Scottish Adoption Appoints New Chief Executive

Scottish Adoption has appointed Sue Brunton as Chief Executive with Margaret Moyes stepping down after 14 years leading the adoption charity.

Sue started her new role on Monday 21st of March and couldn’t be more excited to be joining Scottish Adoption “I have long been hugely impressed by the work that Scottish Adoption does, recognising that alongside good solid adoption recruitment, support, therapy and after adoption support, Scottish Adoption have led on really innovative and cutting edge developments such as their work with children and young people and birth parents and promoting LGBTQ+ adoption to name but a few. It’s an honour and a privilege to be appointed to the role.”

Sue worked for Barnardo’s heading up their family placement services across the UK and prior to that looked after their fostering and adoption teams in Scotland. Over her career as a social worker, Sue has spent around 25 years working in services to looked after infants, children and young people and care experienced adults including working with CELCIS and BAAF.

Talking about the future of the agency Sue stated “This is an interesting time to be working in adoption in Scotland, the focus on Care provided by The Promise and the proposals to develop a National Care Service present us with opportunities, although the year on year fall in the numbers of children being placed for adoption also present us with some challenges. The most important thing is that we focus on doing what we do well and I will be taking time to get to know the organisation better to understand the challenges and opportunities we face.” 

Sue also paid tribute to Margaret Moyes who leaves the agency after 14 years of service, “I want to pay tribute to Margaret who is providing me with a robust handover. The organisation is in very good shape thanks to Margaret’s commitment and hard work and I am aware hers are big boots to fill.”

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.