CoramBAAF Conversations

Welcome to the latest episode of the Adoption & Fostering journal podcast. In this episode, hosts Vicky Walker and Dr. Dennis Golm discuss the contents of Volume 49, Issue 4, released in December 2025.

Dennis talks through his editorial, which focuses on the impact of first name changes of adopted children by adoptive parents – the subject of one of the research studies presented in the issue. The hosts also offer a glimpse int...

James Bury is joined by leading researchers Rachel Hiller, Shaunna Devine, and Pasco Fearon to explore their work on improving access to evidence-informed mental health services for children in care across England. The discussion delves into the challenges these children face, why current provision often falls short, and the practical steps needed to ensure every child receives the support they deserve. 

This episode draws on insig...

Ellie Johnson is joined by Dr. Lynn Snow and Dr. Vicki Walker to explore the newly launched Initial Health Assessment (IHA) Standards from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH). These Standards are designed to enhance the experience of children and young people undergoing IHAs, improve health outcomes, and support overall wellbeing. By setting a higher benchmark for care, they aim to reduce long-term health disp...

Vicky Walker and Dr Dennis Golm are joined by Dr Matt Woolgar and Dr Tom Cawthorne to explore their latest research featured in Adoption & Fostering (Vol. 49, Issue 2).  

They discuss the mental health and neurodevelopmental challenges faced by care-experienced young people, the barriers to accessing effective support, and concerns around the overdiagnosis of attachment and trauma-related conditions. 

The episode also highlight...

Jane Poore, Adoption Consultant, is joined by Alistair to discuss Chairing adoption panels, and his experience as a single adoptive parent. They touch on the support plan that helped Alistair and his son, for both of their needs, and the support they had before the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF). 

They widen their conversation to consider the adoption process and the needs of children and their families, whi...

In this episode, we explore the increasingly international scope of ‘Adoption & Fostering’ journal, where over half of recent submissions come from outside the UK. Dr Dennis Golm and Vicky Walker highlight powerful new research from around the world, ranging from adoptive parent regret in the US, to mental health support for children in Nigerian institutions, to foster care experiences in Greece and family engagement in Italian...

In this episode of CoramBAAF Conversations, consultants Jane Poore, Clare Seth, and Emma Fincham explore the extensive work behind the recent updates to three key social work assessment tools: Form K (Kinship Care Assessments), Form F (Foster Carer Assessments), and the CPR (Child’s Permanence Report) for England. 

They discuss the reasons for revising these forms, the collaborative development process, and the challenges of creati...

Welcome back to CoramBAAF Conversations! In this episode, we’re diving into a powerful discussion drawn from the 'Adoption & Fostering' journal. Host Dr Dennis Golm, Editor-in-Chief, and Production Editor Vicky Walker are joined by two leading voices in fostering research and practice to talk about one of the sector’s most challenging issues—allegations of abuse in care. 

Professor Damien Riggs is a researcher based at Flinders...

In this episode, Anne Horne talks with Professor Gillian Schofield to unpack the Secure Base model - a framework grounded in attachment research that supports children and young people in care. Together, they trace the model’s development, break down its five key caregiving dimensions, and discuss how it has been adapted for foster care, kinship care, adoption, schools, and residential settings. Listeners will also hear about pract...

In this episode, Clare Seth, CoramBAAF’s Kinship Consultant, author, and practicing social worker, joins Jo Francis, Publications Manager at CoramBAAF, to discuss Undertaking a kinship care assessment, the newly updated guide designed to support social workers in planning their conversations with prospective kinship carers, that has been co-authored with job share partner, Ann Horne. 

This revised edition replaces the previous guid...

Welcome to the latest episode of the Adoption and Fostering Journal podcast. In this episode, hosts Vicky Walker and Dr. Dennis Golm discuss the contents of Volume 49, Issue 2, released in July 2025.

This episode delves into various articles featured in the journal, including a compelling scoping review by Jenny Conrick and colleagues on direct-to-consumer genetic testing. The episode highlights why adopted individuals might seek g...

There is a great need for more foster carers in the UK. The lack of foster carers means that children who need foster homes have less choice about where they might live, often meaning they are not fostered near to their families and schools. In recent years, foster care organisations have recruited more and more foster carers from ethnic minorities, single foster carers and non-heterosexual foster carers.

However, Disabled people d...

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...