Training for Adoption South East adopters

Adoption UK is running a range of training courses for adopters and prospective adopters registered with Adoption South East. There are also training sessions for professionals.

All courses are held online

Our training helps adopters develop their knowledge and skills at all stages of the adoption journey. For professionals, training helps you to understand the needs of adopted children and adoptive families and to develop your knowledge and understanding of the unique needs of families who have come together through adoption.

All training programmes are delivered by highly- skilled, professional trainers who all have lived experience of parenting adopted children. They understand the challenges and rewards of parenting an adopted child.

If you are unable to register for a course, this may be because it has reached capacity and bookings have closed. Please either book onto the next available session, if available, or e-mail [email protected] to be put on a waiting list and title your e-mail ASE waiting - course title.

To book any of the courses below, please use the link below. The document can be accessed using the password provided by Adoption South East.

Book ASE training sessions

Training for families

June 2026

Keeping In Touch: The Later Years

During this training course, you will examine the experience of contact from the perspective of the child, the birth family and adoptive parents.  You will have the opportunity to:

Consider the purpose, benefits and difficulties associated with contact. 

Explore how contact can be used to assist with the child’s identity formation. 

Appreciate how contact can be supported and improved. 

Consider contact in the context of tracing and reunion.

Please note, there is a follow up session for this course to give you the space to reflect and talk to your peers about the impact of this training and to think about any next steps that may be beneficial for you and your child(ren).

There is also a pre- meet with the trainer where you will be able to share any challenges you are currently facing in relation to contact. This meeting will enable to trainer to create breakout groups that are beneficial and meaningful to all participants. You will be allocated a time slot for the pre- meet once you have registered for the course.

5th June 09:30- 15:30

Talking About Adoption: Secondary Age Children

The purpose of this course is to help you gain insights and resources that will help you to talk about your child(ren)’s adoption with them in an age-appropriate and responsive manner.  

By the end of the training session you will have: 

Examined the importance of talking with and explaining to our children about their adoption. 

Identified age-appropriate explanations linked to a child’s developmental age.

Practised telling and explaining in a variety of situations. 

Shared ideas and identified resources to support our telling and explaining about adoption. 

Developed your understanding of how a child’s development of a positive sense of identity can be supported by parents through life story work.

Explored resources and developed practical, age-appropriate ways for carrying out life story work.

9th June 09:30- 12:30

Early Adversity or Neurodiversity? Exploring the overlap

Join our clinicians to explore the intersection between early life adversity and neurodiversity.

Adoptive parents often encounter behaviours that blur the lines between attachment difficulties and neurodivergent traits—like emotional dysregulation, sensory sensitivities, or social challenges.

With neurodiversity more prevalent among adopted children, this training helps parents make sense of overlapping characteristics, fostering a clearer understanding of what their child may be experiencing.

By exploring the intersection of early adversity and neurodivergence, parents gain insight into how these factors shape behaviour, connection, and development.

9th June 19:00- 21:00

Nurturing your couple relationship

A strong, connected couple provides a secure foundation not only for their own relationship but for the entire family system. Parenting through adoption can bring unique challenges.

This interactive 2-hour session is for adoptive couples who want to stay strong and connected while navigating the joys and challenges of parenting through adoption.

We will offer some simple, practical ideas to help you stay connected, communicate well, and nurture your relationship while raising your family.

10th June 10.00-12.00

What You Need To Know About Nursery Schools

Choosing a nursery or pre- school setting for your adopted child can be a daunting experience. Come and join Annaleigh & Lucy (both highly experienced teachers and education mentors) for this session where they will give you lots of tips and suggestions to help you identify the most appropriate setting for your child(ren). Both trainers are also experienced adoptive parents and will be able to help you to consider the questions you may want to ask staff, what to look out for when you are viewing settings and how to work cooperatively and productively with staff to ensure that your child has the best possible chance of reaching their full potential.

15th June 09:30- 12:30

Supporting care experienced children with bereavement

This training focuses on understanding the complexities of bereavement and death in adopted children.

It highlights how their grief is often compounded by earlier experiences of loss and separation, requiring sensitive and informed support to help them navigate their emotions.

16th June 13.00-15.00

July 2026

Managing Anger and Defiance: Practical Solutions

This training course allows participants to focus on practical strategies to use in the home.   

This training addresses re-parenting the child in the context of parenting ‘attitude’ and allowing parents to see their role as therapeutic parents, working to avoid re-triggering their child’s trauma and encourage engagement and reciprocity. 

The course will look at strategies from the perspective of an understanding of anger, both the child’s and the parent’s anger, and its origin in fear.  

This course is the first in a series of courses offered by Adoption UK in partnership with Adoption South East that supports parents and carers to deal with aggressive and/or violent behaviour in the home. The courses are designed to work as building blocks and should be completed in the following order:

Managing Anger & Defiance: Practical Solutions

Managing Anger & Defiance: Peer Learning Programme

Child On Parent Violence

Above & Beyond Child On Parent Violence Peer Learning Programme

Non- Violent Resistance

You do not need to attend all courses (you can start at any point) and can select the course(s) that best meet the needs of your family.

