Adoption support and training courses

Adopting a child is a life-changing decision, so you’re going to be helped at every stage once you’ve made your application to give you plenty of preparation for any difficulties, starting with training courses and followed by other events and workshops for you and your family.

Preparation training courses

Your assessment to become an adopter starts with two stages of training. You’ll have the choice of course dates during the week or at weekends.

The first stage of your adoption training is a one-day training course to give you an introduction to adoption. We will explain why children may need to be placed for adoption and you will experience our immersive Virtual Reality technology, sharing the perspectives of the child. You will also have the chance to ask us and an adopter, any questions you may have.

The second stage of your adoption training is a four-day training course. You’ll get a much deeper understanding of the meaning of adoption and early childhood trauma, as well as how you can apply the principles of positive parenting.

We will also walk you through how we match children with adopters, and how an adopted child or birth parent can keep in touch each other after adoption.

There will be a chance for you to hear from a range of adopters who co-facilitate the course, alongside and Adopt South trainer. You will also be invited to training for paediatric first aid and care of infants.

Further workshops and adoption learning

In Stage 2 of the adoption process, our workshops and training are designed to provide you with a wide range of knowledge, learning and discussion, as well as an opportunity to meet other individuals and families who are also on their adoption journey.

We also run our Relatives’ Workshop, where family and close friends, can learn more about the needs of adopted children, as well as identify how your support network can offer their support.

Adopt South also have adoptive parent mentors, who we link to our applicants based on a similar lifestyle and/or the individual or a family's early thoughts on adoption choices. We also have foster buddies who are foster carers, who offer their time to talk to our applicants about the children they have cared for who have gone on to be adopted. They talk through how they have introduced adopters to children in their care, and anything else you would feel would help you make informed decisions and/or views on adoption.

To help you understand how some children are affected by trauma related early life experiences, our Virtual Reality sessions simulate in a 3D setting the environments some children are exposed to, which can result in anxiety and/or trauma. Viewing and talking through what you see in our 3D films, can help you empathise with how children may feel and how you could support them when they find situations challenging or they can’t regulate themselves.

You’ll come to some advanced courses if you’ve completed training, and had a child matched, as well as different workshops with the option to sign up to the full course later.

You can get advice and information from our Adoption Support team after you’ve adopted your child, but we’ll keep you regularly updated by email about any extra training and support groups.