The Adoption and Fostering Podcast

In this episode I speak to former foster carer Corey Mckinney from the United States,  he shares his experience of being a foster dad and the challenges he faced with his family and the rewards of being a foster carer.  You find his book ‘Foster Dad’ here and view his website here. As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com   Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here

In a fast-paced world where we have an increasing number of connections, how meaningful are our relationships really?   This episode explores the contradiction of being more digitally connected than ever whilst feeling increasingly disconnected as humans. From social media and boundaries to unsafe relationships, and the impact on young people’s social skills, we reflect on what real human connection looks like in today’s world. As always you can connect with us through the following - Website- www.bettermebetterus.co.uk Instagram- BMBUltd Facebook – Better Me Better Us Email – info@bettermebetterus.co.uk  

In this episode I spoke to Sarah Fry and Claire Murphy from the Belay Foundation. They are launching a new support service to support adoptive families access DLA and PIP and we chat about how they can help and the challenges that many families face in navigating the process.  If you want to find out more about the work of the Belay Foundation you can visit their website here Or find out more about Walking with Families here As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here  

Hello and welcome to conversations from the AandF podcast.  In this episode I speak Christian Brock from Virtual Memory Box and he shares the vision and hopes behind the digital system for storing and sharing memories of children who have been in the care systems. They’ve now broadened their work to support families impacted adoption and help maintain links safely.  You can find out more here. As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here

To mark a year anniversary of Al's Churchill Fellowship report we've released a recording from the release event for practitioners from last year.  I shared reflections from my Churchill Fellowship Report on Walking with Families. Looking at models of support and intevention for families drawn from the Canada, US, Ireland and Austrailia. I offer areas for practice development in the UK to offer ongoing support for families that often struggle to find effective and ongoing support while caring for vulnerable children that have care experience having experiened high levels of adversity. Churchill Fellowship Report Event - Walking with Families Practitioner event April 23rd 2025 You can read the report and listen to the audio library of many of the interviews here. https://alcoates.co.uk/churchill-fellowship

On the 15th May Maria Duah is delivering a conference at Coram in London looking to Reframe Professional Practice in the Child to Parent Abuse arena.  In this short chat Maria shares her experience as a profession supporting families and children, her vision behind the conference and who is speaking.  You can sign up here and and connect with Maria here  and we hope to record some of the sessions as well.  As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here  

Hello and welcome to this episode of the A&F podcast, we unpack the fallout of our Canada trip and answer a question from a listener. Over the last few weeks there's been a few consultations for the DfE by Adoption England, we unpack some of that and the recent Adoption Forum event looking at the legal guidance around maintaining family links. As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here

Hello and welcome to conversations from the AandF podcast.    In this episode I speak to Dallas a parent through adoption who lives in Canada she shares the experience of adopting two children and the impact of caring for children with complex and challenging behaviour on her relationship with her husband and beyond. Dallas is frank about her circumstances and the difficulties that she faces and regardless of the context and country.     As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com   Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here

In this episode we are talking about positive dosing - the small, consistent, positive interactions that help children who have experienced trauma, loss, or instability begin to build self-worth, trust, and connection. We explore why positive attention matters more than we often realise and explore the simple, realistic ways carers and parents can build connection into everyday moments. We also recognise that as adults, we need a bit of positive dosing too, so it’s worth thinking about this in your own life with friends, family and colleagues as small positive interactions matter for everyone. As always you can connect with us through the following - Website- www.bettermebetterus.co.uk Instagram- BMBUltd Facebook – Better Me Better Us Email – info@bettermebetterus.co.uk

Hello and welcome to conversations from the AandF podcast.  In this episode I speak to a former guest Mary-Joy Johnson founder of Wildways therapy and an integrative psychotherapist whose work focuses on supporting adoptive parents. This is a really helpful conversation considering the impact of trauma on parents and considers where that comes from as well as changing the narrative of self care to one of community care. I hope you find it useful and if you want to know more of the work she does you can access Mary-Joy’s website here As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here

Hello and welcome to the second podcast from our Canada road trip. In this episode we reflect on a few of the conversations we had with the team from Interwoven Connections. They support families formed though adoption, fostering, kinship and customary care and have a huge knowledge base around FASD and CPV (AFCCA). We were given much to think of and we unpack it as well as being a little giddy at being in the same room for the 8th day in a row!  You can listen to Tanya Dugay's interview from my Churchill Fellowship here.  As always, if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com   Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here

