Activity Day

Sarah shares her experience of an Adoption Activity Day.

One of our Senior Practitioners, Sarah, attended an Activity Day in Bristol with her adopters. Here Sarah shares her expereince of the day.

On Sunday I attended my first activity day or play day as it was called. This play day was being held on the outskirts of Bristol which meant a very early start for a Sunday morning, leaving the house at 6am for an 820am flight. I wouldn’t normally make such an effort to travel from Edinburgh to Bristol for a random play day. This however, was no random play day. A couple of weeks earlier our agency had recieved a profile for two boys, 4 and 5, who needed a new forever family, or as we later learned, a growing up family as they understand it. These boys were not only adorable in the photos with cheeky grins but also love dogs, being outside, walking, exploring, are crafty and arty and have a lovely sibling bond. They sounded like a great potential match for my adopters who also love all of the above. So after sharing the profile with my adopters and numerous conversations with the boys social worker, we were invited to come to the play day as the boys were going to be there. Needless to say my adopters jumped at the opportunity to meet these cheeky chaps and so this led to my 5am Sunday morning start.

We arrived at the play centre where the day was being held and were warmly welcomed by all the staff facilitating the event. They all knew we had come from Edinburgh and I think they were just as excited about the adopters meeting the boys as we were. This wasn’t the boys first play day and while they had had another potential match this had fallen through, so it felt like everyone was invested in the boys future.

The staff had set up a grown up room where we had bottomless tea, coffee and biscuits. In here they also had pictures of the children who were attending, with their names and any geographical restrictions for placement. That was all we knew about the children. Altogether there were 14 children, a mixture of single children and siblings groups of 2 and 3, aged from 18 months to 8 years old. From our side there were about 11 sets of adopters. After an introduction from one of the organisers, explaining the structure of the day, play, tea and snack, parachute games and then storytime, some hints and tips about conversation starters with the children and foster carers, it was play time as the children had started to arrive.

To begin with it all felt a bit awkward, at the best of times, grown ups are not very good at playing without children, then add in the mix of anticipation and nerves and you have some very awkward adults! Things soon became more relaxed as the children began playing and were supported by the helpers who facilitated some crafts and music. Soon the boys arrived and they were even more adorable in real life than the photos showed! After some play inside, the foster care suggested to the boys that they explore outside and they were off. My adopters tried to wait a few minutes before joining them outside and I followed them 10 minutes later. The boys loved the outdoor activities, the swing, flying fox, slide and balance beams. My adopters and the boys were having a great time just playing and generally being silly. The next 30 to 40 minutes was all outdoor play and by a touch of fate no other children or adopters came out to play so my adopters were fortunate to really spend a lot of time with them. The boys decided that they would like to play on the bikes and we felt that we had possibly hogged the boys and their carer’s time, so we went inside to warm up, take a breath and get a reassuring cup of tea. It was easy for me to see that my adopters were rather smitten already.

We then all gathered back to have some group parachute games, during which the boys kept connecting with my adopters through eye contact and silly faces (though that might have been the adopters more with silly faces)! After story time, we all went on a bear hunt and we were only a little bit scared! And a ball flight in the soft play ball pit the day was being to draw to a close I don’t think any of us wanted it to end. The boys wanted to show the adopters their bikes as they had ridden here, and then it was time to say goodbye.

For us the day was a great success, getting to meet the children the adopters had read about was invaluable and really helped to cement the connection they were beginning to feel. Over dinner that evening we all reflected that it would have been a very different experience to attend without knowing anything about any of the children. It would have been much more overwhelming, as it would be walking into any room full of children you don’t know and trying to play, but with the added knowledge that you could possible adopt one of them it adds a certain level of anxiety. However, from my perspective I would also have prepared the adopters differently if we were attending the event without having a specific child in mind, so perhaps that would have been much more reassuring to the adopters or perhaps they would have decided it wasn’t the right type of event for them.

Overall I am so glad that we attended this play day and I would encourage others to do the same if they are given the opportunity. For more adopters it has made them more committed to pursuing this link and proceeding to the next stage of meeting all the professionals around the boys. Nothing beats meeting the children, they are the centre of this process and while we don’t want to expose them to too much uncertainity or risk, they have also had an opportunity to show that they also had fun with the adopters and hopefully also felt a connection, I think this is a strong foundation for a match going forward.

