PAC-UK has been awarded a grant of £219,700 to provide a regional model for schools and social workers on the education of adopted children.
The funds come from the Department for Education’s voluntary and community sector (VCS) grants and will enable PAC-UK to work with the Yorkshire and Humber Adoption Consortium to develop a nationally replicable model of good practice to ensure that adopted children's educational needs are better met in school.
The project's objectives are to:
- deliver training around adopted children's needs to the designated teachers of every school in the Yorkshire and Humber region
- provide in-depth training and consultations to each of the focus schools
- deliver continuing professional development on educational issues to adoption/adoption support professionals across the region
- partner with virtual schools across the region to extend their expertise in supporting schools to meet adopted children's needs
- identify Adoption Advocates within each focus school and facilitate an advocate network to share good practice and build capacity across the region
- establish and facilitate education-focused support groups for adoptive parents
- develop and pilot a nationally accredited 'adoption aware school' scheme.
PAC-UK's Chief Executive Officer Peter Sandiford said "I am delighted by the news of this award. PAC-UK is the largest independent adoption support agency in the UK and this significant grant enables PAC-UK to set in place a far-reaching project to improve the education experience of adopted children".
"A key element is the piloting of an 'adoption aware school' scheme for national roll out which will include training and educational materials for schools, social workers and adoptive parents. PAC-UK envisages this as a benchmark in raising awareness nationally of the challenges faced by adopted and permanently placed children."
