Adoption East Midlands newsletter January 2026

Best wishes for 2026, from all of us here at AEM.

As we look back on 2025, some highlights include:

• Our increasing presence at a wide range of community events to reach more people interested in adoption.
• Our growing social media reach and the launch of our AEM Instagram account.
• Good rates of enquiries and successful approvals and matches, as well as a lot of positive feedback about the support and preparation we provide to families
• Our family finders have enjoyed meeting many prospective adoptive families.
• We’ve continued to add diversity and expertise to our panels.
• Our helpdesk continues to offer access to a listening ear and advice as well as direct access to our core adoption support offer, as well as short packages of social work support.
• Co-production groups ensure that we hear and learn from those with lived experience and provide adoptive parents a chance to meet and share experiences and support.
• The ‘Making Connections’ group continues to support the building of therapeutic parenting into family life as well as providing opportunities for connecting with others.
• Our Peers4Peers service is going from strength to strength with 45 trained mentors and over 250 adopters joining us at events throughout the year.
• Youth Connect continues to make a real difference with over 150 young people attending events last year, including 20 joining our residential trip. We’re shaping our youth offer with strong input from young people themselves.

We have so much to look forward to the coming year and lots of opportunities to stay involved and connected with our adoption community. We hope you’ll keep up to date here through the newsletter as well as following us on our social media channels.

We want to encourage young people to have their voices heard by taking part in our survey. We also want to hear from parents and workers, but especially our young people.

We are committed to listening to the views and ideas of families and young people we support through adoption.

We want to understand the issues and challenges they face, so we can better support them and make real change happen.

The survey closes on Monday, 9 February so please help us get as many voices heard as possible!

Does your child have a diagnosis, or do you suspect your child may be neurodivergent or have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)? Neurowise is here for you.

The programme uses addressing the needs of both caregivers and children, combining brain-based psychoeducation with a therapeutic coaching approach. It is specifically developed to meet the unique needs of families affected by FASD and neurodiversity. This virtual six-week group will begin on Monday, 23 February. Please get in touch if you’d like to book on.

We’re excited to announce a new community group for adopters starting on Sunday, 18 January in Chinley, High Peak, Derbyshire.

This friendly, supportive space is designed for adoptive families to connect, share experiences, and build lasting relationships. Whether you’re looking for advice, companionship, or simply a chance to meet others who understand the journey, this group is for you. Join us and be part of a growing network of support.

A few weeks ago, our family finding team hosted an early evening event for prospective adopters who are in the assessment process, to meet the family finders, discuss the matching process and learn more about the children from across our region who are currently waiting to be matched with an adoptive family.

Due to the success of the event, we’ll be running a similar event on Thursday 12 March, 2026. Email us or keep an eye on social media for more details.

The University of Sheffield, with support from One Adoption Agency, is undertaking a survey looking at what makes a good quality of life for adoptees in England.

The survey is open to adoptees aged 16 to 25 and offers a great opportunity to share experiences and inform the development of a measure which can be used to assess adoptee quality of life.

Please share this survey with any adoptees you may know who may be interested.