If you are unsure about which course best meets your needs, please email [email protected]

4th July 09:30- 12:30

Trauma Informed Parenting Support Group

This is a support group for all those who have attended any of the following courses (see below) and would like a safe, warm and supportive space to share the joys and challenges of parenting an adoptive child. Facilitated by a highly experienced trainer and adoptive parent, these sessions will enable to you talk with (and learn from) your fellow adoptive parents.

To attend this support group, you must have already completed one of the following training courses:

NVR, Managing Anger & Defiance: Practical Solutions, Managing Anger & Defiance Peer Learning Programme, Trauma Informed Parenting: Practical Solutions, Trauma Informed Parenting Peer Learning Programme, CPV Peer Learning Programme, CPV: Secondary Age or CPV: Primary Age

7th July 19:30- 21:30

How Does Your Child Experience The World? An Introduction To Sensory Integration

This half-day workshop will enhance the participants knowledge of developmental trauma and attachment and enable you to: 

Recognise the effect of trauma on development. 

Define Sensory Integration and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). 

Understand the symptoms and effects of SPD and be able to distinguish these from trauma-triggered behaviours. 

Explore the different available therapies to help our children cope with SPD.

9th July 09:30- 12:30

Fostering for adoption training course

This six-session Fostering for Adoption (FFA) training programme is designed to support prospective and current carers in understanding the unique role of Early Permanence.

Across the sessions, participants will explore topics including attachment and trauma, child development, contact with birth family, managing uncertainty, and the emotional impact of the FFA journey.

The programme aims to build confidence, provide practical strategies, and create opportunities for reflection and discussion with others who understand the realities of Fostering for Adoption. Through a supportive and informative approach, carers will gain knowledge, skills, and reassurance to help them provide stable, nurturing care for children at the earliest stage of their journey.

9th July - 13th August 19:30- 21:00

Thinking About 2 Or More?

This course helps you to explore and consider adopting siblings and how you can be supported to meet the needs of more than one child. This half-day session focusses on key issues to consider for siblings within the context of adoption and highlights strategies for managing anticipated challenges. It will also explore the joys of parenting siblings. Delivered by Nicola- a highly experienced trainer and adoptive mother of a sibling group of three- this session will provide a realistic look at parenting two or more adopted children.

This course is suitable for Stage 1 and Stage 2 adopters.

11th July 09:30- 12:30

FASD Support & Networking Group

Are you a parent or carer of someone who has been prenatally exposed to alcohol?

Do you want to know more about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)?

Come along and meet other parents and carers to share knowledge and ideas and to create a support network with others who may be experiencing similar challenges to your family. This group is facilitated by Annaleigh- an experienced adopter who has lived experience of parenting a child with FASD.

Your child does NOT have to have had a diagnosis of FASD for you to attend this support group.

20th July 19:30- 21:30

Getting Ready For Placement

This training course will enhance your knowledge of developmental trauma and attachment and examine the importance of making positive connections with a hurt child. Your trainer- an experienced adoptive parent- will provide information on practical ways to prepare for family life, identify ways of helping a child move into a new family and parenting strategies which build attachments while respecting the child’s past and maintaining safe and developmentally appropriate boundaries.  The course also focusses on the importance of self- care and creating a strong support network.

This course is only suitable for approved and waiting adopters.

23rd July 17:00- 20:00

Keeping In Touch: The Basics

This course is an introduction to maintaining contact with your child's birth family. You will have the opportunity to examine the experience of contact from the perspective of the child, the birth family and adoptive parents.  

 Aims:

Consider the purpose, benefits and difficulties associated with contact.  

Explore how contact can be used to assist with the child’s identity formation.  

Appreciate how contact can be supported and improved.  

Consider contact in the context of tracing and reunion.

All approved and waiting ASE adopters are strongly encouraged to attend this course as part of their learning and development in preparation for their child(ren) being placed. 

This course is also open to parents who have already had their children placed.

24th July 12:30-15:30

Training for professionals

Adoption: What Do Professionals Need To Know?

This session will be an introduction to the world of adoption, focusing on the realities of adoptive life with a focus on learning from the families themselves. With a discussion- based approach and centralising the voice of the child and the family, the session is both instructive and interesting.

Aims:

Provide an insight into adoption for professionals for whom adoption is not their specialism.

To offer a reflective space to consider the specifics of practice when families have experience adoption, separation, trauma and loss.

An opportunity to develop cultural competence: gain knowledge & understanding of the cultural context of adoptive families’ lives, to improve care.

This training is running on the following dates:

6th March 2026 10:00-12:00

21st May 2026 10:00- 12:00

Training For Community Leaders & Extracurricular Leaders: Supporting Adopted Children

Adoption South East has commissioned this training, in partnership with Adoption UK, to support professionals and voluntary sector club leaders who contribute to the lives of adoptive families through providing extra curricular activities. This session will be an introduction to the world of adoption, focusing on the realities of adoptive life with a focus on learning from the families themselves. With a discussion- based approach and centralising the voice of the child and the family, we hope that everyone will find this an instructive and interesting session.

Aims:

Provide an insight into adoption for adults working with children in either a paid or voluntary capacity

To offer a reflective space to consider the specifics of impactful practice when children have experienced adoption, separation, trauma and loss

An opportunity to develop and gain knowledge & understanding of the realities of working with adopted children and supporting them to engage positively with extracurricular activities leading to improved engagement.

This training is running on the following dates:

13th March 2026 19:00- 21:00

9th June 2026 19:00- 21:00