Procedure for Life Appreciation Day
Scope of this chapter
This chapter provides information on Life Appreciation Days for prospective adopters. It explains the aim of the Life Appreciation Day and provides guidance on who should attend.
A Life Appreciation Day is a guided journey of the child's life. It is a meeting arranged for the purpose of:
- Bringing together individuals who have significant knowledge and experience of a child with the purpose of sharing this with prospective adopters, thereby increasing the chance of a shared understanding and the potential for better outcomes for the stability of the placement;
- Collating a chronologically contextualised life story for the child;
- Providing a permanency planning opportunity;
- Highlighting the connection between the factual and emotional chronicle of a child's life;
- Considering issues of contact past, present and for the future; and
- Assisting with planning appropriate and specific support to the child's adoptive placement.
- They help prospective adopters understand the position of the birth family whilst they were caring for the child. For example to have an appreciation of how external factors can hinder parenting capacity, such as the birth parent's own life experiences, poverty, drugs and alcohol;
- They enable prospective adopters to feel the 'reality' of the child's history and to put this into context;
- They allow those present to consider, as a group, how best to support the child and their adoptive family in the short and long term; and
- They give prospective adopters the opportunity to listen and to absorb the available information and to ask questions of all those attending the Life Appreciation Day.
Life Appreciation Days should be held for all children where the plan is adoption and a match has been identified.
They should be convened by One Adoption South Yorkshire once a match has been identified and prior to this being presented to Adoption Panel.
The Family Finder or the Team Manager for the child will chair the Life Appreciation Day.
The Chair's role is to make sure the day runs smoothly and on time, ensuring all participants can fully contribute and ask appropriate questions, and the meeting reflects the child's journey through life so far and how this may impact on their future needs.
It is important the Chair encourages contributions from everyone, whilst enabling participants to 'stand in the shoes of child' and empathise with the child's experiences.
The range of people invited should be carefully considered and will vary depending on the child's specific circumstances.
- Child's current social worker;
- The prospective adopter/s;
- Adoption social worker;
- Current carer/s;
- Fostering social worker.
- Previous foster carer/s;
- Previous social worker/s;
- IRO;
- Teachers;
- Nursery staff;
- Health visitors;
- Medical professionals;
- Therapeutic worker;
- Psychologist;
- Family Support Workers;
- Contact workers;
- CAFCASS worker;
- Minute Taker;
- Any other significant person in the child's life.
The prospective adopter/s, current foster carer, child's social worker and support worker for current foster carer and prospective adopter/s and minute taker if used should be present for the whole event. If a minute taker is not available, the meeting should be recorded and minutes typed following the meeting. Other participants will be given an attendance time which follows the sequence of when they entered the child's life.
The social worker in conjunction with the family finder will complete all the necessary preparation work to be undertaken, agree who should chair the meeting and coordinate the arrangements.
The child’s social worker and family finder will:
- Agree who should be invited to attend the meeting;
- Find and book a suitable venue;
- Agree who will send out formal invitations with an information leaflet;
- Prepare a family tree and flow chart of significant events and moves in the child's life, with photographs if possible;
- Agree who will take minutes;
- Arrange refreshment provision;
- Collate and send the minutes and information from the day to the adopters for them and the child.
Last Updated: January 31, 2024
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