CoramBAAF Conversations

In this episode of CoramBAAF Conversations, Jo Francis (Publications Manager) is joined by Hedy Cleaver and Wendy Rose OBE to talk about their Good Practice Guide, Child sexual abuse in foster and kinship care, special guardianship and adoption: Learning from safeguarding reviews 2007–2022. 

They discuss findings from 27 safeguarding reviews involving 87 children, highlighting the risks posed by serial abusers, the barriers to disc...

Research has shown that group-based interventions grounded in attachment theory can help carers better understand the emotional needs of children in care and develop strategies to manage challenging behaviours. However, despite their promise, there is still limited high-quality evidence on how effective these attachment-focused group programs truly are for both carers and children. 

In this episode, Dr. Dennis Golm explores the fin...

The March issue (Volume 49 Issue 1) of the Adoption & Fosteringjournal is out now and free for CoramBAAF members to access. Dr Dennis Golm and Vicky Walker talk us through the articles and themes in this issue.

In this episode, we explore the critical question posed by Editor-in-Chief Dennis Golm in the latest edition of Adoption & Fostering – just how inclusive and diverse are current UK foster care research and practice? ...

Adoption rates vary significantly across different ethnic groups, with Black Caribbean and Black African children facing disproportionately longer waiting times. According to the Government’s Ending Racial Disparity report (2022), Black Caribbean children wait an average of 30 months for adoption, while Black African children wait 33 months—compared to the overall average of 21 months and just 20 mo...

Dr Dennis Golm hosts a conversation between Morvwen Duncan and Hetty Verhagen about child to parent violence and aggression. They combine their research, practice and experiences of working with children and their families to explore the topic. 

Dr Morvwen Duncan is a Principal Clinical Psychologist and researcher, currently working across the NHS in a Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Team and in private practice at The ...

Dr Dennis Golm (Journal Editor) and Vicky Walker (Production Editor) introduce Volume 48 Issue 3-4 of our 'Adoption & Fostering' journal. The final instalment of Volume 48 is a bumper issue, containing eight research articles.

Wellbeing, adolescence and the role of the government are key themes in this edition. For more information about the journal or the table of contents for the issue, visit our website. Members, remember to...

Dr Dennis Golm (Journal Editor) and Jo Francis (Publications Manager) introduce Volume 48 Issue 2 of our Adoption & Fostering journal.  

They talk us through Dennis' editorial about ‘Breaking the taboo: Let’s talk about child-to-parent violence’, and talk us through each article in this issue. 

For more information about the journal or the table of contents for the issue, click here. Members, remember to sign in to access the j...

Dr Tam Cane joins Jane Poore, CoramBAAF Adoption Consultant, to talk about the Adoption Framework for Diversity and Inclusion in Transracial adoption, also known as the AFDiT Framework The framework is an initiative by Adoption England, in collaboration with the University of Sussex and The British Academy.

It aims to improve positive identity outcomes for children in transracial adoption. It was developed through a process of co-c...

In celebration of National Adoption Week, Jane Poore is joined by Al Coates. They talk about a range of elements that were a part of Al’s journey as a parent, adopter, foster carer, and social worker. In 1999, Al and his wife Paula adopted a sibling group of three, later expanding their family by adopting two children they had fostered, followed by their sibling in 2013

Al became a qualified social worker in 2013 and, two years lat...

Join us as we explore the Build Not Break campaign with our guests. In this episode hosted by James Bury, Head of Policy, Research and Development, we delve into the inspiring work of the Family Rights Group (FRG) and their mission to support children and young people in care.  

Special guests Andrew, Saima, and Sandra will share their experiences with the innovative Build Not Break campaign, which aims to ensure care-experienced i...

For Kinship Care Week, Ann Horne interviewed Clare Seth about their work on the new Form K (previously known as Form C) due to be launched in January 2025. Clare shares the feedback from focus groups, including the voices of kinship carers, and how they used this to inform the development of Form K. Form K is currently being piloted within 10 local authorities across the UK. CoramBAAF hopes the revised form will improve the assessm...

Leonie is the CEO and co-founder of Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN). She is an advocate for the rights of care leavers and people who are victims of institutional abuse. Leonie has given several major presentations including at the UN in Geneva and received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2007.

Find out more: https://corambaaf.org.uk/resources/access-records/childrens-social-care-files/access-and-support-rights-child...

Barbara Reed is a consultant in the field of records, archives and information management with more than 25 years of industry experience in in all levels of Australian government, private sector and not-for-profits. She been active as a trainer and recordkeeping professional, and has played a major role in the development of Australian and international standards for records management, digitisation, recordkeeping metadata and whol...

Helen Little, Training, Consultancy, and Events Manager, sat down with Marrianne Palin, Associate Trainer at CoramBAAF, to discuss effective ways to engage with children and truly understand their thoughts and feelings. 

During the conversation, Marrianne shared various techniques for direct work with children, offering insights into what these approaches look like in practice, along with practical tools that can be implemented in ...

In this discussion on school exclusions, Augusta Itua, Legal Consultant at CoramBAAF, is joined by Richard to highlight the support and resources available for children and their families. 

The conversation focuses on the pressing issue of school exclusions, covering recent research, the legal framework, and offering practical guidance for parents, carers, and guardians navigating this complex area. 

School exclusion occurs when a ...

Looked-after children face significant challenges in school, often due to poor collaboration between teachers and social workers, which can hinder their progress. Effective teamwork between these professionals can greatly benefit these children by providing more consistent support for their educational and emotional needs.  

Clear communication, sharing information about the child's development, and understanding each other's roles...

This pre-recorded video offers a taster of the benefits of joining our course ‘Making plans for staying in touch’. No two children or their families are the same. The most critical aspect of any staying in touch plan post adoption is that it allows for individual needs and situations.  

This conversation covers some of the key considerations when communicating with children and young people about their contact/staying in touch plan...

Our Legal Consultants, Augusta Itua and Alexandra Conroy-Harris came together to talk about the structures, regimes, differences and challenges for care-experienced adults wanting to access their records. 

Augusta joined CoramBAAF in April 2023 and job-shares with Alexandra, assisting with our advice line and service delivery for our members. Augusta qualified as a Youth Justice Lawyer and previously worked at Just for Kids Law. Th...