Amplifying young people’s voices in adoption and kinship support

Published: Friday, April 17, 2026

Amplifying young people’s voices in adoption and kinship support

Adoptee voices

The Adoptee Voices Inquiry highlights the importance of lived experience in shaping services that respond to identity, wellbeing and education. You can read the report here. This builds on a growing national focus on ensuring young people’s voices are central to system change, not just included within it.

Locally, we are proud to be actively contributing to the development of Adoption England’s models of good practice, ensuring they are informed by real experiences and insight from young people. This work is not a one-off consultation, but an ongoing process of engagement and co-production.

We are embedding this approach across our existing youth work offer, including:

  • Youth Connect events
  • Group sessions and forums
  • Creative workshops and activities
  • Ongoing participation opportunities

Through these spaces, young people are supported to explore their experiences, share ideas, and shape what good support should look like in practice. These conversations are directly feeding into wider national thinking and helping to refine and strengthen emerging models of good practice.

A key part of this work is ensuring young people can see how their voice leads to action—what they say, how it is used, and what changes as a result. This “you said, we listened, we acted” approach is central to our commitment.

Watch our film below to find out more about what we did in youth view week:

 

Upcoming opportunity on 29 April 2026

On 29 April 2026, we are hosting a young people’s consultation in person in the Mansfield area for young people aged approximately 11–18.

This session will connect into a hybrid national meeting with the Minister, the Department for Education team, and young people from across England, ensuring local voices sit directly alongside national decision-making.

We will explore:

  • What support is working well
  • What needs to improve
  • Young people’s ideas for future practice

This is a genuine opportunity for young people to help shape adoption and kinship support at both a local and national level.

You can also book onto the 29 April 2026 session using our online booking link.

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