Welsh Early Permanence for Siblings
Adam and Louise’s Story
Louise and Adam are adoptive parents to two wonderful little boys, Jack aged 3 and George just 8 months old. Their journey is unique, as they are one of the first families in Wales to support a child through Welsh Early Permanence. Having adopted Jack via the traditional adoption route, Louise and Adam were always of the view that their family had more room to grow and so when they were contacted by their adoption collaborative in 2022 and told that Jack’s birth mum was expecting another child, they were asked to consider WEP. Louise and Adam have been kind enough to share their journey, providing valuable insight into their experiences, of WEP as second time adopters.
Adam and Louise’s Story
Someone New: A Welsh Early Permanence Story for Siblings
Someone New is a book about Welsh Early Permanence told through the eyes of Seren a four-year-old little girl who was adopted by her Mum when she was two years old. In the book Seren’s Mum becomes a WEP carer and the story focuses on Seren’s perspective exploring her thoughts, feelings and understanding as Megan joins the household.
The story is designed for WEP carers to share with their existing children, whether their birth child or adopted child, to help them understand the WEP process and support families in their preparation to care for a child under an early permanence plan.
Hopefully hearing Megan and Seren’s story will reassure children that this is a topic which can be discussed openly with their parents and let’s them know that is normal to feel uncertain about a new child joining the family and begin to think about the reality of what that may look and feel like both now and in the future. The Story book is accompanied by an Activity book that you can complete with your child to support their learning and understanding.
Supporting your child
Click here for additional information which might help you when talking about some of the more complex aspects of Welsh Early Permanence with your child. We hope that reading these pages before you read ‘Someone New’, with your child, will help you feel better prepared to answer your child’s questions in a way that is best suited to their individual needs.
