Hello and welcome to conversations from the AandF podcast.  In this episode I speak to Dan Boxall-Simpson, he’s returned to the podcast to update us on the progress of EPIC Fostering the independent foster care agency he is in the process of setting up. He shares some of the challenges of navigating the process, Ofsted applications and more. It’s interesting to find out why now is a good time to do this and chat about their ethos and vision as a not for profit agency.  You can find out more about EPIC and EPIC family CIC 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.  In this  episode we’re focusing our gaze on the issue of adoption disruption. It’s a hugely sensitive subject matter with the impact on children, adults and professionals often being catastrophic.  Here I speak to Vicki McKeown psychotherapeutic Counsellor at VLM Therapy Ltd & Director at Better Me Better Us Ltd, social worker and panel member. She has broad experience of working with adopted children and their parents and shares insight to the causes and impacts across the system. 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 A&F podcast.  In this episode I speak to adoptee Andy Wallis. We talk about his experience of being an adoptee and the impact on his mental health in adulthood. This is a thought provoking conversation and Andy is honest about the the complexity of being an adoptee. Andy blogs on the subject as well as having told parts of his story in his book  Who's Wally? Adoption, Brian, and Me.  Website: www.whoswally.co.uk 📸 Instagram and TikTok: @whoswally73 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andy.wallis.3572 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-wallis-865ab6195/ 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

I speak to Fiona Wells, social worker, #adopter, #adoptee and #adoption reform campaigner about where we are this #NationalAdoptionWeek.  We talk all things adoption, trends, contact, the good and the bad.  It's an engaging chat and you can see the comments on Al's FB page here.  Patch's even can be found through their 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 A&F podcast.  As part of our look at the issue of adoption disruption in this episode I chat to Charlotte Jenkins. She is the founder of Beacon Family Services but acting as an independent social worker chairs adoption disruption meetings.  It’s a hugely sensitive subject matter and Charlotte explains how bringing together professionals and parents they can potentially make sense of what has happened, she also draws out themes that she has observed doing what is challenging work. 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’re exploring how our different lenses - our lived experiences, values, and professional knowledge, shape the way we see and interpret behaviour. They influence how we respond, the language we use, and even whether we view something as needing a safeguarding referral or as an opportunity for support and connection. By becoming aware of our own lenses and being open to those of others, we can create a shared understanding that keeps curiosity, empathy, and the child at the centre of our practice. As always you can connect with us through the following - Instagram- BMBUltd Facebook – Better Me Better Us Email – info@bettermebetterus.co.uk

Hello and welcome to conversations from the A&F podcast.  In this episode I speak to adoptive parent Cath who is parenting from a distance, a position  that many adoptive families find themselves in. Often parents struggled to meet the complex and high needs of children with the challenges of ensuring children remain safe also added into the mix.  When this happens it can characterised as a breakdown or an adoption disruption, however as Cath’s story indicates the separation is often necessary to ensure any chance of an ongoing relationship between children and parents. However, getting service to acknowledge and see the needs of children and parents can be challenging to say the least.  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 our Kinship week live with Dr Paul Shuttleworth. We chat about the voices of children and Dr Paul's new book, Listening to Children about Kinship care, child welfare and permanence. You can download the book for free here and please do as Dr Paul worked hard to ensure it was available at no cost and we want to support the excellent work he's doing.  We do chat more broadly about Kinship and the state of the broader context.  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.  Over the next episodes we’re focusing our gaze on the issue of adoption disruption. It’s a hugely sensitive subject matter with the impact on children, adults and professionals often being catastrophic.  Here I speak to Fiona Wells, Adult adoptee, adoptive parent, social worker and director of PATCH  She has direct experience of the challenges that families can face as well as bringing together many families looking to improve the adoption and care system having experienced difficult interactions with it.   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're on the cusp of Kinship week so we look a the report published this week "Handle With Care: Annual survey of kinship carers 2025" view here. Parts of it dovetail with the DfE's Family Routes: Children who return to care research which we discuss and you can view here.  Of course we banter around the issues and unpack our takes, or attempts at takes, on the reports.  If you're an adoptive parent and struggling with challenging behaviour you can join the Walking with Families FB group here. FASD Ireland's research can be viewed 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.  Over the coming episodes we’re focusing our gaze on the issue of adoption disruption. It’s a hugely sensitive subject matter and we’ve talked to a range of people and professionals impacted by it, we haven’t spoken to children or adult adoptees. That’s more a reflection on our network not a policy decision. Here I speak to solicitor Nigel Priestley from Ridley and Hall, he is an adoptive parent and has focused his work on supporting adoptive parents navigate what can be a very challenging process when children can no longer live at home. It is to hard listen to the challenges families face and Nigel offers insight as to the impact on them and the difficulties that they face.  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.  Over the next episodes we’re focusing our gaze on the issue of adoption disruption. It’s a hugely sensitive subject matter with the impact on children, adults and professionals often being catastrophic. We’ve talked to social workers, adoptive parents, adult adoptees, solicitors and adoptive parents but not children.  Here I speak to Ruth and she shares her experience of disruption pre adoption order. It is a hard listen but I’m sure you agree it highlights some of the systemic challenges families face as well as the lifelong impact on everyone in the 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

