A word from...... James Lawrence, Head of Communications & Engagement

The return to school after the summer months can be both daunting and well-needed for LGBTQ+ people who’ve adopted, foster or are special guardians. While an extended break can really help refresh their children, it can also exhaust their parents and carers.

For some children the return to school can trigger intense anxiety. Weeks before the actual start, they may focus on the many questions they have. Where will I sit? Who’ll be around me? Will I have to explain my story to new people? Close liaison with the school can reduce this – the school may be happy to show your child around before the new term starts, for your child to meet their teacher informally and agree where is best for them in the classroom.

Then there are the other challenges our children may face. Their journey before they reach the classroom often involves significant levels of trauma, neglect or abuse. That alone can affect their behaviour and present real difficulties for them when at school.

There’s also the potential for additional complications. The latest figures show that 58.1 per cent of children in England who’d been looked-after continuously for 12 months at 31 March 2023 also had special educational needs (SEN).

Special educational needs can add an extra layer of difficulty to navigate for looked-after young people and those who care for them. Learning – if your child has SEN and is care experienced – can be a challenge and require a unique response from teachers to fully support the child.

Accessing this support isn’t always easy or straightforward. There can be a reluctance to introduce multiple support strategies until your child receives a diagnosis. Then there’s the delay faced by many parents and carers of children suspected of having SEN – there may be a delay of months or years before an assessment starts.

For LGBTQ+ adoptive parents there’s a strong likelihood that their adopted child will receive a diagnosis post-adoption. When we polled our members, 1 in 6 – 17 per cent – said their child received a diagnosis of a neurodivergence condition after the child’s adoption. This means that some LGBTQ+ adoptive parents try to develop new strategies for supporting their child while at the same time trying to secure the help their child needs at school.

Then, once the new academic year starts, some of the stress will ebb as new routines form and the unknown becomes familiar. For our members the next milestone begins with a ‘C’ and hits in December. But that’s a not a topic for Autumn, that’s for Winter.