‘Flying in for Dinner’ 100 Voices Story

A family share their story in 100 words as part of our 100 Voices campaign.

Flying in for dinner

Soon we go on a sunshine holiday, across the sea to spend two weeks in the sunshine.

Our beautiful children have been on one flight before, to come and live in their forever home.

Change is a big deal for our two and another flight would bring up thoughts of a different home.

So one short return flight, 606 miles, overnight stay in a hotel 3 minute walk from airport, one yummy hotel dinner and two children that now know they always come home with mummies to their forever home.

Most worthwhile trip we’ve ever done.

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Natalie’s 100 Voices Story

Natalie shares her experience of Scottish Adoption & Fostering as part of our 100 Voices campaign.

I am a social worker, mother of birth and adopted children and a foster carer, caring for children with complex emotional and health needs.

I heard about Scottish Adoption whilst working as a social worker in local authority teams and knew that I wanted to work in adoption one day. I remember applying for 3 different vacancies, the first two times it was for the family placement team and I didn’t get the job. So I started to work for another local authority working in Kinship care, which was a job I loved.

Unfortunately during 2020 Covid started and our then 10 year old foster son was diagnosed with Leukemia. My employer was amazing and let me take time off to juggle hospital and the other children at home and focus on getting him through treatment. When I returned to work they allowed me to do so part time but as with all things, this could not be extended and I returned to working fulltime hours in early 2021.

With the needs of all our children, including the significantly increased needs of our then 11 year old due to complications from his treatment, I could not sustain working fulltime. It was fortunate that Scottish Adoption were recruiting for a part time senior practitioner in after adoption. I applied, and 3rd time lucky, was offered the job.

Since joining the After Adoption team in September 2021 I have learnt so much and used all my skills and experience as a social worker and foster carer. I have also ‘dabbled’ in the family placement team, taking on some families at various stages of the adoption process and supporting them through to Adoption Orders being granted.

Working at Scottish Adoption has been an amazing experience, the work is varied and so rewarding when you see families being created and those who are struggling work through things and become stronger. The focus is always on what is best for the child and having the opportunity to work directly with children in a therapeutic way is why many people enter into social work and I am so thankful to be part of a team who do just that.

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Dave’s 100 Voices Story

Scottish Adoption and Fostering’s very own Dave shares his voice as part of the 100 Voices campaign.

I had never heard about Scottish Adoption until I applied for a job as a marketing assistant back in 2012. In fact, I didn’t know the first thing about adoption so I presumed I wouldn’t be successful in being offered the role. Fortunately, luck was on my side, and I was offered the 6-month temporary role. The marketing role was a new post at Scottish Adoption, and I was tasked with establishing the marketing department, creating a social media presence for the agency and updating the website. This is a marketer’s dream, to create all this from scratch. The only downside was that I had no experience of adoption and didn’t know what anyone was talking about.

This is where the team here at Scottish Adoption shone through. Everyone was so knowledgeable, helpful, and patient with me. It wasn’t long before I was getting to grips with different terms and knew about the adoption Process. It also want long before the 6 months was nearly up!  The placement was extended, which was a relief as it meant I was doing something right, and it want long after that that I was made a permanent member of the Scottish Adoption team.

This is where my own adoption story begins.  I remember one day sitting at my desk on the top floor of the office when Kathryn came in with details of this girl looking for a home. This child sounded adorable but none of the Senior Practitioners had any suitable families at that time. It got me thinking that I wish could’ve adopted her.  I spoke about this with the team at work and by the end of the day I had called another adoption agency and they were sending out some forms. All before I had even discussed this with my partner!

My partner and I had discussed children before and it was something that we wanted and saw as part of our future. We had always discussed surrogacy, due to the fact I knew little about adoption. Now I was working for an adoption agency I knew so much more about the children needing homes and I knew adoption was the route we wanted to go down.

We had a meeting in our home with the adoption agency I had got in touch with and at the end of the meeting the worker pulled out a letter from her bag offering us a place at their next preparation group. Something about this made me uneasy. They had preempted their decision before meeting us, and as an LGBTQ+ couple we felt that they were only interested in us so they could tick a box.

I discussed this at work the next day and Alex suggested I speak to East Lothian council as they were having an open session that week. My partner and I went along and met Ian. The difference was huge. It felt right and we submitted our forms. Ian came to the house to meet us properly and discuss why we wanted to adopt, what we could offer and so much more. It still felt like the right option for us and we were offered a preparation group with them.