Hello and welcome to the this Canada road trip podcast, in this first episode we stitch together our 'on the road' recordings as we jollied our way around Ontario and Quebec in Canada.  It's pretty flippant and catches on the road with a few instant reflections on Canada, each other and some of the people we met. In the next episode we unpack our time in Smith Falls and Ottawa with a few members of the Interwoven Connections team as well as some broader issues.  Scott also recorded an interview with the Hamilton FASD Collaborative and we'll be releasing that soon.  As always, if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com   Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here

Hello and welcome to the AandF podcast.  In this episode we’ve a recording of a Walking with Families  peer support group sessions with social worker Rachel Staff. Rachel has broad experience of working with and supporting parents of teenagers. In this session she unpacks some of that insight with adoptive parents and considers the impact of early adversity on normal teenage challenges.    You can connect with Rachel here If you’re an adoptive parent and would like to join the Walking with Families Facebook community here or the online sessions here.  As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here

This month we explore identity. With International Identity Day, International Day of Happiness and Mother’s Day all taking place this month, we reflect on how identity develops and how our experiences and relationships shape the way we see ourselves. We talk about the importance of checking things out with someone rather than making assumptions, and how creating safe, supportive spaces allows children and young people to explore who they are and feel able to be their authentic selves. As always you can connect with us through the following - Website- www.bettermebetterus.co.uk Instagram- BMBUltd Facebook – Better Me Better Us Email – info@bettermebetterus.co.uk

Hello and welcome to the AandF podcast.  In this recording adoptive parent and founder of FASD Ireland shares his family's story and unpacks the realities, challenges and some of the solutions to parenting a child with FASD This is a different kind of episode, in January Tris Casson Rennie joined one one the peer support group sessions that I host with Walking with Families. We are a community of adoptive parents who are living with challenging behaviour and Tris is an adoptive parent and the founder of FASD Ireland. In this session he was able to unpack Feotal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder - FASD- with us and help us make sense of behaviour and what can help with that. He gives a pocket sized training then answers some of the questions from the community.  You can find out more of the work that Tris and his husband Scott do here FASD Ireland.  If you’re an adoptive parent and would like to join the community. Below is the  link to the joining form, we meet weekly online on Monday lunchtimes as well as during the month in the evenings.  https://forms.office.com/e/drdn16BLZ2 We also have a FB group that will be part of the community and you can join that here.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1620682492650215/ As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here

Hello and welcome to conversations from the AandF podcast.  In this episode I speak to Richard McCombe an adoptive parent. He shares his family’s experience of adoption including the challenges that they have faces caring for children with complex needs and complex behaviour. Richard lives in Scotland and the different aspects of that experiences are also shared.  As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com   Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here

Hello and welcome to this special edition of the Fostering and Adoption podcast On the 12th February Patch held their first in person conference in Liverpool bringing together adoptive parents, adult adoptees and professionals from the adoption arena. Fiona Wells is the founder and a driving force behind Patch and here is a recording of her morning keynote presentation on the “Journey of the Child.” If you want to know more about the work of Patch you can find that here.  As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here

Hello and welcome to the A&F podcast with Scott Casson-Rennie AMBII and Al Coates.  This was recorded the day of the Children's Minister's announcement on the Adoption & Special Guardianship Support Fund and the announcement of a consultation. So, after a little banter we get right into it and unpack our views on it. Frankly we pull no punches and throw caution to the wind of ever getting Josh Mac on the podcast.  We also unpack the announcement for an extra 10,000 carers and after a short pause we get onto the issue of is foster caring a job!  Below is the link to the FASD Ireland conference. A limited number of Early Bird tickets are now available - secure your place today: www.fasdireland.ie/conference If you're an adoptive parent and are wanting to join the 'Walking with Families' online FB group you can join here  or  if you want to sign up to the weekly online support meetings for adopters caring for children with challenging behaviour you can do so here   As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here

  As February is the month of love, we thoughts we’d explore what love really means especially in the context of adoption and fostering. What does love look like in real life? How do our different love languages shape the way we give and receive? And how does trauma affect the way children and adults experience love, connection, and safety? We reflect on the powerful truth that while love is vital, love alone does not heal trauma and consider what children and families need alongside love.  As always you can connect with us through the following - Website- www.bettermebetterus.co.uk Instagram- BMBUltd Facebook – Better Me Better Us Email – info@bettermebetterus.co.uk

Hello and welcome to conversations from the AandF podcast.  In this episode to Dr Maude Champagne , social worker, psychotherapist and NVR practitioner who works in adoption and foster care. Specifically she works with parents who are experiencing violence and aggression and I asked her on to talk about parents experience of recovery once children, who are challenging, leave the home.  There are links to her work below: Recovery When Your Child who is aggressive no Longer Lives at Home As always if you’ve experience of adoption, fostering or special guardianship from any perspective personal or professional and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook page, BlueSky or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here