Supporting School Transitions for Adopted Children/ Young

People and Children/ Young People with Special Guardians

Anne Murray

Senior Educational Psychologist

Derbyshire Educational psychology Service

References

Department of Education (2013) “New Drive to help children find adoptive families.” Press release accessed online 07.01.2013 from http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews

Delaney, M. (2009), “How Teachers use a Knowledge of Attachment to Work with Difficult to Reach Teenagers”, in Perry, A. (Ed), Teenagers and Attachment. Helping Adolescents Engage with Life and Learning. London: Worth Publishing, pp. 63-96.

Hymans, M. (2008) “How Personal Constructs about ‘Professional Identity’ might act as a Barrier to Multi Agency Working.” Journal of Educational Psychology in Practice, 24 (4), December, 279-288.

Mc Kimm, J. and Held, S. (2009), “The Emergence of Leadership Theory: From the Twentieth to the twenty First century”, in Mc Kimm, J. and Phillips K., (eds) Leadership and management in Integrated Services. Learning Matters: Poole, pp. 1-19.

Norgate, R., Trail, M., & Osborne, C. (2008) “Educational Psychologist Involvement in Multi-Disciplinary Work in relation to Fostering and Adoption.” In Davis, B., Gayton, K., & O’Nions, C. (eds) Educational Psychologists in Multi-Disciplinary Settings. Children’s Workforce Development Council: Leeds.

Phillips, K., (2009) “Leading in Complex Environments.” in Mc Kimm, J. and Phillips K., (eds) Leadership and management in Integrated Services. Learning Matters: Poole, pp. 57-72.Rice, F., Frederickson, N., & Seymour, J. (2011), “Assessing Pupil Concerns About Transition to Secondary School,” British Journal of Educational Psychology, 81 (2), June, 244-263.

Riel, M. (2010), “Understanding Action Research”, Centre For Collaborative Action Research, Pepperdine University online at http://cadres.pepperdine.edu/ccar/define.html, accessed 30th May,2013.

Syne, J., Green, R., & Dyer, J. (2012), “Adoption: The Lucky Ones or the Cinderellas of Children in Care?” Journal of Educational and Child Psychology, 29 (3), September, 93-103.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to: the members of the Adoption

Support Team & Manager Morag Evans for enabling my

attendance at the team day, sharing information, and creating

opportunities for me to engage with this problem; Peter

Lambert, HP & DD Area Safeguarding manager for taking the

time to answer my questions; Ian Johnson, AD for CAYA

Derbyshire for opening doors, challenging my ideas and

signposting me to key people; John Galbraith, PEP, for

supporting my involvement in this project; & to the staff and

administration of a local secondary school who have shared

their ideas and practices and engaged with this process.

Where next?

Develop pilotReview

Output:

Model for Supporting Positive School Transitions

• (Syne et.al. 2012; Delaney 2009)

Problem: How to support transitions for

Adopted Children and Children with Special Guardians in High Peak Area?

Children and Families Bill

(HMSO 2013) Shorter time

frames for adoption process

Attachment

& social

relationships

(Syne et.al. 2012).

Higher risk of exclusion and

low attainment.

during transition

(Rice et.al. 2011).

Schools need support to understand

and respond

effectively

(Syne et.al. 2012)

Families struggle to

meet complex needs.

Existing Post Adoption Support Team For Family &

Special Guardians get financial Support

PROCESS

No easy answers to

"wicked issues"

(Phillips, 2009)

Collaboration can help to develop solutions

(Mc Kimm

& Held, 2009)Collaboration

supports working towards common

goals within respectful working

relationships

(Hymans, 2008; Norgate et.al. 2008)

Participatory Action Research

(PAR) is Consistent with Collaborative leadership, creates opportunities for

joint action & supports

understanding of complex problems

(Riel, 2010)

Plan , Research, Do, Review

Child/ Young Person

EDUCATION

SPECIALIST SUPPORTS

PEERS

& Community

Model for Supporting Positive School Transitions

Integrated Multi Agency Practice

Good home-school communication

Training and consultation

Support for learning needs

Support for social skills development

regular monitoring and review