Cumbria Adoption
Working for Cumberland Council and Westmorland & Furness Council

Adoption support services

Support whenever you need it

Adoption is a life changing event and life-long commitment.

Although adopted children, like all children, require a stable, warm, loving, stimulating home, there is no denying that the difficulties they have encountered in their early stages of development, even if they were removed at birth, will affect their development in some way.

We aim to offer adoption support that is flexible and useful – whenever you need it.

You will have had an Adoption Support social worker who offered you support through matching and until the Adoption Order was granted.

For those families needing ongoing support their worker will remain involved to offer any identified support after the adoption order is made.

For other families the Adoption Support Team can be contacted at any point following the Adoption Order being granted as you may need support at different times throughout the child’s life. 

The Adoption Support Team will remain in contact with adoptive families through quarterly newsletters which are emailed to adopters on our mailing list and contain information about training, family events, information, and resources. If you want to be included on our mailing list please use the contact details below.

What we offer

The Adoption Support Team offers the following: 

  • Dedicated duty line Monday to Friday 9am until 5pm. 
  • Monthly consultations with social workers from the team where we can offer advice around telling, identity, therapeutic parenting, and other adoption-related issues. 
  • Consultations with the ‘Virtual School’  who can offer support to parents and schools around understanding the needs of adopted children. 
  • Consultations with family therapists/psychologists which can help us assess your support needs and provide advice. 
  • Assessments of Need for therapeutic services. Some families need additional and ongoing support, and a full assessment is completed to identify a package of support for your family. We can make applications to the Adoption Support Fund. This is a central government fund which will currently offers £2,500 towards ‘specialist assessments’ and £5,000 towards therapeutic work each financial year. For more information visit www.adoptionsupportfund.co.uk
  • Stay and Play groups for parents of younger children. 
  • Evening support groups for adoptive parents.
  • Themed support groups led by a psychologist.
  • An annual Calendar of Events which includes training opportunities on adoption-related issues such as contact ,openness  therapeutic parenting, identity, parenting teenagers, telling, play, and also family events which are opportunities to have fun, meet other adoptive families and for some children to have contact with brothers and sisters placed with other adoptive families. We also offer fun activities for children and young people throughout the year.
  • Buddying up with other adoptive parents . 

Adoption Passport 

In addition, the Government published the ‘Adoption Passport’ detailing additional support available to adoptive families. This includes: 

  • Children adopted from care have priority access to schools. More info at gov.uk/schoolsadmissions. 
  • Your child will also attract the Early Years Pupil Premium and Pupil Premium – additional funding to help meet their needs They will also be entitled to free early education from the age of two. More info at gov.uk/free-early-education.
  • Many adopters are entitled to adoption leave and pay when their child is placed with them. This is now more similar to maternity and paternity leave pay, and it will include the right to take time off when you are meeting your child before they move in with you. More info at gov.uk/adoption-pay-leave
  • Adopters may have priority for council housing. More info at gov.uk/council-housing 

Adopting a child from another agency 

If you are an approved adopter who adopts a child from another local authority area it is the child’s local authority’s Adoption Service who are responsible for assessing your adoption support needs for three years after the adoption order is made. However, all adopters can access our training and support groups at any time.

Support for adopted adults

If you live in Cumberland or Westmorland and Furness we run adoption support groups around Cumbria, and offer help to access your birth records Find out more on our Support for adopted adults page.

Support for birth families

Cumbria Adoption offers an independent service for birth relatives who are or have been affected by adoption. Find out more on our Support for birth families page.

How to contact Adoption Support