The Adoption and Fostering Podcast

In this episode I speak to Michael Gaither, he was adopted in the US in the 1970s  and moved to rural Nebraska. As a black boy raised by white adoptive parents in a majority white community Michael shares the impact of the profound differences he experienced and the lack of understanding he faced.  You can follow Michael here and there are free resources for those that are interested.  Michael's i...

Hello and welcome to conversations from the AandF podcast.  In this episode Scott and I reflect on the terrible news of the murder of Preston Davey. It broadens out the conversation in to the assessment process and power dynamics. We don't dwell on any of the details but reflect on some of the broader issues. On the day we recorded the PM delivered the long awaited historic forced adoption apology...

Hello and welcome to the A&F podcast In this episode I speak to Nancy Mielle, we first chatted in 2023 when she shared her remarkable lived experience. Here we chat about the interplay of early adversity, trauma and neurodiversity. Nancy shares her own experience and we chat about the challenges of caring for complex children.  Nancy also shares a poem, its written for those with power of deci...

Hello and welcome to this episode of conversations from the Fostering and Adoption podcast In this episode I talk to Dr Claire Agius, she is an academic and adoptive parent who has researched the challenges faced by adoptive parents. We chat about her experience as an adoptive parent and how that led to her academic research. Claire’s hope is to affect change within the system and improvements in...

Hello and welcome to this conference report -  Reframing Professional Practice on Child to Parent Abuse. It was held on the 15th May in Central London and I was asked to share my perspective on dads' experiences as well as generally. It was a great day with some perspectives that were new to me and gave me food for thought on how other communities experience children's challenging behaviour.  I wa...

This month, we're talking about change and endings. Whether planned or unexpected, transitions such as leaving school, saying goodbye to trusted adults, or changes at home can have a big impact on children and young people. 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...

To be honest there was so much news that we missed over the last month or so we thought we should catch up. We unpack the significance of the Supreme Court judgement in the matter of matter of X and Y [2026] UKSC 13 (click here to see the Coram analysis). What does this mean for the future of adoption and while the Law remains constant are we all in a very different place.  We also bandy around th...

Hello and welcome to the AandF podcast.  In this episode we’ve a recording of a Walking with Families  peer support group sessions with adoptive parent and NVR practitioner Rachel Braverman. Rachel has broad experience of working with and supporting families using NVR  and in this mini session titled ‘unhelpful help’ she unpicks the challenges many parents face working with professionals and famil...

Hello and welcome to this episode, it's action packed and we reunite after Scott's many travels! We start with a consideration about the recent FASD Ireland conference and the radio documentary that Scott commissioned in Ireland. It's well worth a listen and you can do that here .  Al has been talking to practitioners working with families living with challenging and violent behaviour over the las...

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 profe...

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 connecti...

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 abou...

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...

To mark a year since I completed and released my Fellowship Report I'm re releasing the podcast. Since then I've partnered with Beacon Family Services and we've put into place some of the recommendations in the Walking with Families peer support community. You can find out more or sign up here .    Hello and welcome to this second episode of Al's Churchill Fellowship. You can read the full report...

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 on...

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...

Hello and welcome to this first episode of Al's Churchill Fellowship. You can read the full report here . This episode draws on peer support specialists working directly with parents and carers living with children with challenging and aggressive behaviour. Focusing on Canada & the USA it considers different models of peer support including social media, virtual and in person. It then consider...

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, foster...

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 reg...

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 re...

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...

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...

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 o...

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...

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 chi...