The children all appeared to have fun and left with smiles on their faces. Hopefully not only will these boys have a new growing up family but hopefully many of the other children who attended too.

Finding My Birth Family

Tracing birth family members can be hard, but Scottish Adoption are with you every step of the way. Read how Leasa helped one man reconnect with birth family he didn’t know he had.

Despite having had wonderful adoptive parents who had always been open and talked to me about my adoption, I came to a point in my life when I thought that no woman would put her baby up for adoption unless she, in some way or another, was going through difficult circumstances. Through research I learned my birth mother had no relatives she knew about as she too was an adopted child. This is why I belive that my birth mother made a painful but wise decision for both herself and myself by putting me up for adoption – undoubtedly with horrific pain in her heart. Thus, as a mother she must have had to carry a painful dark secret all her life; being a single mother in those days was classified as sinful – a very sad state of affairs.

Who knows, perhaps my birth mother and my birth father may both have wanted to know how their son was getting on in life and may even have wanted to see him. With this is mind I started my twenty year search to find out who my birth parents were and if they were still alive.

Scottish Association for the Adoption of Children, now called Scottish Adoption, is the charity that assisted my birth mother to find adoptive parents for me. Thanks to a tip I was given in 2018, I contacted Leasa Bleteau at Scottish Adoption. Now my birth father is not named on my birth certificate, so it can be classified as being an abbreviated certificate, but Leasa was able to provide me with information as to who my birth father was. Unfortunately both of my birth parents has passed away but further research enabled me to come in contact with sisters and a brother on my birth father’s side who now live in Australia. I  was also able to track down the final resting place of my birth parents enabling me to finally “give this a place” and at the same time close what proved to have been a somewhat daunting twenty year chapter in my life.

Tracing blood relatives can be like a rollercoaster of excitement and at times painful disappointments that hurt. My advice to those who are interested in tracing their birth family is to be patient, expect disappointments and rejection from a few as you progress, but whatever you do don’t let anyone deter you in achieving your objective. Most of all, maintain your faith with Scottish Adoption as they are such a great team that are there to support and guide you.

Thank you again Leasa; I now have blood sisters who have welcomed me into their family as being one of them. Alas we lost 60+ years of not being together, so there’s plenty to blether about…

Christmas Tree Festival

Scottish Adoption is proud to be taking part in this year’s Christmas Tree Festival in Edinburgh

Scottish Adoption is proud to be taking part in the Edinburgh Christmas Tree Festival. this is the 9th year the festival has been held at St Andrew’s and St George’s West in Edinburgh city centre. Our tree will be one of 40 Christmas trees lighting up St Andrew’s and St George’s West sanctuary, each telling a different story. The Festival runs throughout Advent and brings together businesses, charities, church and city, offering space for everyone to reflect, celebrate and wonder.

The theme for our Christmas Tree will be ‘Adopted Voices’ carrying on the theme from the Adopted Voices Conference which our adopted young people helped organise as part of Adoption Week Scotland. We are encouraging everyone to write on one of the decorations what ‘Adoption means to you’ whether you have a connection to adoption or not.

When and where? 

The festival will run from the 8th until the 24th of December at St Andrew’s and St George’s West in George Street. Monday-Saturday 10-6pm, Thursdays late until 9pm.

Do visit, leave a decoration, take a photo and post it on our twitter and facebook pages, we would love to see them!

Duck Race Winners!

The Scottish Adoption Duck Race 2018 has been our biggest race so far!

The Scottish Adoption Duck Race took place on place on Friday 25th May on the Water of Leith starting in Stockbridge and we have our list of winners! 268 Ducks were sold which raised £1340 for our Young Person’s group.

