To mark National Adoption Week in the UK  - 18-24 October - New Family Social will hold an introductory webinar to adoption for LGBT+ potential applicants.

The webinar - on 20 October - is free to attend and LGBT+ people can book onto it via the website

Following public nominations and a judging panel Adoption Matters and Caritas Care today (24 September) receive commended agency status for 2021 by New Family Social’s LGBT+ adopter and foster carer members. The announcement comes at the close of the charity’s Adoption & Fostering Support Week for LGBT+ parents.

Some 130 nominations and testimonials for agencies and social workers were received from LGBT+ people at different stages of the adoption and fostering process.

The two commended agencies received the highest numbers of nominations and the most compelling evidence from LGBT+ adopters and foster carers.

Armed forces charity SSAFA was awarded a Rising Star commendation. This was in recognition of powerful feedback from LGBT+ families who adopted with its support.

Adoption NoW’s Elaine Baxter receives the ‘Above & Beyond Social Worker 2021’ commendation. Tesni Toulliou from Adopt London South is the 2021 ‘Making A Real Difference Social Worker’. CCS Adoption’s Andrea M receives the ‘Social Worker Allyship Commendation 2021’.

Tor Docherty, chief executive of New Family Social said: ‘Record numbers of LGBT+ people now adopt and foster in the UK. Selecting the right agency to go on your parenting journey is key for any LGBT+ potential applicant. We’re thrilled that so many LGBT+ people shared praise for a broad range of agencies and social workers. If you’re LGBT+ and considering adoption or fostering the experiences of others in your position will hopefully help inform your choices.’

New Family Social members’ commended agency 2021 – Adoption Matters

Norman Goodwin, CBE, Adoption Matters Chief Executive said: ‘We’re honoured to be a New Family Social Commended Agency, especially as we were nominated by our own families. Vulnerable children need families who are resilient, empathic and who’ll advocate for them at every stage in their lives .Our experience has shown us that our LGBT+ families have these qualities in abundance.’

New Family Social’s nominating members said: ‘[Adoption Matters is] so child centred, very supportive and really really had our back through complications’

New Family Social members’ commended agency 2021 – Caritas Care

Susan Swarbrick, CEO at Caritas Care said: ‘We’re so pleased and continue to give out our message that EVERYONE is welcome at Caritas Care. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive charity and have LGBT+ Social Workers within our teams. We ensure that each team member has undertaken training on all aspects of their work and promotes equal opportunities at all times for everyone we work with.’

New Family Social’s nominating members said: ‘[Caritas Care] should be marked as the Gold standard for other agencies.’

New Family Social members’ ‘Rising Star’ Agency commendation 2021 - SSAFA

Jill Farrelly, Head of Adoption at SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, said: ‘SSAFA champions equality and diversity, with our adoption service welcoming applications from the whole of the serving military community. The team’s Social Workers and Adoption Panel members have specialist training in LGBT+ adoption. We’re very proud of our record in recruiting and supporting LGBT+ adopters with over 40 per cent of our approvals being same sex couples in 2020.’

New Family Social’s nominating members praised SSAFA for ‘[its] ongoing openness to learn and improve around sexual orientation, gender identity and promoting inclusivity’

New Family Social members’ ‘Above & Beyond Social Worker 2021’ – Elaine Baxter, Adoption NoW

Watch Elaine Baxter’s acceptance speech on YouTube 

New Family Social’s nominating members said: ’[Elaine] stayed with us until our next social worker was identified and kept in contact throughout. Even now she still checks in’

New Family Social members’ ‘Making a Difference Social Worker 2021’ – Tesni Tolliou, Adopt London South

Tesni Tolliou from Adopt London said: ‘I’m very honoured and humbled at being selected for just doing the job that I love. To be someone that our families can turn to and rely on is a real privilege.’

New Family Social’s nominating members said: ‘[Tesni] really 'gets' us and understands our kids and what they need. She’s super efficient at researching, applying for and arranging the support we’re looking for. We feel really lucky to have her as our allocated contact for post adoption support.’

New Family Social members’ ‘Allyship Award 2021’ – Andrea M, CCS Adoption

Speaking of receiving the Allyship Award Commendation, Andrea M said: ‘I’m hugely thankful to have been recognised in this way. It’s a real privilege to do the work that I do and for families to allow me to be alongside them in such life changing times. I continue to be in awe of the families I work with, their strength and resilience, in particular in the last 18 months and hope to continue to be part of their world for many years to come”.

