February 2018)

• The Lullaby Trust - Safer sleep for babies, Support for families

• https://www.northumberlandccg.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/01/The-Little-Orange-Book-2021.pdf

  The Little Orange Book was produced by Newcastle Gateshead Clinical Commissioning Group

Online Resources

• Childhood Trauma and the Social World

  From the UK Trauma Council

• Beacon House

  Beacon House offers a range of free resources relating to knowledge about the repair of the impact of trauma and adversity.

• Supporting Adoptive Parents Online - UK Safer Internet Centre

  The UK Safer Internet Centre has published guides and resources to help those bringing up adopted children and young people in the online space.

Adopt North East

• Therapy Courses 2022/2023

Adoption UK
A charity providing support, community and advocacy for all those parenting or supporting children who cannot live with their birth parents. They connect adoptive families, provide information and signposting on a range of adoption-related issues and campaign for improvements to adoption policy and legislation at the highest levels.
www.adoptionuk.org

PAC – UK
Therapy, advice, support, counselling and training for all those affected by adoption and permanency.
www.pac-uk.org

UK Trauma Council (UKTC)
Evidence-based resources to improve professionals and carers’ understanding of the nature and impact of trauma. They aim to better equip all those supporting children and young people exposed to trauma.
www.uktraumacouncil.org

First4Adoption
National information service for people interested in adoption in England.
www.first4adoption

New Family Social 
Committed to supporting the LGBT+ community.
www.newfamilysocial.org.uk

Recommended Books