What does it mean to be an Adoption Outreach Ambassador?
Jennifer Kwakye shares what it’s like to be an Adoption Outreach Ambassador for Black African and Caribbean families.
Read moreNeurodiversity Celebration Week: promoting acceptance and understanding
Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences.
Read moreWhat is the Outbound Permanence Service?
From 1 April 2024 the Outbound Permanence Service will become a membership benefit. Sandra Latter explains how you can use the service as part of your membership.
Read moreThe adultification of Black girls in state care
Sylvia Ikomi shares research findings from her trip to America to explore the adultification of Black girls in state care.
Read morePreventing failure: why social work must move beyond cultural humility
Carolyn Housman and Michael Nwoye consider how we can use multiculturalism as a strength to support families to stay together.
Read moreYouth justice, ethnicity, school exclusion, and care experience – reducing criminalisation and achieving better outcomes
Augusta Itua explains the intersection between youth justice, care experience, ethnicity, and school exclusion. She considers the key statistics and guidance for protecting children and young people.
Read moreImproving residential care for children in England – what can we learn from the Italian experience?
Ivana La Valle explores what we can learn from Italian residential childcare to inform the current debate on how to improve the English residential care system.
Read moreKinship care matters – the National Kinship Care Strategy
CoramBAAF is delighted that this has finally been recognised by the Government in the publication of the first-ever National Kinship Care Strategy.
Read moreSupporting transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse foster carers and adopters
In this reflective blog, we consider the key points from our recent webinar with New Family Social about supporting the trans, non-binary and gender diverse adoption community.
Read moreNational Adoption Week 2023 | You Can Adopt
John Simmonds, Director of Policy, Research and Development, reflects on the release of a new film about how adoption has changed over the years.
Read moreReflections on care planning in the kinship context
Clare Seth and Ann Horne, our Kinship Consultants, answer your questions about kinship care planning. These questions were asked by our attendees during our Members' Week webinar.
Read moreKinship Care Week 2–8 October 2023 #DoOneThing
As Kinship Care Week 2023 begins, our Kinship consultant, Clare Seth reflects on why kinship care needs to remain in the spotlight.
Read moreBeing care experienced is a superpower
Claire Wilden argues that being care experienced should become a protected characteristic to provide better protection from discrimination.
Read moreWorking together to strengthen the social work profession
Dr John Simmonds reflects on the history of the social work profession and his experiences as a social worker, to consider how working together can promote better outcomes for children in care.
Read moreLearning from Windrush: a kinship care context
Sharon McPherson draws from her personal experiences as a kinship carer to provide valuable context and insight into her research, which explores new dimensions of kinship care through a lens of cultural curiosity.
Read moreMembers' Week | A child's journey through placement
This year’s Members’ Week will explore key topics and best practices that mirror the journey of children and young people through the care system.
Read moreA healthy winter ahead?
6 September 2023
Our health consultant, Ellie Johnson, discusses how vaccines can help keep your children healthy this winter and shares useful information for parents and carers.
Caring for children who have experienced domestic abuse
22 August 2023
Emeritus Professor Hedy Cleaver and Wendy Rose OBE outline the importance of understanding how exposure to domestic abuse affects children of different ages and the support they and their caring families may need.
A spotlight on the mental health of care-experienced children and young people
31 July 2023
Liam Hoskins, our events officer, reflects on our in-person event that explored current research on the mental health of children in care.
Reflective Fostering – exploring the minds of the foster carer, the child and the professional
21 July 2023
Dr John Simmonds, Director of Policy, Research & Development, CoramBAAF considers what we have learned and what we can learn from the Reflective Fostering Programme - where foster carers are supported to explore what they think, feel and do.
What is the Black Care Experience Charter?
16 June 2023
Ellen Broomé explains how CoramBAAF has signed up to the Black Care Experience Charter.
Safe in care or in harm’s way? Recognising and responding to risks to keep children in care safe
12 June 2023
Our Health Consultant Ellie Johnson explores how our Annual Health Conference is an opportunity to network and reflect on practice for professionals working in children’s social care, not just health professionals.
Irene Levine responds to the Stable Homes, Built on Love: Implementation Strategy and Consultation report
1 June 2023
Irene Levine, Chair of CoramBAAF’s Black and Minority Ethnic Perspectives Advisory Committee (BMEPAC), shares their disappointment to the government's latest response to the Care Review as they share a new report.
The diary of a Fostering Consultant during Foster Care Fortnight
26 May 2023
Emma Fincham shares what she has been up to throughout Foster Care Fortnight. The past two weeks have provided many occasions for celebration in addition to bringing into sharp focus some of the dilemmas foster carers face.
Foster carers making their voices heard – we should listen
24 May 2023
James Bury reflects on his visit to number 10 Downing Street. He attended a reception, along with Emma Fincham and our Foster Carers Advisory Committee, to celebrate the work of foster carers from across the country.
