Education Resources
PAC-UK's Education Service have developed a range of resources to support families, schools and local authorities in meeting the educational needs of adopted and special guardianship children.
Adopted in School – Understanding the Needs of Adopted Young People
In this ground-breaking short-film, young adopted people and parents share their lived experience of the school system and how it impacts them in ways that are not always obvious or considered. They suggest ways in which the school system could be improved for them and many other students who need trauma informed support.
This short-film was co-produced with young adopted people who have accessed support from our Adopteens Service and was commissioned by five Virtual Schools across West Yorkshire; Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield.
PAC-UK 'BRIGHTER FUTURE' Publications
PAC-UK was the UK representative in an international project called ‘BRIGHTER FUTURE’ which was funded through Erasmus+. This 30-month project aimed to directly improve the educational experience of children in care and adopted children, through innovative training for some of the most important people in their lives – their teachers.
Working in collaboration with partners in Spain, the Netherlands and Italy, our consortium produced four publications:
- From protection to inclusion: Identifying the challenges
- From Protection to Inclusion: A Handbook for teachers on children in alternative care and adopted children
- Early adversity experiences and wellbeing at school: A training module for (prospective) teachers
- BRIGHTER FUTURE Online Library
These publications can all be downloaded for free on the BRIGHTER FUTURE page on The Autonomous University of Barcelona website.
Meeting the needs of adopted and permanently placed children - A guide for school staff
PAC-UK and Adoption UK have published two complementary education guides, for school staff and adoptive parents respectively, to help ensure adopted children get the best possible educational start in life.
The guides explain why these vulnerable children may need additional support in school, what educational entitlements they can attract and what support is available for them.
PAC-UK’s guide for school staff 'Meeting the needs of adopted and permanently placed children: A guide for school staff' covers a range of topics including: what we know about our children in education, a background to early developmental trauma, whole school approaches, and support for schools and families.
Adoption UK’s guide 'Meeting the needs of adopted and permanently placed children - A guide for adoptive parents' includes information about Virtual School Heads (VSHs), Designated Teachers (DTs), Priority School Admission, Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) and dedicates two pages to Intercountry Adoption and Schools.
PAC-UK: Meeting the needs of adopted and permanently placed children - A guide for school staff
PAC-UK Cards - 4 up
PAC-UK Case Studies
PAC-UK Flyer - Supporting adopted and permanently placed children in school
PAC-UK Poster - We want you to know
These guides and resources were published on 19 October 2017. You can read the joint PAC-UK & AUK press release in full here.
Becoming an Adoption-Friendly School
Based on research conducted by PAC-UK, this guide will show school leaders how to develop their adoption-friendly policies and practice, with photocopiable and printable resources. Identifying eight key areas for improvement such as staff training and communication with families, it is applicable to all school settings.
Purchase of the book provides access to an online toolkit, a bank of resources, templates and policies to help schools on the way. The book’s launch took place on 15 May 2017 at the Royal Society of Medicine.
The book can be purchased via Amazon here. For bulk orders and enquiries please contact education@pac-uk.org
Our Adoption Friendly Schools Charter which accompanies the book can be downloaded here and can be freely used by schools to communicate their efforts and journey towards becoming adoption friendly.
A Good Practice Guide for Schools
A Good Practice Guide for Schools clearly explains how attachment difficulties, trauma and loss affect children and young people’s learning, behaviour and social and emotional development. It provides practical, evidence-informed strategies to help enhance the practice of all those working to support and include traumatised children and young people in school.
Published in 2013, our Good Practice Guide for Schools has sold over 4,000 copies.
SPECIAL OFFER - LAST CHANCE TO BUY: A Good Practice Guide for Schools - Understanding and Meeting the Needs of Children who are Looked After, Fostered, Adopted or otherwise Permanently Placed usually costs £10 for one copy and £7.50 each for multiple copies.
… But while final stocks last you can get your copy for just £5. We are also offering bulk order discounts of 25 copies for £99 or 60 copies for just £199!
PAC-UK is a charity and a donation towards the cost of postage and packing would be appreciated.