The winning duck numbers and prizes allocated are:

Duck Number 46Fee Dickson Painting  – www.feedickson.co.uk

Duck Number 43 –  Two Tickets (one adult and one child) to an English Premier League Fixture for season 18/19. Tickets will likely be to Manchester United, Manchester City or Newcastle United. Donated by Alan Dey from PE5 Sports Tours  www.pe5sportstours.com

Duck Number 217 – A gorgeous wee Highland Cow from Between the Woods and Sea – www.betweenthewoodsandsea.com

Duck Number 82 – Lorena Peressini has donated a voucher for 1 night bed & breakfast at Seaholm Bed and Breakfast in North Berwick! You will enjoy a lovely seaview room with a bottle of Prosecco on arrival – www.seaholm.co.uk

Duck Number 228 – Helen Bonnar from the Gullane After School Club has donated one week, yes that is correct, one week of free childcare at their Summer Holiday Club which runs from 16th July to the 9th August for a family of up to 2 children aged between 4 and 12. www.gullaneafterschoolclub.com

Duck Number 180 – £50 voucher donated by Claudia Wellwood which can be used for one of her lovely unique illustration from www.facebook.com/ByClaudiaw 

Duck Number 96 – £40 voucher for Carse Makes, visit Fiona’s facebook page for details of her lovely work.

DuckNumber 255 – Family Pass on the Lothian Buses City Sightseeing Tours.

Duck Number 2 – 2 Day passes to M&D’s Scotland’s Theme Park near Motherwell.

Duck Number 121 – A Personal Training Session by Ryan Ramsay plus 5 day passes to the Pure Gym in Ocean Terminal

Duck Number 171 – 5 day passes to the Pure Gym in Ocean Terminal

Duck Number 150 – A face painting Session from Karen Ballingham. Perfect for Birthday Parties!

Duck Number 64 – Bottle of Eden Mill Gin donated by Karen Cameron from the band Obsession www.obsessionband.co.uk

Duck Number 201 – Bottle of Glenturret Higland Single Malt Whisky donated by Maurice Gallagher.

Duck Number 35 – Bottle of red wine donated by Maurice Gallagher

Duck Number 12 – Bottle of red wne donated by Maurice Gallagher

Duck Number 177 – Bottle of red wine donated by Jane McLardie.

Duck Number 85 – Bottle of white wine donated by Jane McLardie.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated a prize and to those who bought a duck, your generosity has helped the Scottish Adoption Duck Race 2018 be our biggest duck race yet, raising more this year than all the previous years! Thank you!

Children’s Lottery Award

Scottish Adoption has been awarded a £16,000 grant from the Scottish Children’s Lottery.

Scottish Adoption has been awarded a £16,000 grant from the Scottish Children’s Lottery. The grant will allow Scottish Adoption to continue to support anyone affected by adoption – be it children, birth families, prospective adopters, adoptive parents and adults who were adopted as children.

As an agency we aim to find loving families for 45 to 50 children every year, most of whom have suffered from abuse, neglect or early trauma. We also run a Therapy Centre which is unique to Scottish Adoption. The Therpay Centre helps children manage their feelings and behaviours, while giving parents the skills and tools they need to help their children to heal from early trauma.

Margaret Moyes, Chief Executive of Scottish Adoption, said: “We are absolutely delighted with funding from the Scottish Children’s Lottery.  This gives us a better opportunity to help adopted children at the earliest age and stage possible, giving them the best chance to go on to lead happier and more stable lives.”

The Scottish Children’s Lottery was launched in October 2016 to raise money for children in Scotland, with proceeds helping to improve the lives of children right across the country and make a real difference to those who need it most.

Dame Anne Begg is trustee of Chance to Flourish which operates as a society lottery under the Scottish Children’s Lottery. Chance to Flourish supports projects that work within the area of social development of pre-school children and their families and carers, making a positive difference to children’s lives in their early years.

Dame Anne Begg said: “I am delighted that we are able to provide funding for Scottish Adoption from the monies generated from the Scottish Children’s Lottery, which was established to promote and support the development and potential of children and young people in Scotland. “Thank you to those who play the Scottish Children’s Lottery; you are helping to support the great work that our charities undertake.”

Charities that support children in Scotland can apply online for Scottish Children’s Lottery funding.

Picture shows (L-R): Kathryn Scorgie, Margaret Moyes, Hugo Allan (Chair of the Board of Trustees), Kirstie Maclean (Trustee), Alison Hanlon, Sheila Jackson (Trustee), Nicky Pritchett-Brown (Trustee) and Lucy Metcalf (Trustee) from Scottish Adoption.

Caring for Vulnerable Children

Free online Caring for Vulnerable Children workshop available to Scottish Adoption Adopters.

CELCIS and Future Learn are running another MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) which will help you explore and develop an understanding of the approaches involved in caring for vulnerable children.

