Welcome

This month’s bulletin concentrates on the announcement, this week, of the Adoption Support Fund.  We are also reminding you that it is still possible to book a place on the first tranche of BAAF training seminars and announcing the dates of the second tranche that will run to early 2014. Finally, if you have any nominations for this year’s National Adoption Awards, BAAF would like to hear from you. Further details are below.

Adoption Support Fund

•   The Children’s Minister, Edward Timpson announced on 10 September that the government is creating an Adoption   Support Fund to make adoption support accessible, timely and of high quality for those families that need it the most. The Department for Education has committed £19.3 million for 2015/16 into the Fund with a commitment of continued funding thereafter. A period of testing a small scale version will precede full implementation of the Fund.
•   Adoption support services play a vital role in helping to address the specific issues that some adoptive families might   encounter with an adopted child. The Adoption Support Fund manages risk by spreading the cost of adoption support. We want the £19.3 million to provide the stimulus for a new approach that will involve local authorities, central government, and other organisations in contributing to the cost of supporting past, present, and future adoptions.
•   The Adoption Support Fund will pay primarily for therapeutic services such as attachment-based therapy and intensive family interventions. Therapeutic services are needed by relatively few people, but have a high cost; this insurance model will prevent this being a barrier to families receiving the services they need.
•   Further information on the Adoption Support Fund is available on

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-193-million-support-fund-for-adoptive-parents

BAAF Training

•   DfE has contracted with BAAF to run free seminars to support the adoption reform programme. A limited number of places will be available at each of these sessions to all adoption agencies and adoption support agencies in England. The first tranche of training on Implementing the Adopter Assessment Process is continuing to the end of September and places can still be booked.

Monday 16^th Sept 2013   – BAAF Newcastle Office

Tuesday 24^th Sept 2013   – The Heatons, Manchester

Friday 27^th Sept 2013   – BAAF London Office

Monday 30^th Sept 2013   – BAAF Birmingham Office

•   The second tranche of training will be run between November and January and will focus on the use of Fostering for Adoption and Concurrency and their place in planning permanence for children.
•   These seminars are booking now with early dates booking fast -

Wednesday 6^th Nov 2013 – BAAF Newcastle Office - already fully booked

Thursday 14^th Nov 2013 – BAAF Leeds Office

Tuesday 19^th Nov 2013 – BAAF Birmingham Office

Tuesday 26^th Nov 2013 – The Heatons, Manchester

Wednesday 27^th Nov 2013 – BAAF London Office

Monday 2^nd Dec 2013 – CCS, Bristol

Tuesday 10^th Dec 2013 – BAAF Leeds Office

Wednesday 11^th Dec 2013 – BAAF Newcastle Office

Friday 13^th Dec 2013 – BAAF Birmingham Office

Thursday 19^th Dec 2013 – BAAF London Office

Thursday 19^th Dec 2013 – The Heatons, Manchester

Monday 13^th Jan 2014 – BAAF London Office

Tuesday 14^th Jan 2014 – The Heatons, Manchester

Monday 20^th Jan 2014 – CCS, Bristol

Wednesday 22^nd Jan 2014 – BAAF Leeds Office

Wednesday 22^nd Jan 2014 – BAAF Birmingham Office

Tuesday 28^th Jan 2014 – BAAF London Office

Wednesday 29^th Jan 2014 – BAAF Newcastle Office

•   Details and registration forms can be found on the BAAF website at http://www.baaf.org.uk/training/events?page=1  and any enquiries can be sent to dfetraining@baaf.org.uk.

National Adoption Awards 2013

•   This year’s National Adoption Week runs between 4 and 10 November and BAAF is currently inviting nominations for the National Adoption Week Awards. These Awards recognise outstanding contributions to adoption over the past 12 months. There are a number of categories, including Adoption Service of the Year; Adoption Social Worker of the Year; Adoption Champion of the Year; Adoption Picture of the Year and, Supporter of the Year. The closing date for all nominations is 1 October 2013.
•   The winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony to be held at Ironmongers' Hall in central London on the evening of Tuesday, November 5 and will be hosted by BAAF Patron and broadcaster, Nicky Campbell.
•   To nominate an individual for any of the categories or to find out more information, please visit www.nationaladoptionweek.org.uk

Keeping you in touch

We are sending this update to those we have contact details for and look to you to disseminate this bulletin more widely among your colleagues and members. If you do not wish to receive this update please reply to this email and we will ensure your details are removed before any further updates are circulated. If any of your colleagues would like to be added to our circulation list they should send their name, email address and job title to adoption.REFORM@education.gsi.gov.uk.

If you have any suggestions as to how we might make these updates more useful to you – or items you would like to see – please let us know by contacting the email address above.

Department for Education
www.education.gov.uk