New Family Social’s nominating members said: ‘[Andrea] values the differences we bring as a same-sex couple, and the specific experiences we had that would help us support our son through relatable struggles (dealing with prejudice, proactive and positive advocacy, anticipating barriers to equity).’

For more information visit

Adoption & Fostering Support Week for LGBT+ parents 

Adoption & Fostering Support Week for LGBT+ parents will return from 20 September, 2021. The campaign is led by New Family Social, the UK's charity for LGBT+ adopters and foster carers.

James Lawrence, New Family Social's Head of Communications & Engagement said: 'Adoption and fostering are both parenting journeys. Every parent needs support at some point, but LGBT+ adopters and foster carers can face unique challenges. This campaign will focus on education and contact - two of the most frequently raised issues by our LGBT+ adopter and foster carer members.'

The campaign will include specifically curated content for LGBT+ adopters and foster carers, the results of New Family Social's annual poll of its members and support from adoption and fostering agencies across the UK.

Among those agencies we know that'll take part in 2021....

If you're LGBT+ and considering going on your adoption or fostering journey with an agency not on the list below, you may want to ask it why it's not backing a campaign about supporting LGBT+ adopters or foster carers. All of the agencies listed offer dedicated support to their LGBT+ adopters and foster carers through their membership of New Family Social.

Adopt Coast to Coast RAA 

Adoption Counts

Adopt South RAA

Adopt South West

Adopt Thames Valley 

Adopters for Adoption

Adoption Central England RAA (ACE) 

Adoption Focus 

Adoption in Merseyside

Adoption Matters 

Adoption Mid & West Wales

Adoption Now 

Adoption South East 

Adoption Tees Valley RAA 

Adoption West 

Adoption@Heart

Adoptionplus 

Alpha Plus Fostering 

Arc Adoption NE 

Barnardo's

Birmingham Children's Trust

Bradford City Metropolitan District Council Fostering

Brighton & Hove City Council Fostering

Buckinghamshire Council

Cambridgeshire Council 

Caritas Care

CCS Adoption

Central Bedfordshire Council 

Childcare Bureau Worcester 

Compass Fostering

Cornwall Adoption Agency

Devon Council Fostering

Diagrama Adoption

Family Adoption Links

Family Futures 

Leicester City Council Fostering

Leicestershire Council Adoption

Lincolnshire County Council

London Borough of Camden Fostering Team

London Borough of Southwark Fostering Team

National Fostering Group

Northamptonshire Children’s Trust

One Adoption North & Humber RAA 

PACT

Scottish Adoption

Southampton City Council Fostering

St Francis' Children's Society

Surrey County Council  Fostering

Together for Adoption

Vale, Valleys & Cardiff Regional Adoption Collaborative 

Western Bay Adoption Service 

Yorkshire Adoption Agency

Adoption & Fostering Support Week for LGBT+ parents - campaign page 

Read about the 2020 campaign

https://www.fosteringindevon.org.uk/

The government today published a new strategy for adoption services across England.

Read online

The government today published the national strategy for autistic children, young people and adults - 2021 to 2026.

Read it online

It seems fitting this month, to alert you all to the new pop-up Virgin Radio station, Pride UK. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT+) station broadcasts a mixture of music and LGBT+ relevant programmes. It'll run right over the summer, from now until late September. It airs pieces often close to us. It'll discuss trans-equality, gay adoption, and being bisexual in 2021. There's content for our wider friendship network too. The station aims to help families understand issues affecting LGBT+ people.

The diverse programming includes music, documentaries and interviews. It was developed to raise awareness and reduce social inequality. LBGT+ hosts and guests will create on-air spaces to discuss issues faced by LGBT+ people.

The station's collaborating with Pride events right across the UK. Programmes will cover live events where possible, and virtual events too. This helps us all to support and enjoy these events. Childcare responsibilities or covid restrictions won't be a barrier to the station.

There are lots of ways you can listen in:

· You can listen online 

· You can listen on the Virgin Radio App, which is free to download

· You can ask Alexa or Google Home device to 'play Virgin Radio Pride UK'

There's also permanent LGBT+ stations you can check out, like Gaydio UK. They play lots of music and also have podcasts. These podcasts cover topics including fostering and an interview with same-sex adopters. Yvonne and Natalia discuss their adoption approval and matching process as they await the arrival of their children.

