Advertise on podcast: The Adoption and Fostering Podcast

We did 10 years and are still talking, in lots of senses. In this episode we start with an attempt at role play as we unpack Adoption Week's two problems, a crisis in recruitment and a crisis in support. Scott wasn't too keen on that but we look at where we came from and how we got here.  We also look to the future of the podcast and are keen to hear what listeners think so click the link and let us know!

Hello and welcome to conversations from the AandF podcast.  This is a slightly different episode  I speak to Professor of Social Work Adam McCormick from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.  We chat about Social work, social workers, aspects of the foster care system and the nature of the system in the state. We also consider the motivations of social workers to join the profession and see how their life experiences impact on them and their work. We also chat about the challenges faced by LGBTQ young people in foster care and the systemic hostility they face.  You can see more of Adam here.  As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at [email protected]

We asked Michelle back on to give us a 'state of the nation' report on Kinship care. The Government are developing and moving policy in this area and it's seen changes and promises of change but how is it really for kinship carers and what are the ongoing challenges.  Michelle did come on the podcast in 2022 (Al was wrong) and we reflect on some of the changes since then and more besides.  As always, if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at [email protected]

This month we explore A.I. : the benefits, the pitfalls, and its role in social work assessments and recordings. Children who have experienced trauma heal through safe, attuned relationships, and no tool can replace human connection. We also talk about learning alongside our children in a fast-changing digital world, building the trust and openness that help keep them safe. As always you can connect with us through the following - Website- www.bettermebetterus.co.uk Instagram- @BMBUltd Facebook – Better Me Better Us Email – [email protected]

Hello and welcome to conversations from the AandF podcast.  In this episode I speak to Adoptive parent and foster carer Della, she is Canadian and in this episode she shares her experience of adoption and more specifically of challenges she faced following an allegation as she tried to adopt a child she was fostering. Della fought her battle through the legal system and she tells that story here.  As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at [email protected]

Hello and welcome to the A&F podcast, in this episode we speak to Paul Sambrooks a retired CAFCASS social worker and the author. Paul shares his passion for communicating and supporting adopted, fostered and kinship children to understand their own stories. He has written several Dennis Duckling books and we talk through them all including his latest instalment Dennis, Harriett and Flynn live in different families You can find all the books here.  We also talk with Paul about his work with CAFCAS and discuss the challenges of helping children understand their stories.  s always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at [email protected]

Hello and welcome to conversations from the AandF podcast.  In this episode I speak to Lee Tempest, she works for VisAble based in New Zealand and works to support parents and families living with violence from their children. Lee is a parent through adoption and in this episode we unpack her research on the impact on parents of living with violence in the home.  You can access the report here and view the other materials and reports that Lee has created here.  As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at [email protected]

Hello and welcome to the A&F podcast, we recorded this on the 9th September, FASD awareness day.  We speak to Susie Richardson, who is research FASD in the prison population. Susie has a broad range of experience and from running prisons and working with care leavers she has seen the need for a better understanding of the impact and prevalence of FASD in those communities. She shares her journey to this research and what inspires her passion.  You can find out more about Susie here As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at [email protected]

Hello, this month we're talking about advocacy - what it means, how our sense of safety shapes our ability to speak up, and the ripple effect that comes from using our voice. This episode looks at that through the lens of back to school: advocating for yourself and your child, finding the bravery to do it, and the often-messy question of how a child's history actually reaches a new school or teacher. As always you can connect with us through the following - Website- www.bettermebetterus.co.uk Instagram- BMBUltd Facebook – Better Me Better Us Email – [email protected]

Hello and welcome to the latest episode of  the AandF podcast.  In this episode we rage across a couple of matters that impact on many families, power dynamics with social workers. After a Tramadol start and Scott's good news we get distracted by the complicated relationship prospective adopters and foster carers can have with their social workers. The power dynamics are often set against applicants and what questions are appropriate and what are not. How do we push back and can we question the questions, it's not simple.  If you want to read the research mentioned you can do that here. If you want to listen to Scott's radio documentary on FASD you can do that here.  As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at [email protected]

Hello and welcome to Conversations from the A&F podcast In this episode I speak author Fran Hill, we spoke in 2023 about her first novel ‘Cuckoo in the Nest’ and in this interview we chat about her follow up novel ‘Home Bird’.  Fran shares her experience of being in foster care and how it influenced the characters in these books and the experiences that they face.  You can find out more about Fran and her work here As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at [email protected]

Hello and welcome to the A&F podcast In this episode I speak to Psychotherapist, NVR practitioner and Adoptive parent Simone Harch. Simone shares a little of her journey but the focus of this conversation is about mental health and the impact on adoptive parents of caring for children with complex needs. It is a really pertinent conversation and highlights the need for support for adopters and help for them to stay well.  Simone is starting a pilot project for Adoption East Midlands and you can contact them directly or Simone here  As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at [email protected]

Hello and welcome to the AandF podcast.  In this episode we unpack how caring for and parenting children with complex, challenging and aggressive behaviour can impact on relationships between parents and carers.  It's a thorny issue, the impact of high levels of need and stress in the home with differences in motivation and approaches to the behaviour can take its toll and we share some of our experiences and look at the lack of data and draw on out professional experience.  You can read the article referred to here.  As always, if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at [email protected]

Hello and welcome to this episode of the Better Me Better You Podcast. How old is old enough to be left unsupervised? As families navigate the summer holidays, we unpack the guidance around children's independence and explore the bigger questions beneath it. We look at the difference between age and maturity, challenge the idea that increasing responsibility should come at the expense of play, and discuss how children's ability to manage risk develops over time.  We finish by thinking about how we can support young people to learn, grow and prepare for adulthood through experience, not just protection. As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at [email protected]

Hello and welcome to conversations from the AandF podcast.  In this episode I speak to Matthew Page, a care experienced adult, former foster carer and trustee of the Fostering Network. Matthew is also a specialist in intersectionality and identity thought leader, an adoption celebrant and many other things.  We chat about his experience growing up as a black child in a white foster family, his search for his dad and appearing on DNA family secrets.   You can visit Matthew’s website here As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at [email protected]