Adoption support fund
Adoption support fund (ASF)
As adoptive parents or special guardians you are eligible to apply for up to £5,000 per annum for each child to meet their therapeutic needs and/or the therapeutic needs of your family. An additional £2,500 is available to carry out a needs assessment.
Unlike Pupil Premium Plus, adoption support funding is also available to children and young people who have been adopted from outside England and Wales, including overseas, and extends up to the age of 21. Also, if the child or young person concerned has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) they may access the fund until they are 25. You, rather than your child’s school or college, will need to apply for this funding.
An example of the referral form you will need to complete is at the foot of this page.
The charity first4adoption.org.uk has clear and comprehensive information about how adoption support funding works. Their available therapies section of their website offers helpful suggestions for and definitions of therapies that can be paid for with the ASF.
GOV.UK also has resources for adoption support funding, which you can view here.
Applying for Adoption support funding
If you are an adoptive parent living in Richmond and Kingston, your first point of contact to apply for this funding is Adopt London South. You can call them on their helpline, 0207 525 4491. This is run by experienced social workers between Tuesday and Friday (10am - 4pm). You can also email them on their enquiry line: postadoptionsupportALS@southwark.gov.uk
If you are a Special Guardian living in Richmond or Kingston and you want to apply for Adoption Support funding, contact adoption support on 0208 547 4620 or by email at adoptionduty@achievingforchildren.org.uk
For all enquiries across the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, you can get in touch with the Adopt Thames Valley Permanence support team on 01865 323121 or by email at atv.permanencesupport@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Adoption Support Fund (ASF) and how it works
Each application should take 21 working days to process although it may take longer, if need additional information and reports are needed.
The Fair Access Limit means that each adopted child per financial year (1st April – 31st March) is entitled to
£2,500 for a Specialist Assessment focusing on the child’s attachment and trauma needs relating to adoption and £5,000 for Therapeutic support to meet a child or family's needs.
The full list of what the ASF will and will not cover can be found here along with some other FAQs- https://www.adoptionuk.org/Pages/FAQs/Category/adoption-support-fund
Additional support available
Adopt London South can also arrange for adoptive parents to have a one off parent consultation with a family and child psychotherapist, Louis Sydney, who can offer some advice and guidance in the interim. This can be particularly helpful if you need support with a particular issue, i.e challenging behaviour. To access this additional support please contact the helpline on 0207 525 4491.