End of Summer Update from CCS

Hello all adoptive families and CCS supporters,

As the summer holidays are coming to their end, everyone at CCS hopes that you have had some moments of joy over the summer holidays with your children, families, and friends. We know how this change of routine and juggling of work and childcare can be really tough at times, let alone the transition back to school in September.

Activities & Social Events

It’s been lovely to see so many of the children come to the Holiday Hub activities – with a total of 52 children and young people enjoying water sports, rock climbing, Bristol Zoo Project, and so much more. If you haven’t already completed your feedback, please do – this hugely helps us access funding for next year and adapt services in response to your comments. We love working with so many partner agencies who help us put on such a range of adoption support services for you. We are excited to launch some new events this Summer with mountain biking, Pickle Street and coming up this Autumn, Clip’n Climb on 21^st September and Supersense on 14^th September.

Last chance to take part in our Adoption Support Survey – we’d love to hear your thoughts on what we could change. We are always looking to improve things, and your feedback is invaluable:

Have Your Say

Therapy Service

Our Therapy Service for CCS Families continues to provide a range of services, and we’ve worked closely with our team of therapists to evolve in response to the DFE cuts to the ASGSF funds back in April. As part of this, we’ve reviewed what key issues families have told us they have struggled with over the last few years and designed two new courses to meet these needs. These 4-week courses are starting soon, so sign up now! (ASGSF funded)

— Signals of Safety – Approaches for Eating, Sleeping and Toileting

— Bridges and Anchors – Help you Navigate your Children’s Transitions

CCS Families, please do speak to your social worker if you are interested in booking a 1 off consultation, a clinical assessment or exploring if now is the right time for a therapeutic package.

ASGSF News

What’s next with the ASGSF? There is a Westminster Hall debate on the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) scheduled for Thursday, 4 September 2025, at 1:30 pm, and it will be led by Alison Bennett MP. They will be discussing whether the ASGSF’s new rules (reduced limits, lost match funding) will be revisited or amended, the outlook for funding beyond March 2026, Practical implications for families — particularly those with complex or high therapeutic needs who have been most affected by the cuts and responses from MPs, sector stakeholders, and carers likely to influence future policy. We’ll communicate as soon as we know more, but for now, we know what the Fair Access Limits are per child until March 2026, so I’d encourage you to make good use of this through our Therapy Services and all our other adoption support services.

Social Work Service and Training

Alongside therapy, we know so many families benefit from support from our wonderful Social Work service, who support families through educational challenges, transitions, contact arrangements, and so much more. Jane, our trainer, also puts on a range of post-placement workshops, the next one being a Life Story Workshop on 10/09. We are lucky to have some social workers who have been with us for many years (decades) and also love the addition of new staff, such as Ann-Marie Paddison (Team Manager), who joined earlier this year and Mim Cartwright (Social Worker), who joined just this month.

Lastly, just a reminder that the adoption support service wouldn’t be possible without the amazing fundraising efforts of you all. If you are able to support us with a fundraising event for our Together We Grow campaign, we would be incredibly grateful:

Together We Grow

Best Wishes,

Emma Simpson

CEO of CCS Adoption