10 years later and we have gone through the adoption process twice and have two beautiful children. This would not have happened it Margaret hadn’t offered me the role, if Kathryn hadn’t come into the office with the child’s profile that day, if Alex hadn’t told me about a drop in session East Lothian council were running, or if the staff at Scottish Adoption hadn’t been so supportive throughout the process. It really was great to have them on tap whenever I had questions during home-study, family finding and over the last 9 years of being a parent.

So it thanks to Scottish Adoption that I have a job I absolutely love and a family I love even more! I really hope that in another 100 years people are still writing about the impact this wee adoption agency has had on them!

Happy 100th Birthday Scottish Adoption and Fostering!

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Scottish Adoption’s 100 for 100

Be part of the 100 and help fundraise for Scottish Adoption as we celebrate our centenary.

Scottish Adoption turns 100 this year and to celebrate we are launching a fundraising campaign called 100 for 100.

As part of this campaign we are looking for 100 people to raise at least £100 throughout our centenary year. The way you raise your £100 can be any way you would like. You could take part in the Kiltwalk, a marathon, sponsored silence, bake sale, abseil or even a trek across the Sahara. There are endless possibilities, the choice is up to you. Just know that we will be here supporting you all the way, you never know, we may even join you!

Once you have decided on a way to raise £100 we shall add your name and activity to the list below. We can also help share your fundraising activity and your progress on our social media channels, if you wish.

Roll Call of our 100 for 100 stars!

Dave – 100km cycle along the John Muir Way
Leasa – 100km cycle along the John Muir Way
Karen – Glasgow Kiltwalk, The Might Stride
Ciara – Glasgow Kiltwalk, The Mighty Stride
Leasa – Glasgow Kiltwalk, The Mighty Stride
Morven & Robyn – 100 Swings
Anon 1 – Kiltwalk
Anon 2 – Kiltwalk
Sue – Bake Sales
Jette – Glasgow Kiltwalk, The Mighty Stride

If you wish to be part of the 100 register your interest by emailing Tina at tina@scottishadoption.org

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Be part of the 100 and help fundraise for Scottish Adoption as we celebrate our centenary.

Scottish Adoption turns 100 this year and to celebrate we are launching a fundraising campaign called 100 for 100.

As part of this campaign we are looking for 100 people to raise at least £100 throughout our centenary year. The way you raise your £100 can be any way you would like. You could take part in the Kiltwalk, a marathon, sponsored silence, bake sale, abseil or even a trek across the Sahara. There are endless possibilities, the choice is up to you. Just know that we will be here supporting you all the way, you never know, we may even join you!

Once you have decided on a way to raise £100 we shall add your name and activity to the list below. We can also help share your fundraising activity and your progress on our social media channels, if you wish.

Roll Call of our 100 for 100 stars!

Dave – 100km cycle along the John Muir Way
Leasa – 100km cycle along the John Muir Way
Karen – Glasgow Kiltwalk, The Might Stride
Ciara – Glasgow Kiltwalk, The Mighty Stride
Leasa – Glasgow Kiltwalk, The Mighty Stride
Morven & Robyn – 100 Swings
Anon 1 – Kiltwalk
Anon 2 – Kiltwalk
Sue – Bake Sales
Jette – Glasgow Kiltwalk, The Mighty Stride

If you wish to be part of the 100 register your interest by emailing Tina at tina@scottishadoption.org

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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.”

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Supporting Our LGBT+ Adopters

The second annual Adoption & Foster care support week for LGBT+ parents takes place 20-24 September. Scottish Adoption is proud to back it.

LGBT+ people now play a key role in Scotland in parenting some of our most vulnerable children. Scottish Adoption have placed more children with LGBT+ families than any other Local Authority and Adoption Agency in Scotland making Scottish Adoption the Number 1 Adoption Agency in Scotland for the LGBT+ Community. Vickie Foster, Practice Manager said

“This is something that Scottish Adoption is extremely proud of, we have worked closely with the LGBT+ community for many years, building up this relationship and trust and will continue to work with to support both the LGBT+ community and our LGBT+ families.”

