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I don't remember being told much about education, but our sw was actively involved in choosing the right school. She came to my first meeting with the school. I did find out about PPP, but I can't remember how. I knew about priority admission via the Adoption UK boards and our social worker. I heard of Virtual Schools years later and they are still a fuzzy concept to me.

I knew that I should pay more attention to the school's awareness of attachment than achievement , but I had no way to assess that and didn't know what to ask. I had a feeling they had no clue though and that was confirmed later. The school was still a good choice for my kids though.

I don't know if my children got a new UPN.

I think a handout/video/ podcast could be very helpful to prospective adopters.

Sorry nothing.... groan..... back in 'my' day ppp didn't exist ?

Nothing much about priority place in school application system either... found out myself probably from the forum here... Even the boys fab secondary school didn't seem to know much about it either ? county admissions dept were a godsend however ?

? moo ?

We haven't been told anything by out SW but on our prep courses one of the adopters who come to chat about their experiences mentioned that you could get the 15 hours free for them when they were 2, and said that they also hadn't been told. I'm not sure how they found out, but if they hadn't said anything I wouldn't have thought we would be eligible for that. I've learned about having priority in schools through twitter I think. I don't know if any of this information will be brought up once we are matched, bit it certainly hasn't yet.

Thanks guys - this is really useful. And a bit shocking.

Although there are a lot of us in the adoption community, the reality is that adoption is still quite a rare thing - 3,500-4,000 adoptions per year, and many of the children involved won't be school age at the time, and there are 32,000+ schools, so it's not really surprising that a lot of schools don't know the procedures if a child is granted an adoption order while already enrolled at the school. It's just one piece of guidance among hundreds of others, and they might not even have clocked that it exists. It's so important for parents and carers to have the information about their child's entitlements. Recently I've heard several cases where schools have had an adopted child's birth name on the information management system long after the child has been adopted - I can only think that's because a new UPN hasn't been requested and they have simply added to child's new name to their original record, so both names are on there.

I still sadly also hear of schools informing parents that their children are not eligible for PP+ because they don't have free school meals, or for some other spurious reason. We have to be advocates for our children so often in education, and really our adoption agencies need to ensure that we are getting all the information we need from the start.

This is a good place to start for more information: https://www.adoptionuk.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=da4533b6-75e1-4a16-9aa0-0158735d08e1

It's a tiny bit out of date now, as PP+ has been increased from £1,900pa to £2,300pa since it was written, but it does include the changes to the role of the Virtual School Head and the introduction of the Designated Teacher brought in by the 2017 Children and Social Work Act. Feel free to share it with your social worker - the more adopters get this information as part of prep, the better.

Just thought I'd add my tuppence worth. I don't remember being told much at all at prep. I do remember being given some input from the social worker about visiting schools prior to placement, what to ask and what to look for. Although I think it was quite instinctive on my part - the headteacher at AS's schools seemed to have lots of experience with children who were adopted or looked after and this gave me confidence. She was a great head-teacher. I also contacted another school and when I asked about whether they had / ever had any adopted children at their school they were all for giving me a list of names (steered clear of that school - complete lack of discretion on their part!).

I think I found out more from going to one of the monthly evenings held by our agency. There was a speaker there who worked with schools and was really informative. However, that was after AS was placed with us.

Think I heard about PP, priority places, virtual heads etc.on here.

I would agree Becky, it would be great if agencies / schools were better informed.

By the way, I remember looking at the information management record at AS's primary school and I was down as "foster mum" without my knowledge for years. I was asked to update it - crossed it out and put "actual mum" in its place!

We had nothing at preparation - I don’t remember school even being mentioned actually - it was a long time ago though - and the prep was excellent generally. I worked in schools previously so was aware to some extent - but not specifically from the adoption point of view - so it was common sense and learning as we went along really. The same with SEN - I think some things with a known hereditary component (eg schizophrenia) were covered from that point of view but little else - though as I say generally good prep re an understanding of adoption issues particularly from the point of view of the child

Thanks Safia and bluelizard - so interesting how people's experiences have varied. I suspect SWs may think people aren't ready to hear much about schools if they're adopting younger children, but it comes round sooner than you think with free nursery places from 2 - majority of adopters must be into some form of education provision from early days if they choose to.

Our primary head had zero interest. When I told her that the government was running a pilot and she could get free training on attachment theory for her staff, she told me she could not cater to every rare disorder, her decisions were evidence based and the next inset day would be used for figuring out how to improve lunchtime behaviour...

I don’t recall any information re education. We received prep training five years ago.

I would have found it helpful to know how to assess the school’s approach re adoption. I thought we asked really useful questions and avoided being impressed by Ofsted reports etc. Looking back I think we mainly focused on how they supported through the transition into reception - something that on the whole they did really well. We didn’t focus at all on how they’d manage anxiety and delay through the later years when the pressure is on and the expectations higher.

We weren’t told about PP+ but I’d read about this. In year 2 it became evident (in talking to the school about their use of this) that they were confusing pupil premium plus with pupil premium and had only received this lower rate throughout little one’s first two years. I think if we hadn’t challenged they would never have got the higher PP+ rate.

Birth surname was on our son’s record when he started school. We asked for this to be removed and it was. The school administrator thought his surname was a double barrelled one which caused initial confusion.

Oh crumbs, chestnuttree, that is very depressing. I wish I could say it's the first time I've heard of a school actually refusing free training but sadly it isn't.

Sparkle Motion - PP+ continues to be a minefield with too many schools simply not understanding its purpose. Even now, years after its introduction, I still hear of schools telling adoptive parents that their children aren't eligible because, for example, they do not have free school meals. There's still a long way to go with ensuring that PP+ is both claimed and then used appropriately.

How shocking Chestnut tree - when attachment training would have impacted so many children not just those who are looked after or adopted - it’s a shame she confused attachment disorder - which is indeed rare - with attachment difficulties which affect a huge number of children - and missed this opportunity for the staff to be able to shed some light on how lots of children were reacting and why, when small adjustments in their approach could make such a big difference. A whole school approach is fundamental to change in this way

Chestnut tree - such a shame they turned down the training. Definitely these are the teachers that need the training - perhaps it would even have improved the lunchtime behaviour?

I'm sure this has been suggested before by others, but wouldn't it be great if all teachers had training on attachment? When a teacher does know about attachment, it becomes so much easier to talk to them, like we're speaking the same language.

To echo Safia, I think it could benefit lots of children, not just adopted children. So many children, unfortunately, have experienced neglect or trauma in their lives to the extent that it affects their behaviour and / or their learning.

We've been calling for this for years and we're beginning to be a little more hopeful that training on attachment and trauma might become part of initial teacher training (and CPD) in England now that Edward Timpson included it as one of the recommendations in his report on school exclusions. The government has agreed in principle to accept all of his recommendations, so let's see how that goes.

We had very little in our training (which was 6.5 years ago). However have picked up a fair amount over the years - and unlike many have had a positive experience with school. Indeed son's EHCP explicitly states that every adult who has any major contact with him needs attachment training - and references Louise Bomber & Dan Hughes. I know ITT where I am a lecturer does touch on attachment - in part due to one of the professors also being an adopter. I am also getting involved with the SENCO certificate and MA in inclusive Education as the lecturer in charge of them is one of those involved with autism research where I have some links. She has invited me to come and be an example 'warrior Mum' for her students - so chance to talk about our children's issues as well as talking about how someone with their own additional needs can present as a parent.

Brilliant Gilreth! I’m involved with a school through Place2Be where the project manager has provided training on attachment for all the teachers and many other mental health initiatives - so they do exist