COVID-19 support for Adopters and Special Guardians from Adopt London for Southwark residents

30 June 2020

Adopt London, has teamed up with award winning film animation company My Pockets to produce a short animated film ‘Closer and Stronger’ to tell adopters and Special Guardians about the new support to help them during the pandemic.

Many families have expressed a need for support during the lockdown, prompting the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to announce that extra funding to help adopted children and children subject to Special Guardianship orders. Their parents will get the help they need to support the children who have already experienced trauma in their young lives, this has been intensified by the pressure of the COVID-19 virus.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “Many of us have seen changes in our daily lives as we practice social distancing and stay at home. For adoptive families, often still adjusting to their new environments, this may create additional strain.”

This short animated film shows parents and special guardians who are at home and dealing with the everyday stuff of family life, concerned about how best to support their children and access the support they need during lockdown. Watch from the Adopt London COVID-19 webpage.

Adopt London has teamed up with expert organisations  - so families  get help and also talk with other families in similar situations. There are helplines, on line training, therapy and counselling.

The providers are the National Association of Therapeutic Parenting, PAC-UK and Adoptionplus, Kinship Response run by Grandparents Plus, The Adopter Hub run by Parents and Children Together and We Are Family.

Councillor Jasmine Ali, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Adult Care at Southwark Council, said: “The COVID-19 crisis has created immense disruption and instability for all families, but often adopted children have already experienced trauma and disruption in their young lives before they arrived in the safety and security of their families.

“We know that adoptive parents and special guardianship families will need extra support to help their children cope with the dramatic changes of the past few months, and to seek help if they can see signs of anxiety in their children.

“In Southwark we are proud to be the lead authority for the South London Regional Adoption Agency. Our team has been incredibly hard working and innovative in the time of COVID-19. They’ve commissioned new online therapies, new counselling services and have produced a short animation film to promote their services. We welcome the new support package, which will provide an important boost to support our adoptive families.”

The animation company My Pockets have worked for years with young people and families in all kinds of situations making films and art projects that have won many awards, been broadcast on national TV and have been screened internationally at film festivals.

Director Peter Snelling made this film by talking to adoptive families and staff from the 23 London Authorities then making families out of cardboard. He said: ‘It’s been a fun few weeks of drawing, cutting out and colouring in. I’ve made five very different families and animated them, but also wanted to fill the film with the stuff of family life.  As it says in the film - we all need a helping hand at the moment!”

The Heads of Service in Adopt London explain: “We want families to sign up to access the support being offered by these experienced and knowledgeable organisations”.

Page last updated: 30 June 2020