Page 14 - SEN107 SEN Magazine July-August 2020

B efore we adopted them, our children had been in care for over two years and it was coming to the point where they would have to be separated as siblings, mainly because our son was already at the higher end of the adoptive child age range. We were shown their profiles and instantly fell in love with them. They have had tricky starts in life, particularly our son, but we knew we could provide a better home and a loving family for them. Overcoming issues in school and feeling safe During the time in which they have lived with us, my children have attended 3 schools each. Two of these have been age appropriate changes - beginning reception, and moving to secondary school. However, both children had to move primary schools, as their emotional needs were too severe for the school to meet. Once they were in a safe and secure educational setting, both of them thrived. They have made good academic progress and there have been some developments in their emotional stability, though it remains an ongoing battle. On any given day, both children can have a meltdown and refuse to attend school, because they are worried about potential difficulties at school or even about the fact that they had a dream in which I preferred another child. Due to the large class sizes, lack of attachment training at PGCE level and in CPD and due to curriculum goals, staff simply struggle to spend the necessary time with the children to help them. If one of them is angry I can spend more than an hour helping them calm down and be safe before we can even begin to consider what might have been the original problem underneath the anger. In order for schools to be a safe place for our children, they need to feel safe 14 SEN 107 senmagazine.co.uk Looked after children Surviving lockdown In this article, Elena Holmes talks about her family’s experience with her adopted children during lockdown and how she helps them feel safe.