Meeting the needs of neurodivergent children and young people
17 May 2023
Dr Gemma North outlines the importance of acknowledging and supporting care experienced children and young people.
Foster Care Fortnight 2023
15 May 2023
Ellen Broomé talks us through what you can expect from CoramBAAF over the next couple of weeks in support of Foster Care Fortnight™.
Does the new implementation strategy go far enough for kinship carers and their families?
28 February 2023
The recently announced 'Children's social care: Stable Homes, Built on Love' sets out the government’s implementation strategy following the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care. The changes proposed include significant changes to the kinship care landscape including a National Kinship Strategy. CoramBAAF’s Kinship Consultant, Clare Seth, reflects on these changes.
Who is looking after the ‘unseen children’?
6 January 2023
CoramBAAF Kinship Consultant Clare Seth considers research about mothers who are in prison and the impact on children.
90 seconds to raise awareness of our 80,000 children and young people in care
18 November 2022
John Lewis have got the nation talking about foster carers and the important contribution they make and that has to be a good thing writes Emma Fincham.
Rising costs of caring risks the stability of children and young people in care
27 October 2022
The cost of living crisis is affecting children and young people across the UK. Emma Fincham, our Fostering Consultant, considers how this directly impacts children and young people in foster families. She argues that we need to think about both the retention and the recruitment of foster carers.
Objects and their stories: how conversations about belongings help us to better understand ourselves and others
20 October 2022
National Adoption Week 2022 focuses on the theme of identity and the importance for adopted people to be able to understand and feel connected to their past – often through physical keepsakes. CoramBAAF's Hetty Verhagen, co-produced the course ‘Objects and their stories’ which helps develop emotional literacy around such objects.
Kinship Care Week 2022: So much still needs to change
12 October 2022
Kinship Care Week is an opportunity for us to acknowledge the role kinship carers have in children’s lives and we held a joint event with Research in Practice as part of our activities to celebrate the week. Our Kinship Consultant Ann Horne looks back on the key messages from our panel of speakers to explore what needs to change to improve the experiences of kinship families.
Square Peg in a Round Hole – Part 2 – where does kinship social work practice fit?
5 October 2022
Ann Horne, CoramBAAF's Kinship Consultant reflects on how social workers work with kinship families, where kinship practice fits, and calls for specialist kinship teams.
Kinship Care Week 2022: Keeping up the momentum to drive for change in kinship care
3 October 2022
As we await the Government's response to the recommendation's made to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, Kinship Care week provides the perfect opportunity to maintain focus and renew our commitments to children in kinship care writes Clare Seth.
Holding the hands of those who hold the hands of children
30 September 2022
In this blog, CoramBAAF's Managing Director, Ellen Broomé looks back on the activities of last week's member event as we explored the importance of good relationships - those with the children we care for as well as those with the people that support us in this endeavour.
Square peg in a round hole – Part 1 – Unlawful ‘placements’
9 August 2022
Ann Horne, CoramBAAF’s Kinship Consultant, discusses the legal and practice dilemmas that can occur when a kinship ‘placement’ becomes unlawful following an Exploring Expertise Webinar on this topic.
Compassion fatigue and what we can do about it
20 July 2022
CoramBAAF’s Kinship Consultant; Clare Seth, reflects on the recent meeting of the Quality Circle which discussed Compassion Fatigue how to support compassionate practice.
Bolstering the wellbeing of children in care: what more can be done?
6 July 2022
The Bright Spots programme supports Local Authorities to systematically listen to children in care on their lives and things that matter to them to better understand their needs and develop practice. Dr Claire Baker from Coram Voice takes us through this initiative and the practice innovations it has led to.
Adoption & Fostering Editor’s pick: ‘Keeping secrets’
20 June 2022
Roger Bullock, Commissioning Editor of Adoption & Fostering, reflects on the journal’s unique role and responsibilities and shares an article from our backlist on foster care, stigma and secrecy.
Care review and the role of Independent Reviewing Officers
17 June 2022
James Bury, CoramBAAF’s Head of policy, research and development discusses the proposal in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care to remove the role of Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs). He suggests this proposal should be reconsidered due to the important role that IROs have in making sure care plans meet children’s needs.
New Beginnings – The inaugural meeting of the Advisory Committee for Kinship Care
13 June 2022
Clare Seth, CoramBAAF’s Kinship Care consultant celebrates the first meeting of CoramBAAF’s new Advisory Committee for Kinship Care. She highlights the key areas covered and what the committee plans to focus on in future.
Kinship care matters - unlocking the potential of family networks
27 May 2022
Ann Horne, CoramBAAF’s Kinship Care consultant, reflects on some of the recommendations made in the Independent Review of Social Care and welcomes the spotlight that is being shone on kinship care.