In times of austerity and shrinking public services, the task of identifying and caring for vulnerable children has never been more challenging.

Now in its 8th run, almost 60,000 people, from 163 countries have taken part in this free online course so far. Follow snapshots of Billy’s story, where the theory is linked to the reality of the world.

In this free online course, we’ll help you explore some of the issues involved in undertaking this task. We’ll consider:

  • What we mean by risk and vulnerability
  • How we define parenting
  • How children grow and develop
  • How we can provide children with security through meaningful relationships and attachments

Who should take this course?

It’s suitable for anyone who may come into contact with children who are vulnerable, such as:

  • Children’s Panel members
  • Social workers
  • Teachers
  • Nurses
  • Foster carers
  • Childminders
  • Social care workers
  • Those considering, going through, or have already adopted a child
  • Anyone with an interest in this area

No special software is required and the course is accessible on mobile, tablet and desktop.

The Caring for Vulnerable Children MOOC is delivered through FutureLearn in partnership with the University of Strathclyde and CELCIS.

For more information about the course and to book your free place click here

Adoption Information Dog Walk

Second Adoption Information Dog Wallk hailed a huge success.

After the snow made us postpone our Adoption Information Dog Walk as part of LGBT Adoption week, we had rescheduled and on a beautiful, sunny and clear Sunday morning we finally met up at Beecraig’s Country Park. These dog walks are organised for prospective adopters who are interested in finding out more about the adoption process from our experienced adopters all while walking their dogs and with more adoptive families, prospective adopters and dogs turning up than in previous dog walks, the morning was off to a great start!

After introductions were made and bags of doggy treats handed out, lovingly baked by the Bad Tempered Baker, we headed off down the hill from the visitor centre and headed into the woods where the dogs were free to be let off their leads. Sticks and balls were thrown and muddy puddles were found where most dogs enjoyed a roll about in the mud much to the annoyance of some dog owners. Once we were back at the visitor centre everyone was able to chat and share stories about their adoption journey while we got warmed up with cups of tea and coffee and tasty bacon rolls provided by Paul and his helpful team.

One attendee mentioned to us that this dog walk ticked lots of boxes for them, as an LGBT prospective adopter who owns two dogs, that they couldn’t not come along and meet everyone. This was great to hear and made us more committed to continue to be the innovative and creative Adoption Agency that we are.

Glasgow Pride

Scottish Adoption attended Glasgow Pride and took part in their first ever Pride March!

Scottish Adoption were chosen as the Charity Partner for Glasgow Pride 2017 and with the theme for Pride being #ProudFamilies, was something that we were proud to be part of. Taking part in our first ever Pride Event meant we were able to take part in our first ever Pride March which meant we could reach a much wider audience as we marched our way through the streets of Glasgow.

The two day event started on the Saturday with the Pride March through the centre of Glasgow. The Scottish Adoption team, made up of adopted families and their children, staff and supporters, were part of a 7000 strong crowd who marched through the city. One gay dad who marched with Scottish Adoption commented about how humbled he felt with all the support Scottish Adoption were getting from the people who had lined the street. He added that he was welling up at moments during the parade because the support for being a gay adopter from the crowds was overwhelming.

After the march Scottish Adoption had set up camp in the Expo area where lots of other organisations and charities had set up stalls. Everyone who came along to the Scottish Adoption stall heard all about the adoption process as well as hearing about the work the After Adoption team do, the support they give to adopters, children as well as other family members affected by adoption.

Messages of suport come in from Ruth Davidson and Patrick Harvie wishing Scottish Adoption all the best on our first Pride March.

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Day two and Leasa and Dave were back for another day of sharing the world of Adoption with the LGBTQI Community. They were joined by a very special guest, the latest addition to the Scottish Adoption family, Reiver. Reiver attracted more people to the stall so it was another busy day sharing information, getting cuddles, belly rubs and licks.

Scottish Adoption were extremely proud to have been asked to take part in this year’s Glasgow Pride. Having worked with the LGBTQI Community for many years, Scottish Adoption have become the number one agency in Scotland for placing children with LGBTQI families and it is a relationship that will continue to grow and that Scottish Adoption will continue to support. #BraveEveryday #PrideFamilies #ProudFamilies #LGBTAdoption