A Unique Child: Inclusion - All change

In recent years, the age at which the largest numbers of adoptions take place is between one and four years old. Some of these adoptions take place within the family but most are to 'non-relatives'. Many of these children will be entering nursery or reception class a relatively short time after they have moved into their adoptive home. Another important statistic to note is that the vast majority of children are adopted because of abuse or neglect (see box).

Children in public care or in adoptive homes, therefore, are highly likely to have experienced multiple trauma - the trauma that brought them into care in the first place, as well as the trauma of being removed from their birth families and into another home.

The status of Looked After and Adopted children is now formally recognised in the priority they receive in admission criteria for schools and nurseries, but their 'special educational needs' are not always acknowledged. There are a few reasons for this.

Firstly, there still exists an expectation that once children have been removed from a harmful or neglectful environment, they will be fine. They will settle gratefully into their new home and make the most of the opportunities a new family will provide for them.

Parents, too, want to believe that all will now be well and that their children should be treated 'normally' and not seen as having any special needs, particularly when they are not immediately obvious. And for some very resilient and fortunate children, this is the case. But, realistically, we do adopted children and their families a disservice, if we fail to recognise the serious impact that neglect and trauma are likely to have had on their physical, neurological and emotional well-being. There are many ways that this is likely to manifest itself, so it is vital that practitioners work closely with parents to support adopted and looked after children as they settle into nursery.

SETTLING

Always remember the huge traumatic changes that these children have probably already experienced in their short lives. Some may have lived in various foster homes and will have no memory of their birth family. Others may have left their birth family suddenly and dramatically, perhaps only seeing parents or siblings (if at all) in regular (or more likely irregular) supervised contact. They may have developed coping strategies for dealing with change, so might seem to be handling it well, but these strategies are unlikely to be healthy in the long run.

Ideally, adoptive and foster parents need every opportunity to build attachment and initial bonding, so a delayed start to nursery or reception might be appropriate. Keep the place open if you can and encourage them to visit regularly to begin with. Then encourage a long settling period, with the parents staying and supporting the child for as long as they can.

Try to put yourself in this child's shoes. When mummy or daddy leaves for the first time, they have absolutely no way of knowing for sure that this mummy or daddy isn't going to disappear like their other one(s) did.

'HELD IN MIND'

Some children appear to 'attach' themselves quickly to any new adult, quickly becoming overly friendly and attentive. Their strategy is to 'claim' any new potential carer as their best option. This is unhelpful for the parent or carer, who needs to help the child attach properly to them.

A key person approach will help the child to focus on just one or two adults in the setting, building secure secondary attachments which, in turn, can strengthen the primary attachment. They can help the child to 'hold in mind' the adoptive parents at home, reminding them that they will be thinking about them too. This is so important for children with insecure attachments, who need to know that they are accepted unconditionally and that it is possible to have a special bond with 'special' people, rather than superficial attachments.

PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR

Some children will at first seem very compliant and well-behaved in nursery. This is also a 'coping' strategy - these children have already learnt how to behave in ways that will keep them safe. This can be particularly disarming if the behaviour is not matched at home. Being told 'She's fine with us!' can be devastating, and deskilling, especially for inexperienced parents.

The likelihood is that the more the child becomes familiar with the parents, the safer they feel to display their true feelings. They also need to 'test' these new parents to see if they can really 'cope'. Even very young children can have absorbed a sense that they are to blame for what happened in their birth family - that they can't truly be lovable.

As they begin to form attachments and feel safe with their key people, they may also begin to show this kind of behaviour in the setting, although some children continue to 'hold it together' outside the home, saving the most intense feelings and behaviours for their adoptive or foster parents.

Other children might display bizarre and erratic behaviour from the start, showing aggression or hyperactivity and general immaturity. We now know that neglect can have a serious impact on neurological and sensory development, so it makes sense to respond to the emotional age the child is displaying rather than their chronological age. Work with the parents to find the best way to soothe and 'meet them where they are at', gradually bringing them to their true age over time.

TRANSITIONS

Changes of any kind may be unsettling for these children, as they are quick to react to any perceived 'threat'. A change in practitioner, a special party can all be very unsettling as well as the regular transitions through the day from home to setting, lunchtime, group time, etc.

Reuniting with their parents at the end of the day can be just as traumatic as separating from them in the morning. Try to remember this. Transitions are heightened for these children, because of their past traumatic experience of change and they will probably need a bit of extra support.

FURTHER READING

• Understanding Transitions in the Early Years: Supporting change through attachment and resilience by Anne O'Connor (Routledge, 2012)

• All About... Adopted and Looked After Children

• All About... Neglect

• Education Now, published by Adoption UK, www.adoptionuk.org

ADOPTION STATISTICS: ENGLAND

Looked after children

• 67,050 children were in local authority care in England on 31 March 2012 - a 2 per cent increase from 2011.

• Of these, 55 per cent were boys and 45 per cent were girls.

• 62 per cent had suffered abuse or neglect.

• 3,450 were adopted during 2012, 12 per cent up from 2011.

Adoptions

• The average age at adoption was three years and eight months

• 74 per cent were aged between one and four

• 51 per cent were boys and 49 per cent girls

• 72 per cent were placed for adoption due to abuse or neglect, 12 per cent due to family dysfunction and 6 per cent because the birth family was in 'acute stress'

These statistics are available at: www.adoptionuk.org.uk