Reflections on "The Future of Care" Panel Discussion
13 May 2022
CoramBAAF's James Bury considers the challenges of a failing care system. From those raised by the panelists to his own experiences as a social worker. He calls on the sector to pressure political leaders to commit to cross party collaboration to resolve these challenges.
Fostering Communities for Foster Care Fortnight
9 May 2022
CoramBAAF’s Fostering Consultant, Emma Fincham, reflects on the fostering communities she has been involved in over her career and the vital role they play in supporting carers and in turn improving the lives of the children they care for.
The power of relationships
15 March 2022
As we celebrate International Social Work Day, CoramBAAF's James Bury writes about importance of relationships in social work in supporting children, keeping them safe and enabling them to meet their potential.
Do kinship carers receive the support they need?
11 March 2022
Ann Horne, CoramBAAF’s Kinship Care consultant, explores this and other questions raised by Joan Hunt’s presentation on kinship research in our recent ‘Learning from Research’ webinar.
Recognising resilience in prospective parents and carers
21 February 2022
In this blog, CoramBAAF's Jane Poore and Hetty Verhagen write about the lessons we all can learn about resilience and adversity from a study into recognising resilience in prospective adoptive parents living with HIV.
How do we achieve safe and meaningful contact?
19 January 2022
Clinical Psychologist, Dr Chris Burke is co-presenter of CoramBAAF's upcoming webinar 'Exploring Expertise: Achieving safe and meaningful contact'. As the title suggests, the contact system is fragile - done well and it has a positive impact on the child's well-being but how do we ensure this happens in practice?
‘Writing and getting published makes me feel like I didn’t go through the care system for nothing’
11 January 2022
Coram Voice care-experienced consultant at Coram Voice, Lauren Parker, talks about how her love of writing faded when she was taken into care. Later, as a young adult, it was rekindled when she realised that her own life, giving her a vital outlet 'and a way of taking my power back'.
Reflecting on ‘Breathing Space’
9 December 2021
CoramBAAF Health Consultant, Ellie Johnson looks back on the themes of this year’s Health Group Conference.
Objects as doorways into depth
24 November 2021
Dr Louise Sims, CoramBAAF's Kinship Care and Fostering consultant looks at how the virtual exhibition 'Social Work in 40 Objects' and initiatives such as 'Kitbag' are using objects to develop understanding and enhance emotional literacy.
Why we need breathing space
4 November 2021
CoramBAAF Health Consultant, Ellie Johnson, looks ahead to this year’s Health Group Conference and why wellbeing and particularly our mental health are central to this year’s programme.
Reflecting on Adoption Activity Days – 10 years on
22 October 2021
As Coram celebrates the placing of over 1400 children with loving adoptive families, Jane Poore looks back on their evolution at BAAF from controversial idea through to acclaimed matching practice.
Holding adoption in mind
18 October 2021
This year's National Adoption Week is dedicated hearing from all affected by adoption: adopters, adoptees, birth parents as well as the practitioners who support them. In this blog, John Simmonds reminds us of three important issues that need to be held in the minds of those individuals, families and professionals involved in adoption.
Progressing anti-racist practice in the family justice system
7 October 2021
Within our sector there is renewed attention on the ways in which racism impacts on children, families, communities, practitioners, and our organisations. Many of our members are progressing work on holding ‘critical conversations’ about difference and power to help develop practitioner confidence in addressing inequalities and developing cultural sensitivity.
Supporting adopted children in school
8 September 2021
In this blog, CoramBAAF's Jane Poore and Hetty Verhagen provide tips for making school a better experience for adopted children.
Unexpected enlightenment at a Wednesday lunch time: CoramBAAF Wellbeing Sessions for Professionals
21 July 2021
CoramBAAF Training Manager, Hedwig Verhagen reflects on our first wellbeing session for professionals which explored the three phases of recovery from trauma. The session aimed to provide a space for our members to reflect on their personal wellbeing and create a greater sense of calm.
Why do adults adopt? Exploring the factors that lead to adoption
9 June 2021
In this blog, John Simmonds looks at how family and other relationships can provide crucial support and help ensure the best of family placement outcomes and introduces the new Internal, Family and Systemic (IFS) model.
“A real apology for the mistakes of the past must include action to make sure that the situation has really changed” writes Ellen Broome
3 June 2021
Recent media attention has shone a light on the horrendous practices of forced adoptions in this country during the 50s and 60s. In this piece, Ellen Broome urges us to confront the underlying issues and adopt a more preventative approach.
Contact practices in adoption and the impact of social media: a legal perspective
25 May 2021
In this blog, Alexandra Conroy Harris, CoramBAAF's Legal Consultant, explains the legal framework that governs adoption contact practice and considers how practices might be adapted to combat the risks that social media poses.
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