Adoptive parents across the Black Country are being invited to register for a new Adopter Education Conference, to hear from an education expert on all things adoption in schools and share their own views and experiences. The free event, hosted by Adoption UK’s independent service, Adopter Voice in partnership with Adoption@Heart, takes place virtually next Friday 26 November, between 9.30am–1pm and will hear adopter’s views, voice and lived experiences.
Attendees can learn about education from an expert speaker, Stuart Guest, dad through adoption and birth, Head Teacher at Colebourne Primary in Birmingham, and trainer of teachers in trauma and attachment matters that affect children. Following the session, a full report will be created, highlighting your views which will be shared with Adoption@Heart and the Virtual Schools to influence review and change.
Mark Tobin, Head of Service at Adoption@Heart, said: “We are really excited to be hosting our first Adopter Education Conference in partnership with Adopter Voice.
“We know that education issues are rated by adopters as being a top priority area that they would really value being supported with, and it is hoped that this event will help us understand and address adopters’ concerns. We are proud of our continued partnership with Adopter Voice, and hope that this event will go a long way to continuing the two-way engagement and communication between families and the Regional Adoption Agency.
“I’d encourage all adoptive parents across the Black Country to sign up to this free virtual event and get your voice heard.”
Contracts Delivery Manager at Adoption UK, Anita Hart, added: “Adoption UK are delighted to host this event for adopters across the region of Adoption@Heart.
“We know education is one of the trickiest areas for our families, so we have asked the Virtual School and Stuart Guest to spend the morning with you to talk about what matters to you most and using Adopter Voice to see how we can feed back on those issues. It is a free event, and just a well spent Friday morning with services who want to help.”
This event is specifically for adoptive parents who live in Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, and Walsall, regardless of whether they adopted via Adoption@Heart. Adopter Voice is a service provided by Adoption UK; the country’s largest adopter led community.
Established to work with local authorities and regional adoption agencies, they contribute to influence local change, as well as informing regional and national adoption leadership boards, and the Department for Education on policy improvements. Adoption@Heart is the Regional Adoption Agency for the Black Country, providing adoption services for City of Wolverhampton Council, Walsall Council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council and Sandwell Children’s Trust.