Hello and welcome to this, what feels like a marker in the year, episode looking at the 2025 Adoption Barometer (click here). We get AUK’s Becky Brooks on to run us through what we know and new stuff. We unpack some of the news before we get to that, ie a new children’s minister, FASD Ireland’s very exciting new report (click here) and Al’s peer support community, Walking with Families, (click here).   Becky brings real insight personally and professionally and she opens up the data as well as analysis some of the bigger issues that come up in the conversation. It’s a great chat that get’s into some interesting areas. 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 A&F Network.  In this episode I speak to Caitlyn Newblé the CEO and founder of All in the therapy of music. She shares her experience of the transformational influence music brought to her. Her vision is to make music accessible and affordable by bringing experienced and advanced musicians into schools.  You can visit her 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, the app formerly known as Twitter or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here Google here Hello and welcome to conversations from the A&F Network. 

This month’s podcast is all about Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). It’s a tough but really important conversation. We chat about how this issue shows up in the lives of children and young people, especially in schools and online, and why it matters so much for those of us working with or parenting children and young people. It’s not about policy or box-ticking, it’s about the real impact, the human side, and what we can do to make sure kids feel safe, supported and believed. As always you can connect with us through the following - Instagram- BMBUltd Facebook – Better Me Better Us Email – info@bettermebetterus.co.uk

Hello and welcome to this episode, a conversation with Bryan Post.  We were delighted to get the opportunity to speak to him at the end of August. He was a generous guest and shares some of his personal experience and his professional expertise. Bryan has authored many books, trained professionals and has inspired many adoptive parents as he shares from his life, practice and extensive knowledge. We also chatted about his latest ai project and you can catch up with all he does here.  Between recording and now an awful lot has happened for the boys. You can find out more about Al's funded peer support project here and as soon as FASD Ire release their report we'll share the details. We tried to keep our intro short but there was a lot to unpack!  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 follow on episode of my Churchill Fellowship. In this  episode I speak to Tracy Moisan  from Canada who is the national director of the National Consortium on Aggression Towards Family / Caregivers in Childhood & Adolescence (AFCCA). The Consortium exists to increase awareness of AFCCA across Canada, to amplify the voices of youth and their families, and to mobilize knowledge in ways that affects policy, systems, services, research, and professional practice to improve the lives of youth experiencing AFCCA and their families. Tracy has a wealth of experience and absolute insight the challenges families face and this is a fascinating discussion.  The Consortium's website is here www.afcca-apfea.ca

Hello and welcome to conversations from the A&F podcast.  A few months ago I was contacted by Karine Tremblay an adoptive parent, social worker and researcher in relation to her work on the impact of living with children with challenging and aggressive behaviour. So, we arranged to speak, it’s a conversation and topic that sits really comfortably within the remit of my Churchill Fellowship and Karine’s description of ‘filial trauma’ will be recognised by parents, carers and professionals.  Karine is French Canadian but her work is transferable to all who live or work in this field regardless of geography.   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 speak to Dee Mills, she's an adoptive parent and had written a book 'Your Adopted Child at School: Making The Right Choices & Getting The Education They Need' drawing on her extensive challenges as an adoptive parent with the school system. Dee is certainly not anti school but full of useful tips and advice born from lots of interaction with teachers and schools. We had a cracking chat and it raised lots of issues and memories for us as well.   Dee's book can be found here.  https://amzn.to/40riO06  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’re talking all things school holidays and how to support children through long stretches of unstructured time while gently stretching their independence. We explore why holidays can feel overwhelming for some children (especially those with trauma histories or neurodivergence, how to build skills and resilience  without pushing too far, the importance of strong, safe relationships—so if things go wrong, you can talk it through and why your support network matters just as much as the routine. As always you can connect with us through the following - Instagram- BMBUltd Facebook – Better Me Better Us Email – info@bettermebetterus.co.uk