In 2020 1 in 12 adoptions in Scotland were to same-sex couples. Research suggests that LGBT+ adoptive parents are more likely to adopt older children, sibling groups, or those with additional needs and disabilities than other adopters. While LGBT+ adopters and foster carers bring a unique skillset to parenting, they also face distinct and separate support challenges to other adopters and foster carers.

To help our LGBT+ adopters Scottish Adoption will take part in September’s campaign to raise awareness of new, unique content online that our adopters can access as the campaign takes place. Throughout the week this will focus on education. New Family Social – the UK’s charity for LGBT+ adopters and foster carers – leads the campaign and says education is frequently a concern for them.

“Finding the right school for your child is a top priority for all parents. If you’re LGBT+ you’ll want to make sure your family is fully supported by the school’s policies and practices. You’ll also need to know that the schools on offer can meet your child’s additional needs. If you need to access help from your adoption or fostering agency, you’ll want clarity on what it can do for you,” says James Lawrence, New Family Social’s Head of Engagement & Communications.

Scottish Adoption is a member of New Family Social and offers free access to the charity’s services as part of its support package for its LGBT+ adopters.

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Ben’s First Week Reflection

Finding connection in the heart of Leith.

Taking my first steps into the world of Social Work, I was happy to discover that my placement would be with Scottish Adoption. Being a resident of Leith myself, I was excited to find out its office was situated in the heart of the area that I most consider to be home.

Starting my studies back in January at Edinburgh Napier University, I could not have envisioned the surprises that the year ahead would hold. The transition from hands on learning into a world of the virtual required adaptability and resourcefulness that I did not know I was capable of. Being a student on a course that relies so heavily on the human element of supporting and working in partnership with people, Covid would go far in creating barriers to what attracted me most to the course – building connections with individuals and communities.

While I initially considered to have the potential to isolate myself and utilise support from fellow students and the university, this consequently led to a shared resilience and bond that has gone far in strengthening our resolve as students and as people. It is this attitude I hope to take into the real world of social work practice, through my placement opportunity here at Scottish Adoption.

With social distancing meaning that I have had to work from home for most of the year, I was delighted with the prospect of being able to physically come into a working office with real people, doing real social work things. I hoped that I would be entering a work environment that reflected the down to earth, inclusive, and good-humoured attitude that makes Leith so great. I was not disappointed. The people that I have met so far, in person and virtually, have been warmer and more welcoming than I could have hoped for.

The spirit at Scottish Adoption is that the work doesn’t stop no matter what challenges are presented by current complexities in health and social care. The practice that I’ve witnessed so far has left me with a real sense of what drives the work here, this being characterised through means of character building, recognising strengths in individuals, celebrating identity, offering empathy and establishing trust.

It is clear from the little time I have spent here that the shared spirit of community and connection that this organisation radiates will continue to support people through the complexities, frustrations, and uncertainties of these times and I can’t wait to be part of that ethos going forward and ultimately discovering the impact this will have on my development as social work student.

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Finding connection in the heart of Leith.

Taking my first steps into the world of Social Work, I was happy to discover that my placement would be with Scottish Adoption. Being a resident of Leith myself, I was excited to find out its office was situated in the heart of the area that I most consider to be home.

Starting my studies back in January at Edinburgh Napier University, I could not have envisioned the surprises that the year ahead would hold. The transition from hands on learning into a world of the virtual required adaptability and resourcefulness that I did not know I was capable of. Being a student on a course that relies so heavily on the human element of supporting and working in partnership with people, Covid would go far in creating barriers to what attracted me most to the course – building connections with individuals and communities.

While I initially considered to have the potential to isolate myself and utilise support from fellow students and the university, this consequently led to a shared resilience and bond that has gone far in strengthening our resolve as students and as people. It is this attitude I hope to take into the real world of social work practice, through my placement opportunity here at Scottish Adoption.

With social distancing meaning that I have had to work from home for most of the year, I was delighted with the prospect of being able to physically come into a working office with real people, doing real social work things. I hoped that I would be entering a work environment that reflected the down to earth, inclusive, and good-humoured attitude that makes Leith so great. I was not disappointed. The people that I have met so far, in person and virtually, have been warmer and more welcoming than I could have hoped for.

