Children who are separated from their birth families and go through the care system are usually given life storybooks with information put together by their social worker about their heritage and past that may otherwise be missing, lost or forgotten.
In the study of 40 parents with 57 adopted children by voluntary adoption agency and charity Coram, schools were criticised for not dealing with children’s life storybooks in a sensitive manner.
Parent adopters from England and Wales participated in either focus groups or telephone interviews. Their adopted children ranged from the age of two to 15.
Adopters who took part in the study recounted stories of school staff dealing with children’s life storybooks in ‘highly unprofessional’ ways.
One parent said, ‘She [her child] talked about the life storybook in circle time and with good friends and the teacher cried.’ Another child had reportedly told a teacher about some of her past history, including when she was sexually abused, and the teacher commented, ‘There are a lot worse off children than you out there.’
However, there were some more positive examples. One adopter, who had taken out information about his child’s birth family from the life storybook and met with the class teacher before his son took it to show and tell, said it was a good experience for all involved.
Coram, which carried out the research in collaboration with the University of Bristol, said it highlights that there is an important role for schools in supporting adopted children to have appropriate discussions about their adoptive histories in school, if relevant. But the adoption agency argues that this requires school staff to have better skills and knowledge of adoption and life storybooks.
The majority of parents who took part in the study agreed that it would be helpful if schools had a greater understanding of attachment issues.
Coram’s director of operations Renuka Jeyarajah-Dent said, ‘If adults can’t bear the story then it makes it hard for the child to. Adults don’t have to fall over because of what a child has suffered.’
When asked what training would help teaching staff to be more sensitive towards children’s life storybooks, Ms Jeyarajah-Dent told Nursery World that teachers should be taught to recognise the sadness, but not display too much emotion.
She also said they should pass on a message to children that everyone has the ability to change and learn, and use the child as an example of ‘how good can come out of something’. ‘Adults should say to a child, “That is really tough, and you had a tough time, but look at you and your great family,” she added.
Preliminary findings from the research also reveal inconsistencies in the quality of children’s life storybooks. A third of adopters rated their children’s books as ‘terrible’, while about 40 per cent said they were ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.
Where experiences were positive, children had books that were well written and presented with care and consideration of the material included. Parents found these books invaluable in their discussions with their children about their birth and care histories, and felt they facilitated a valued connection to their birth family.
But many parents reported their child’s books to be of poor quality and that they had to redo them themselves. A large number found the level of detail in the books was inappropriate, with either too much emphasis on one part of the story, too little detail, or too much unnecessary detail.
The national minimum standards in adoption state that life story work should represent a realistic account of a child’s circumstances.
One parent said, ‘I can never show my daughter hers because there is stuff in it that I don’t ever want her to see. Even when she turns 18, I don’t know if she would be able to handle it.’
A third of parents also reported not getting any support to use life storybooks with their children.
According to Coram, in recent Ofsted inspections where adoption has been judged as ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’, insufficiencies in the provision of life storybooks has been repeatedly highlighted.
The study concludes that life story work is not being prioritised by adoption professionals. Ms Jeyarajah-Dent said, ‘Adopted children cannot start with a blank slate. Their past is significant and should be valued.
‘Understanding life history becomes particularly important when young people reach adolescence and develop and define their sense of self.
‘We want to work with local authorities to help raise standards and share good practice to help give adopted children the best possible start in their new families.’
- The British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF), which closed at the end of last month, has transferred some of its functions to Coram and to a new entity, CoramBAAF Adoption & Fostering Academy. CoramBAAF will continue to operate as an independent membership organisation for agencies and individuals in the UK. It will provide research, policy and development, membership, administration, professional advice and development.