Episodes

Saturday Oct 17, 2020
Episode 105 - An interview with CEO of AUK Sue Armstrong Brown + #NAW2020
Saturday Oct 17, 2020
Saturday Oct 17, 2020
In this Episode we welcome the CEO of Adoption UK Sue Armstrong Brown. We had invited her on a while back and it was arranged for this week, little did we know what a news rich week it would be with the announcement from Gavin Williamson set in the context of research released on RAAs as well as the quarterly date for adoption in 19/20. We did start with chat about AUK’s Adoption Barometer that built on last year’s and produced some hard data that can be used as a lobbying tool.
We also chatted about representation at the Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board as well as the role and function of the board in the landscape. As always there was some banter and stretching of metaphors beyond breaking point. We also discussed Scott and Al’s letter to the New Chair.
As always your views and thoughts are appreciated, you can contact the podcast through the usual routes and if you'd like to find out a little more the Adoption & Fostering Podcast's Facebook page is here, or our twitter feed here.
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Saturday Oct 10, 2020
Episode 104 - Pause and National Adoption Week
Saturday Oct 10, 2020
Saturday Oct 10, 2020
On the eve of National Adoption Week we have a very short chat about that and the imminent arrival of the new chair of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board.
We then move onto the main focus which is a conversation with Clare Laxton from Pause. They work supporting birth mothers who have had their children removed by the state and are considered to be at risk of repeating that. Leading up to the chat we'd asked for lots of questions from Twitter and Facebook and we raised some of the points that had been shared with us. Within some circles they are controversial and we tired to reflect that in the discussions.
As always your views and thoughts are appreciated, you can contact the podcast through the usual routes and if you'd like to find out a little more the Adoption & Fostering Podcast's Facebook page is here, or our twitter feed here.
Listen/subscribe on iTunes here
Spotify here
Google here

Saturday Oct 03, 2020
Saturday Oct 03, 2020
In this weeks episode we reflect across a few issues that have been floating around the adoption world. We unpick Adoption UK's "Adoption Barometer" and look at some of the headline issues raised in it. We also chat a little more in relation to social work practitioners views on the #YouCanAdopt campaign as well as some stuff that we’ve been doing in relation to that. Al Reflects on this recent NVR training and we discuss the upcoming inaugural National Conference that we’ve scheduled in for the 20th November. We also chat through some of the upcoming podcast stuff that we’re hoping to do.
As always your views and thoughts are appreciated, you can contact the podcast through the usual routes and if you'd like to find out a little more the Adoption & Fostering Podcast's Facebook page is here, or our twitter feed here.
Listen/subscribe on iTunes here
Spotify here
Google here

Thursday Oct 01, 2020
Webcast: Susan Cousins author and transracial and trans national adopted adult
Thursday Oct 01, 2020
Thursday Oct 01, 2020
In this, the last of our Wednesday Webcasts on race and racism, we speak to Susan Cousins and she shares her experience, views and insights to the impact of transracial and trans national adoption.
You can follow Susan here on twitter and access her book here

Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Episode 102 - Adoption Introductions chat FC Ema M and #YouCanAdopt Chat
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
This week we chat about the ever so trick issue of adoption introductions. It's a defining moment for many adopters as they meet their children for the first time and begin their lives together and it is also the end of a foster carers journey of care. Where two contrasting experience meet we have children who are trying to make sense of all of this. Ema has navigated intros several times and we draw on her perspective and wisdom as well as share our own experiences.
However, before we get to that we snag ourselves on the #YouCanAdopt publicity that is prevelant at the moment and speak in unfettered terms (Scott) and guarded bland terms (Al).
As always your views and thoughts are appreciated, you can contact the podcast through the usual routes and if you'd like to find out a little more the Adoption & Fostering Podcast's Facebook page is here, or our twitter feed here.
Listen/subscribe on iTunes here
Spotify here
Google here

Thursday Sep 24, 2020
Webcast: Fran Lusak discusses her experience as black adopter.
Thursday Sep 24, 2020
Thursday Sep 24, 2020

Saturday Sep 19, 2020
Adoption Conversations : Laura
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
On this week's episode we speak adoptive parent Laura and she shares some of the challenges that she faced, with her husband, as they sought to be approved as adopters. She also shares their experience of introductions and becoming a parent.
If you’ve a story of care or adoption and would like to share your perspective or experience then please do direct message us at our twitter feed here or on our facebook page here.
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Music by
Together, We Can Make It by Neutrin05 | https://soundcloud.com/neutrin05
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en_US

Thursday Sep 17, 2020
Webcast: Transracial Adoption
Thursday Sep 17, 2020
Thursday Sep 17, 2020

Saturday Sep 12, 2020
Episode 101 - Scott & Al: Infobantz & Inforantz
Saturday Sep 12, 2020
Saturday Sep 12, 2020
We slow it all down a little and reflect on all that's happened and all that we've learnt over the summer as well as comment on the joys of return to school. There's a few reflections on the fraught discussion around language over the last few weeks on social media and we dance onto the thin ice of representation on the Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board, social work practice and how in the blue blazes we affect it.
As always your views and thoughts are appreciated, you can contact the podcast through the usual routes and if you'd like to find out a little more the Adoption & Fostering Podcast's Facebook page is here, or our twitter feed here.
Listen/subscribe on iTunes here
Spotify here
Google here

Thursday Sep 10, 2020
Webcast: Twayna Mayne shares her views and experience of transracial adoption
Thursday Sep 10, 2020
Thursday Sep 10, 2020
Continuing our webcasts we chat to Twayna Mayne and she shares her views and experience of transracial adoption. We chat about the impact of growing up with a parent that doesn't share your ethnicity and the challenges that can bring. Twayna is open and honest in her views and we discuss a broad range of related topics. As usual, there was a lot more that could be said and can see the webchat as well as the other stuff we do at our FB page here.
You can follow Twayna here and her podcast here.
As always your views and thoughts are appreciated, you can contact the podcast through the usual routes and if you'd like to find out a little more the Adoption & Fostering Podcast's Facebook page is here, or our twitter feed here.
Listen/subscribe on iTunes here
Spotify here
Google here