The spirit at Scottish Adoption is that the work doesn’t stop no matter what challenges are presented by current complexities in health and social care. The practice that I’ve witnessed so far has left me with a real sense of what drives the work here, this being characterised through means of character building, recognising strengths in individuals, celebrating identity, offering empathy and establishing trust.

It is clear from the little time I have spent here that the shared spirit of community and connection that this organisation radiates will continue to support people through the complexities, frustrations, and uncertainties of these times and I can’t wait to be part of that ethos going forward and ultimately discovering the impact this will have on my development as social work student.

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The Log Blog

After 6 months of covid restrictions Mel looks at how she can repair the damage caused by lack of face to face groups.

How do we reverse the impact lockdown has had on vulnerable teenagers?

How do you rebuild 6 months of lost confidence?

How do we get back to face-to-face group work, if face-to-face groups have become a risk assessment code red?

For those of you who are working or living with teenagers who are currently struggling with the social impact of covid, the signs and symptoms will be evident. But for everyone else, it can be hard to imagine what teenagers have to worry about. I mean, we got them back to school right?

Unfortunately for some families, therein lies the problem.  For children who found school, education and friendships hard, or for those who thrived being at home full-time, returning to the (new) normal is the real tough bit.

So, what’s the answer to safely practicing group work and at the same time, restoring our young people’s sense of confidence and connection with others? The answer for the Scottish Adoption Teen Group turned out to be right on our door step.

Thanks to Justus, Jamie and their team at the Leith Croft Carbon College, this autumn term our Young Teen Group will be led through their Mine Croft program. Here, we hope to use fresh air and space as our weapon against covid and use therapeutic outdoor group work to re-sow some of the resilience the pandemic took away.

Positivity aside, first sessions with any newly formed group of teens are daunting.  Nerves and anxiety can play out in all kinds of ways, but mostly this looks a bit like reluctance and non-engagement.  Luckily, the Croft team had the kind of relationship building skills that made it impossible for the teens not to get involved. For example, knowing each of our young people’s names from the moment they arrived, to  projecting a welcoming, calm, but importantly fun vibe. In terms of the activities, show me a teenager who isn’t into axes, hatchets and fire…

“Fun”,  “good”, “great” and  “freezing” were some of the words used by our teens at the end checkout to describe their first session. Although it may have been cold, the temperature of the group dynamics was uncharacteristically warm, so a win as far as I’m concerned.

After the group, I (a naturally reluctant reflector) thought about how the Croft might have changed some things for me too. As I watched one of our teens balancing on a log, flailing around and shouting, I found myself encouraging them to keep on going and praising their skill. In that moment, I realised, had this taken place in the old world, with the group in the office, the balancing would have been on a chair, or on my desk. I would not have cheered them on, or boosted their confidence. I would not have laughed. My face would have twitched and I would have promptly told them to GET DOWN. The natural space makes you view behaviour differently. What inside is difficult to manage, outside can become positive risk based play.

So the Croft might just be the answers to a lot of our new world problems. Restoring connections, enhancing confidence, building resilience, beating Covid and… my twitchy face!

The answer: #getgroupsoutdoors 

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Becoming Us

Does online group work really work?

During deep lockdown, I asked myself this question every single time I logged onto zoom to hold an adoption teen group.

Today, looking at our group, reunited for the first time in person since February, I’m thinking, yes it does!

This evening, we’re celebrating the end of last years group with a trip to Foxlake. Coming together one last time before we welcome our new recruits and saying goodbye to Sarah (appointed 2nd most embarrassing group facilitator) as she moves onto pastures new.

The last time these young people came together in person, in February, the group did not quite feel like a group. It still feels like 6 individual young people, only half aware of their common connection (an adoption experience) and group identity.

But this time it felt different, because today I saw…

  • Good Communication – relaxed chatting and genuine interest in one another.
  • Empathy – helping and supporting each other physically and emotionally get through the challenges of the rope course.
  • Connection – eye contact, nudging, pairing up and shared jokes.
  • Group identity – remembering “old times” together and acknowledging that “our group” will change soon and that there will be both benefits and challenges to that.

Online group work is not without its challenges. It can feel like an emotional vacuum. Screens freeze, people literally disappear in front of your eyes and there’s a very good chance that the kids will know their way around the technology better than you!

But, for this group, it did work. It helped promote all off the above and we continued to build relationships and friendships and then, we became an “us”.

To Sarah who we will miss a lot.

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