CoramBAAF Conversations

Discover firsthand insights on adoption by foster carers in our exclusive podcast interviews featuring Isla, a foster carer turned adopter, and author Elaine Dibben. Joined by Jo Francis, CoramBAAF’s Publication Manager, they delve into both the personal and practical aspects of this journey.

Isla is a Foster Carer for a Local Authority with previous professional experiences in education and safeguarding. Her family have been on a journey for the last three years in Fostering and Adoption. The journey has been significantly longer than that of most people who apply to adopt having made their initial intention known well over two years ago (in early 2022) and they are still awaiting the final adoption order. Isla is, unsurprisingly, passionate about seeing the systems improve for all those involved in adoption.

Listen to Joan Hunt and Helen Little talk about sibling assessment and the impact they have on children and their sibling relationships. They discuss how sibling assessments have been conducted in the past and the variables this generated. As well as covering, what sibling assessments have looked like since the introduction of CoramBAAF's Sibling Assessment Report (SAR) and how it promotes consistency across reports, and the encouragement of a multi-disciplinary approach to capture multiple voices.

Find out more and explore relevant resources on our website: https://corambaaf.org.uk/resources/co...

Post adoption depression: What is it? Who does it affect? What are we doing about it? These questions and more form part of Doctor Lynn Snow's Churchill Fellowship research. In this conversation, Jane Poore, Adoption Consultant, is joined by Doctor Lynn Snow to answer some of these questions.

Doctor Lynn Snow is a community paediatrician working as Designated Doctor for looked after children for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and has worked with looked after children for over 20 years in various roles  (including adoption adviser) in various areas of the country. She was until recently chair of the CoramBAAF National Health advisory committee and has focused on health records for children post adoption working with  DHSC and NHSE.

She has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship to look at post adoption depression. She held a Fellowship with Health Education England East Midlands for two years looking at leadership in the SAS group of doctors. She has previously worked in West Africa in community child health. She is motivated by the desire to see high quality joined up services at all levels which ensure that the child in looked after child remains the focus. If you or anyone you know is affected by this topic, please speak to your social worker or GP

Churchill Fellowship - a community of change makers – has partnered with Coram to offer travel fellowships to research ideas related to children in care. Next year it could be you!

Find out more: https://corambaaf.org.uk/post-adoption-depression

In this episode, Helen Little is joined by Hetty (Hedwig) Verhagen. Hetty is a lecturer in Social Work at the University of Leads, whilst also being a therapeutic social worker, author and associate trainer.

They talk about what therapeutic interventions mean, why there was a need to develop the course, and how social workers, foster carers, adopters and others can benefit from signing up for the course.

Find out more or watch the interview on the CoramBAAF website.

Ellen Broomé welcomed Gillian Schofield and Mary Beek to talk about the new edition of their bestselling publications, The Secure Base Model and Promoting Attachment and Resilience.

Did you know podcasts count towards continuing your professional development?

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Kinship Care Week (2 – 8 October 2023) is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the commitment of kinship carers and the role they play in the lives of children.

Kinship care’s profile has increased considerably over the past year but more needs to be done. This year’s theme of #DoOneThing aims to continue to raise awareness and keep the spotlight on kinship care.

To end #KinshipCareWeek, Ann Horne and Clare Seth -our Kinship Consultants - go through some of the key principles of kinship care support in our latest podcast episode.

Did you know podcasts count towards continuing your professional development?

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Listen to Augusta Itua, our legal consultant, in conversation with Dr Julia Feast OBE. They talk us through the current barriers and support available to care experienced people wanting to access their records.

Did you know podcasts count towards continuing your professional development?

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Listen to our conversation with CoramVoice. Linda Briheim-Crookall shares research findings from the Bright Spots Programme, and considers how 16- and 17-year-olds feel they should be supported.

Did you know podcasts count towards continuing your professional development?

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Listen to our health consultant, Ellie Johnson, in discussion with our head of policy, research and development, James Bury, explore what a health assessment is and how it can be used to better the lives of children and young people.

Did you know podcasts count towards continuing your professional development?

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Listen to a discussion between our legal consultant, Alexandra Conroy- Harris, and our adoption consultant, Jane Poore, about how to use your legal department in social services. This episode is part of our Members' Week programme.

Did you know podcasts count towards continuing your professional development?

Visit our website to find out more.