Early Years Pupil Premium
Benefits younger disadvantaged children and entitles access of up to £300 of extra funding for every adopted 3 and 4 year old child in education in England. More information can be found here.
Childcare support
The government provides help with childcare costs for children and young people. Eligible working families in England can apply for up to 30 hours of free child childcare, more information can be found here.
Education support for adopted children and families
School can be a challenging time for many children and adopted children often find it particularly difficult. It’s important to explain your child’s circumstances and make the education provider aware that your child is adopted so they can be understanding to any behaviours. Many adopted children find school difficult and struggle to concentrate at school, often due to the trauma they experienced at critical times in their earlier life. New environments may make adopted children feel threatened and unsafe which can disrupt their learning. In recognition of these needs, adopted children can benefit from a range of educational and funding support to help them reach their full potential.
You can speak to your local authority and request for a special education needs assessment to be done on your child if you have any specific concerns relating to their education and learning, find out more here. Additional education support for adoptive families may include:
School admissions
Adopted children and children living in care can often get priority access to schools to choose a school that best suits the child’s needs, more information can be found here.
Pupil Premium
Provides an additional £2300 of extra funding per child for state-funded schools to help meet each adopted child’s educational needs. More information and guidance can be found here.
Coming soon to help families with childcare :
From Apr 2024 - Up to 15 hours for eligible working families in England with a 2-year-old.
From Sept 2024 - Up to 15 hours for eligible working families in England with a child between 9 and 23 months old.
From Sept 2025 - Up to 30 hours for eligible working families in England with a child from 9 months old up to school age.
The government are making significant changes to the support they provide to families for childcare, you can sign up to updates and find out the latest new by visiting the Childcare choices hub.
Adoption Support for education providers
Schools and other education providers have a duty of care to all children but particularly to children who are more likely to be vulnerable, as adopted children often are. It's important for education providers to be trauma informed as best as they can and be aware of behaviour issues that could be directly linked to a child's difficult start in life.
PAC- UK's Education Hub - offers a range of services to help schools, parents and guardians and education and social care professionals meet the needs of children who have experienced difficult starts in life.