Resources available to adoptive and special guardianship families

Resources available to adoptive and special guardianship families

Covid 19 is having a massive impact on all our lives.

Here at Adoption@Heart, we are following the Government’s guidance and are quickly adapting the way we provide our services to ensure that those interested in becoming adoptive parents and special guardians are still able to proceed, and that our support services can continue.

We do however recognise that many adoptive and special guardianship families are going through a particularly difficult time. Our team are looking at how we can creatively offer you additional support using the latest information and recently released Government funding.

There are lots of resources to support children and young people make sense of coronavirus and aid parents/special guardians and carers. Below is a snapchat of some of the resources we have found that can support you over the next few weeks/months:

• Adoption UK website - contains updated resources and information for adoptive families who may be struggling.
• Adoption UK – YouTube - a film presented by Adoption UK featuring Dan Hughes who discusses living and parenting through a pandemic.
• Nosy Crow - children’s publishing company Nosy Crow have produced a downloadable digital book, illustrated by The Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler. The book is aimed at primary school age children and explains the coronavirus and the measures taken to control it.
• The Scared Gang Stay at Home - The Scared Gang is a series of books which uses various characters to help children to recognise their own survival patterns. They have produced a book, which can be downloaded for free, to inform children about coronavirus and how to stay safe, healthy and happy. It is designed to reassure children that if they follow the guidelines, they can remain safe and do not need to be scared.
• Childline - geared towards children and young people, explaining what coronavirus is and what they should do if they’re worried.
• Place2Be - children’s mental health charity shares some advice on supporting children who may be especially vulnerable during times of uncertainty.
• Young Minds - a UK charity which fights for children and young people’s mental health. Here they offer some great advice for young people who may be anxious about coronavirus.
• NSPCC - if you’re worried a child may be struggling with their mental health or has anxiety about coronavirus, the NSPCC offers advice to help you support them.
• Emerging Minds - Emerging Minds, in collaboration with the University of Reading and the University of Oxford, has published evidence-based advice for parents and carers supporting children and young people with worries about Coronavirus.
• Public Health England - guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus outbreak.
• ThinkUKnow - suggestions for things you can do to help keep your child safe online during this unsettling time.
• London School of Economics - Professor Sonia Livingstone discusses how families can support their children and young people in making sense of all the misinformation and “fake news” available online.
• Big Life Journal – Stay At Home Care Package - focusing on nurturing your children’s mindset, self-esteem and resilience. This free printable pack offers lots of ideas to get your children moving and learning while staying indoors.
• BBC Bitesize – online homeschooling lessons and ideas for primary school, secondary school and post 16+ students.
• Action for Children – webpage full of useful resources for adoptive parents.
• Kindly produced by Cardiff & Vale UHB: Child Health Psychology – a young person’s coronavirus survival pack.

Above is a small snapshot of the resources available to you all. We will continue to share other useful resources, advice and information across our social media pages.

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