Life story

All adopted children must be provided with a life story about their life, traditionally this is a book which gives them information regarding their life history and how they came to require adoption. Life story is the responsibility of the child’s local authority.

Helping your child understand their life history is a crucial part of the role of being an adopter and can really support the building of strong relationships between you and your child. However, sometimes you or your child, may need a little additional support with this.

Members of the ARC Adoption team are qualified to Diploma level in Therapeutic Life Story Work for looked after children and have built up a reputation for providing high quality life story work gaining recognition from both Ofsted and the Department for Education.

We provide high quality traditional life story books for adopters and children to share and ensure adopted children have a good understanding of their life history and why they were adopted.

Passionate about life story work, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of innovation and have therefore developed a digital life story tool to enable children to contribute and remain at the centre of their own digital life story.

Created out of a belief that every child deserves to have easily accessible, high quality, up to date information about their life, from their life history to present day, our digital life story platform ARCBOX is an innovative, organic and dynamic, digital life story platform.

It is a personalised, fun to use, lasting digital record of a child’s life providing a coherent narrative of their own life story up to the present day.

Unlike a traditional life story book, ARCBOX is instant and enables significant people within a child’s life to contribute to their life story in real time, resulting in a truly ‘living’ chronology, rather than a fixed historical document. Children and their family can continue to contribute throughout their lives

The interactive, digital format makes ARCBOX an excellent therapeutic tool for helping children engage with and understand their life history. It is possible to upload approved images, audio, video and text which are displayed within an easily accessible timeline, viewed only by the person contributing the information, the life story editor and ultimately, the child.

All contributions must be approved by the life story editor (usually the child’s social worker, other professional, or adopter) before they can be viewed by the child.

If you are interested in finding out more about Life story or Digital Life Story tool ARCBOX please contact [email protected] or 0191 516 6466.

Latest

Online Information Event About Adoption 3rd September 2020

Are you living in the North East of England and thinking about adoption?
Pioneering children’s services are the first in the UK to implement digital life story

ARC Adoption North East and children’s services in Sunderland are joining forces to become the first in the UK to launch an innovative, digital life story platform.
Virtual Coffee Morning Tuesday 8th September 2020

ARC Adoption families are invited to join the team for a virtual coffee morning.
Unlikely Dad's Blog

How adoption works

Adoption is a way of providing new families for children who cannot be looked after by their birth parents and need to belong to a new family.
Accessibility
Fostering for adoption

At ARC Adoption North East are committed to exploring different routes to adoption. ARC Adoption offers an early permanence route, often referred to as fostering for adoption or foster to adopt. Fostering for adoption means that young children, usually babies, are placed at a young age with approved potential adopters who would also be approved temporary foster carers whilst the family court decides on the child’s future.
Reports and policy

The team at ARC Adoption are very proud to be rated as Outstanding in all areas by Ofsted.
Values and mission

ARC Adoption North East in an outstanding adoption agency based in the North East of England. The ARC Adoption team is made up of multi-disciplined, experienced professionals who deliver a range of high-quality outstanding adoption services and adoption support. ARC Adoption North East believes that every child deserves the right to grow up in a nurturing and loving family who will support them through childhood and prepare them for adult life.
Adoption statistics and facts

In the North East of England, children waiting to be adopted outnumbers adopters 3:1. Could you adopt a child? If you have questions about adoption, or would like more information about the adoption process and the outstanding support available at ARC Adoption North East, email [email protected] or call 01915166466.
Initial visit

Following your initial enquiry, if you would like to progress with the adoption process a member of ARC Adoption North East’s team will visit you in your home. The initial visit will be very informal and take place at a date and time that is convenient for you and will last about two hours. It’s an opportunity to have your questions answered in more detail and help the team get to know you better.
Checks and references

Stage one of the adoption process begins after you have received some general information, an initial visit at your home and ARC Adoption North East are in receipt of your ‘registration of interest’ from you.
Contact us

At ARC Adoption North East we value your opinion. All compliments, comments and complaints are accepted and considered with the greatest respect. Your feedback is welcomed to help develop ARC Adoption North East’s services.
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