· You can listen to the station live at gaydio.co.uk

· You can catch up on its podcasting online 

We all know how important self-care is. It can be to difficult achieve at times. ‘Attending’ a Pride event - listening to an article -can form part of your self-care for the day. Allow yourself five minutes out of your busy day to listen, laugh, and relax.

However you and your family choose to celebrate, have a happy Pride month.

The Fostering Network wants the whole fostering community, from foster carers to fostering services and care experienced children and young people, from fundraisers to campaigners, and everyone in between who cares about the lives of children in care to step up and tell the world #WhyWeCare.

Charity Diagrama is delighted to be part of Foster Care Fortnight. It is encouraging people who may like to explore the idea of fostering to think about contacting them to find out more about this rewarding career.

Margaret Gardiner, Fostering and Adoption Team Manager, Diagrama, said:

'One of the side effects of the pandemic is that Diagrama is receiving more referrals than ever for children needing safe and secure placements. We need to increase the number of children we can support and are looking to train new foster carers across London and the south east to help with this demand. If you are interested in finding out if fostering might be the right career choice for you, please do contact us or sign up for an online information event.'

Find out if fostering might be the career for you, at a Diagrama online information event.

‘I’m not eating THAT!’

Sound familiar?

On 20 April our LGBT+ adopter and foster carer members met to talk and share ideas about food, their children and fussy eating.

Here are their top tips, courtesy of Riley and Ric from our membership team:

Does your child refuse to eat?

1. Try to chill out about it. They won't starve themselves, so don't worry too much.

2. Ask yourself questions to help you consider the reasons why they refuse to eat. Is it about control? Is it a result of early trauma? How were they weaned? Were they neglected? Was food a source of security, or was it risky to consume?

3. Hide fruit and vegetables in cake! Various members said their children had learned to like certain foods by trying it first baked into a cake.

4. Write it down - keep a list of foods your child will eat. Hopefully you'll be able to watch it grow.

5. If something's working - keep doing it! Don't worry if it's different from what you expected or what your friends do with their kids.

Does your child take and hide food?

1. Do they eat everything they take? Or do they hide it without eating it? Some kids feel safer if they know there’s food in their room.

2. Make sure there’s food available that can help themselves to if they're hungry.

3. Keep calm when they tell you they've taken something or you find the evidence.

4. Cooking and shopping together can help kids feel more in control

5. Make food playful - can they catch a grape in their mouth? Can they guess the crisp flavour?

Does your child struggle with their behaviour at meal times?

1. Think about their emotional age, not their chronological age. Do they need to be fed? Do they play with their food like a baby or toddler?

2. If you're out and about, try having them sit on your lap instead of in their own seat.

3. Do what your child needs, not what you think you "should" make them do. Some children need to bounce on an exercise ball while they eat. Other children eat better if they have music playing during meals.

Looking for the latest statistics on adoption or fostering by LGBT+ people in the UK? If you're one of our Bronze, Silver, Gold or Orange members you can log in and check out each country's stats, below:

	England
	Scotland
	Wales
	Northern Ireland

Need to access the stats? You can create a free Bronze membership in a matter of minutes.

Diagrama is urging members of the LGBT community to considering becoming foster carers after a spike in demand

There's been a much publicised and dramatic surge in the need for safe and secure homes for children during the pandemic. The charity Diagrama is keen to hear from those who might want to consider a career in fostering.

Margaret Gardiner is a Fostering and Adoption Team Manager and a Foster Carer for Diagrama. She shares her personal insight into fostering in this film.

Children who need to be fostered come from a range of different backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities. Sometimes they are babies or infants. Often they are older children. Some will be on their own, but others will be part of a family group. Some will have special needs or disabilities; others will have less obvious needs.

Diagrama supports and empowers their foster carers to provide homes which enable children to feel safe, secure, attached and inspired – where they’re safe and can start to enjoy life again.

Find out how you could make a huge difference to a child’s life by becoming a foster carer with Diagrama by visiting its website. Or you can call the Diagrama team on 0800 802 1910

Alternatively, why not attend a Diagrama online fostering information event by registering via Eventbrite?