One Adoption North and Humber adoption support

At One Adoption North and Humber, we are here to guide and support you throughout your adoption journey, from the very beginning and into the future. We help you use your life experiences and skills to provide a safe, loving, and stable home for a child at every stage of your family’s growth. Our support doesn’t stop once an adoption is complete - we will continue to be there for you whenever you need us.

We shape our services by working with, and listening to, the voices of those with lived experience, including adoptive families, adopted children and adults, professional stakeholders and birth families, to ensure we provide the best possible support for adoptive families.

We also offer guidance and support on maintaining meaningful connections between adopted children and their birth families, helping you navigate these relationships in a way that supports your child’s sense of identity and well-being.

By working closely with adoptive families, children, young people, and professionals, we’ve developed a comprehensive range of resources, training, and support services to help you access the right help at the right time - so your family can thrive.

Adoption community

Once you start your adoption journey with One Adoption North and Humber, you will be welcomed into our adoption community and a range of support will be available to you. We work closely with a range of adopter volunteers who are available to provide lived experience which can be extremely valuable at every stage of your journey and many of our adopter volunteers attend our training sessions to provide lived experiences to the topics being delivered and discussed.

We work closely with Adoption UK who have dedicated peer support services which are delivered by a diverse range of adopters, from a range of backgrounds and with many different experiences: for example, adopting as a single parent, adopters from the LGBTQ+ community, sibling adopters, and people who have adopted via Early Permanency Planning (EPP). You can access a peer mentor at any stage of your journey (pre and post approval). Peer mentors can offer a supportive role if you are going through the assessment process, as well as after your children are living with you, should you need help with a particular parenting issue. It is a confidential service open to everyone who has adopted through One Adoption North and Humber.

Adoption UK also offer a number of online Q&A sessions for people to attend to gain more insight into a particular area of adoption, for example the assessment process, early permanency planning, contact with birth families, and accessing adoption support. These group sessions are delivered at various times throughout the year.

Membership to Adoption UK is available to all adoptive families. This enables you to take up a host of benefits, as well as being part of the country’s leading adoption network. If you wish to find out more, please visit their website via the link above.

If you identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, you are also able to benefit from free membership to New Family Social, the country’s leading LGBTQ+ adoption support network.

Support in education for adopted children and young people

Education is often a key issue for adopted children and young people. There are various forms of educational support, from priority access to schools, to Pupil Premium funding to help schools give extra support to adopted children. OANH works alongside the Virtual School Headteachers across the five Local Authorities within the region. Our friendly staff are on hand to provide any advice, guidance and signposting to relevant support for your child within education.

Adoption support drop-in sessions

We offer monthly adoption support drop-in sessions for adopters at any stage in their journey (this can include prospective adopters in assessment). Our experienced and friendly staff will be available to offer advice, guidance and support, and answer any questions you may have.

Local groups for adoptive parents

There are a variety of groups open to adoptive parents available throughout the North and Humber region which will enable you to connect with other families. Information about adoption-related matters and invitations to support meetings, training and social events, where you can meet other adopters, are available to approved adopters through the ‘members only’ section of the One Adoption North and Humber website. We also produce regular newsletters to keep you updated with events and news.

Adopted children and young people

The Bridge Project

The Bridge is a welcoming and friendly group project for adopted young people aged 14-17 living in the North and Humber region, and is run by Adoption UK. It offers a space for young people to work together to develop skills such as self-esteem, confidence, and the ability to engage with other people while having some fun along the way. The project also aims to help young people make connections, learn skills and explore their next steps into training and work.

The statistics show that young people who have been adopted can experience more difficulties during their teenage years than their peers, as they make the transition into adulthood. In seeking to support young people at this difficult time of their lives, OANH has teamed up with Adoption UK (AUK), to provide several groups for young people to come together. These groups offer a safe space for adopted young people to work together, chat and have fun. 

Groups have been established in every area within the 5 Local Authority regions across the agency. In addition, AUK has also set up a national online weekly group for young people from the Four Nations across Britain, to come together. This group has more of a focus on adoption, with young people involved in the group helping AUK to raise issues associated with adoption for young people, on a national and countrywide level, through their lived experience. Our friendly staff across the agency are on hand to provide you with more information about this offer, should you wish to find out more.

If you are interested in learning more about The Bridge Project contact Mark Blundell on [email protected] or call 07971 759142.

Adopteens

If you have a young person aged 11-18 they may be interested in looking at the Adopteens  website. This is a project designed by adopted teenagers for adopted young people living in the Yorkshire and Humber area. Young people can access online chat forums, a chat line, attend activity events and be part of a Youth Council. There are other resources available on the Adopteens website with articles to read and useful links.

Support for your family’s particular needs

Every family at some point may need more specific support at different times in their child’s life. We can undertake an assessment of your family’s adoption support needs to identify what services would suit you best.