Tell us about the experiences and needs of adoptive and special guardianship families in England.
This is a new ground-breaking study funded by the Department of Education and it’s all about adoptive and special guardianship families. We want to hear from parents, carers, young people (12-17 years) and young adults (18-25 years) who came to live with their new families from foster or residential care. There’s a lot of research on younger children, but little is known about the teenage or adult years. How do the experiences of adoptive and special guardianship families change as young people grow up and become adults, and what support could be helpful?
Taking part helps give a voice to adoptive and special guardianship families. It is so important! What you tell us can make a real difference. To find out more about the study click here.
In April 2023, you can register for the research if one of the following is true for you:
1) You are in England and an adoptive parent or special guardian of a child who is now 12-25 years
2) You are in England and an adult aged between 18 and 25 and you had adoptive parent(s) or a special guardian and you spent time in foster or residential care
3) If you are in England and aged 12-17 we want to hear from you too, but first, we must get consent from your parent or carer for you to take part
Everyone who takes part and provides their contact details will receive a £10 shopping voucher as a thank you.
We want to hear from people with very different experiences – whether you feel you and your family is thriving or struggling, or whether you feel in a fog. We want to hear from families where the young person is no longer living with them and from young people themselves.
The more families and young people that take part, the stronger and more useful the evidence will be. We want the results to represent the experiences of all types of families in England. We are grateful to all those who agree to take part and understand and respect your right to privacy.
There is a short registration form to complete first that asks if you are from an adoptive or special guardianship family. You can then choose to complete a questionnaire, do an interview or both. The questionnaire can be done online or a researcher can help you complete it or we can send a paper copy. The interview can be done in person or online.
You’ll be asked about different things including:
- You and your family
- Important relationships
- Experiences with school/college
- Health and wellbeing
- The help you and your family need and have received
- How you feel about family life
- There is space at the end of the questionnaire for you to add anything you would like to.
All responses will remain confidential unless you say something indicating that you or someone else is at risk of harm. The findings in the report will be anonymised.
Sign up to take part
Please register to take part on the study website ipsos.uk/familyroutes or by scanning the QR code.
The research team will be in touch with more information later this year.
If you’d prefer to speak to someone or need any help, please contact the team on email family.routes@ecorys.com, or you can phone or text us on 07976 948102.
We are so grateful for your time and hope you can help us with this important study.