Peer Mentoring

We aim to develop a network of adopters who can share their knowledge, expertise and experience to support adoptive families as well as help develop our services by taking part in co-production groups, in partnership with Adoption UK.

We aim to:

• Create a Peer Support Network to provide informal peer support, on a one-to-one basis or in groups, to help families through different stages of their adoptive journeys
• Take part in co-production programmes to improve, create, enhance, and evaluate new and existing services
• Take part in local and national support groups to ensure we provide a holistic approach to adoption support.

Since September 2022 we’ve been working alongside experienced adopters led by Adoption UK on Education and Complex Trauma. By taking the lead on these groups Adoption UK have allowed us to step down from our professional roles, and instead to be a person in the room alongside experienced adoptive parents. We have been enabled to listen, learn and gain a greater depth of understanding about the lived experience of an adoptive family, adoptive parents and their children. Together we have been able to think about key areas of support and advice that adoptive parents need in education, and we have also talked extensively about the impact of complex trauma upon children and the subsequent challenges posed to families in relation to access to services, a family’s identity, support networks and just everyday life.

The Education Co Production Group and our Complex Trauma Co Production Group are continuing beyond the initial leadership of Adoption UK. Our purpose is to keep the conversation going about Education and Complex trauma and to provide a space for Adoption East Midlands to learn from experienced adopters as experts in their children and for experienced adopters to have a voice. This information will be fed into the development of our multi-disciplinary team and the support offer available.

As part of the Adoption East Midlands Multi-Disciplinary Team we are developing our understanding of the needs of alcohol exposed children. If your child has been alcohol exposed, if you or others have had concerns about FASD, and/or if your child already has a diagnosis of FASD we would like to hear from you. We aspire in 2024 to run a co production group to consider the needs of FASD children and their families.

We are developing our youth offer as part of the Multi-Disciplinary Team Development. If you have teenagers at home or are an experienced adopter who has been through the teenage stage and are interested in participating in a co production group on this issue, we would like to hear from you.

Our experienced adopters have talked to us about the importance of the first year of adoption, the need for peer mentor support, the need to develop personal knowledge and understanding of trauma and adoption, and just generally the steep learning curve in terms of everyday life. We are working with an experienced adopter who is passionate about the importance of the first year of adoption and would like to develop a peer led session for adopters in the approval/matching stage of adoption. She needs another experienced adopter to come alongside her in this development. Could this be you?

If anyone has an interest in joining any of the groups mentioned above or joining our experienced adopter in her development about adoption in the first year, please contact Vicky Pike on victoria.pike@adoptioneastmidlands.nottscc.co.uk.