October 2012

My child is explosive... and this works!

Do you struggle with your adopted child's tantrums, meltdowns and aggressive outbursts? Would you like to learn how other adopters cope, and discover some tried and tested strategies?

My child is explosive… and this works! on Wednesday 10 October is the first in a series of short (two hour) evening Parenting Forums for adopters and other permanant carers focusing on specific, practical issues and offering immediate advice.

The forums, part of PAC’s Adoption: Living Life to the Full project, supported by The Big Lottery, will be led by qualified PAC counsellors and therapists at PAC's premises in Kentish Town, London.

Further forums in the series - all at the price of just £24 (incl VAT) - are:

Parents under pressure: looking after yourself with Somatic Experiencing®
Thursday 15 November 2012
Start to feel relaxed and energised as a parent with this introduction to Somatic Experiencing®, a pioneering body-awareness approach to the physical and psychological symptoms of stress, shock and trauma.    

How to have a Christmas that is ‘fest-ful’ rather than stressful!
Thursday 6 December 2012
Christmas can be a difficult and painful time for adopted children and their families. This practical workshop will explore ideas and ways that adoptive families can celebrate the festive season with excitement – but not chaos! 

For details of PAC’s full training programme visit our website here, call 020 7284 5872 or email training@pac.org.uk.

Join PAC in the park!

A determined PAC team will be taking to the tracks once more on Sunday 18 November for our annual fundraising 10km run (or walk!) in Regent's Park.  

Hundreds of people of all running abilities will be enjoying three laps of one of the most beautiful parks in the capital in this great fun event, which is administered by After Adoption.

A t-shirt, goody bag and medal are guaranteed for all participants. Serious runners can be assured of chip timing, distance markers, water stations and a clear, spacious route to enable you to achieve your best time. Current PAC team record holder is Information Officer Robert Stuart, who came in at a sprightly 41 minutes 48 seconds in 2011.

If you’re not looking for competition, just enjoy a jog or walk in the autumn sun and look forward to a coffee and sandwich in the park café afterwards (whatever time you finish, the rest of the team will wait for you). There's a separate event for children too, so the whole family can get involved!

To take part and help raise sponsorship for PAC get in touch with Kate Newton on 020 7284 0555, email kate@pac.org.uk.

Once registered for the event, a great way of raising sponsorship for PAC is by setting up an online fundraising page on Virgin Money Giving. (NB you will also automatically be entering PAC into a free draw to win a £2,012 donation - see below).

Virgin Money Giving site goes live

You can now support PAC's vital work with a single or regular donation via our new Virgin Money Giving page.

Donations can be made either by credit/debit card or PayPal, and can be anonymous if you wish. There is the option of adding Gift Aid, which will be reclaimed on our behalf by Virgin - saving us precious admin time!

You can also support PAC when taking part in fundraising events by setting up your own Virgin Money Giving page. And if the event is taking place between 1 October and 31 December - such as our fun run on November 18 (see above) - Virgin will automatically enter PAC into a £2,012 draw. 

For other ways of supporting PAC visit our website.

Government’s Adoption “Czar” to attend PAC subscriber meeting

The government’s ministerial advisor on adoption Martin Narey will be attending PAC’s next regular meeting with subscribing local authority staff in November.

Mr Narey’s report Our blueprint for Britain’s lost children was published in 2011, and he has since met with PAC’s CEO Peter Sandiford to find out more about our work.

The subscriber meeting will be held at Camden Town Hall. If you are an adoption/permanency professional in one of PAC's subscribing local authorities and would like to attend, please email subscriber@pac.org.uk.

Martin Narey's website is here. A podcast interview, in which Mr Narey talks about his proposed changes to the adoption system, is here.

PAC contributes to consultation on contact, sibling placement

PAC has responded to recent DfE requests for views on contact arrangements for children in care and adoption  and on the placement of sibling groups for adoption. 

Read our submissions on each issue respectively here and here.

Baltimore conference provides validation for PAC's practice

PAC Child and Family Therapist Roz Read and Head of PAC's Child and Family Service Franca Brenninkmeyer travelled to Baltimore, Maryland, USA this month to take part in the 24th ATTACh Annual International Conference.

Bessel van der Kolk, Dan Hughes, Jon Baylin and Arthur Becker-Weidman were amongst the many excellent speakers and workshop leaders at the four-day conference, which attracted around 400 delegates.

Roz presented a workshop entitled Integrating the Arts and Somatic Experiencing® in Family Therapy which was very well received. More details can be found on page 20 of the conference brochure.

"Roz and I came back with some new ideas as well as plenty of validation of what PAC's Child and Family Service is currently providing" said Franca. "It was also great to catch up with some old friends and colleagues from previous ATTACh conferences.The city of Baltimore was an altogether very pleasant surprise, a place that would have definitely warranted staying an extra day or two!"

Hampshire support groups: new dates

New dates have just been announced for PAC's series of highly successful support groups for Hampshire adoptive parents.

These free drop-in sessions, facilitated by experienced PAC counsellors, take place at venues in Winchester and Basingstoke and provide adopters with a chance to gain support for their own situations and to hear other parents’ experiences and solutions. The new dates are:

Winchester

• Monday 8 October 2012 - 6.00pm – 9.00pm
• Monday 4 February 2013 - 10.00am – 1.00pm

Basingstoke

• Monday 12 November 2012 - 6.00pm – 9.00pm
• Monday 11 March 2013 - 10.00am – 1.00pm

Click here for more details, including full addresses of venues, and here for a leaflet with more information about PAC’s full range of services for Hampshire adopters.

Soft-shoe reshuffle

Former family law barrister Edward Timpson has been appointed children’s minister with responsibility for adoption and children in care in September’s government reshuffle.

Mr Timpson, whose parents have fostered almost 90 children and who has two adopted siblings, takes over the government’s adoption remit from Tim Loughton, who opened PAC’s newly expanded premises in June. 

“PAC would like to acknowledge the work carried out by Tim Loughton in his role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families” said PAC’s CEO Peter Sandiford. “We met Tim on two occasions during his time in office and found him to be a minister who was obviously strongly committed to the wellbeing of children”.

In his legal career Mr Timpson, whose father is the head of the Timpson chain of shoe repair and key-cutting shops, specialised in cases concerning vulnerable children. He was elected Conservative MP for Crewe and Nantwich in 2008. Mr Timpson was a guest at PAC's hugely successful Gala Dinner in November 2011.

Support from the Mrs Smith and Mount Trust

PAC has just received a £5,000 grant from The Mrs Smith and Mount Trust towards our core work with children and families. We are grateful to the Trust, which has been a regular supporter of PAC’s work.