Helps social workers and foster carers plan difficult adoption conversations in a clear sequence, from explaining why a child cannot live with their birth family through to introducing an adoptive or forever family. It is especially relevant for looked-after children whose care plan is adoption, and for teams preparing life story work, adoption preparation sessions and placement transitions.
Children are supported to understand what is happening in their lives as decisions are made, with adults giving honest, age-appropriate explanations about foster care, birth family, permanence and adoption. The material is written for use with children in care aged 18 months and over, with the work led by the child’s social worker and reinforced by their foster carer.
A staged framework breaks the adoption journey into five steps: why the child cannot live with their birth family, why they are not returning, how to say their plan is adoption, how to explain that a forever family has been found, and how to introduce the adoptive family. These are useful prompts for direct work, life story conversations and adoption preparation work.
The timeline links each message to key points in the care planning and family finding process, including the final hearing, linking visit, selections meeting, matching panel, Agency Decision Maker approval and sharing the adopters’ welcome book. This helps professionals plan when sensitive information should be shared.
Practical notes encourage more frequent social work visits, extra support for foster carers, and creative approaches such as movement, reciprocal play and simple activities. There is also recognition that children with developmental delay, disabilities or neurodiversity may need the work adapted to their communication and emotional needs.
Created by Adopt London social workers Steph and Rachel, with input from clinical psychologist Dr Megan Hollett, the guide is particularly suited to children’s social workers, family finding workers, supervising social workers and foster carers preparing a child for adoption.
