Read this today- just wow! @ldlapinski.bsky.social 's characters in their previous book "Jamie" were the friends I wished I'd had when I was at school. Kick Flip takes that to the next level. If you're thinking about coming out to your friends, this is the book for you. I cried so many tears of joy

We are creating a new tool to measure what makes a good quality of life for adoptees aged 16-25, based on what adoptees themselves think is important. If you are an adoptee aged 16-25, we need your help to improve the survey questions. Sign up for an online interview here: bit.ly/4kdRgCw

Just voted for Rhiannon Lockley. If we want to tackle defeatism in the face of cuts, we need openly political trades unionists who base their leadership in mass action in their branches. And when we vote for something, it should happen. rhiannonforucuvp.wordpress.com @illdoitanyway.bsky.social

We are creating a new tool to measure what makes a good quality of life for adoptees aged 16-25, based on what adoptees themselves think is important. If you want to take part in a mixed focus group for birth family members, adopters and adoptees aged 26+, sign up here: forms.gle/x1Mi993Dihpg...

We are creating a new tool to measure what makes a good quality of life for adoptees aged 16-25, based on what adoptees themselves think is important. If you want to take part in a focus group for adoptees aged 16-25, you can sign up here: forms.gle/x1Mi993Dihpg...

My current research project is creating a new tool to measure what makes a good quality of life for adoptees aged 16-25, based on what adoptees themselves think is important. bit.ly/3VqPtQR

Focus group training session yesterday with Sheffield's Voice & Influence team & members of our Involvement Group. We were aiming to create a space where people could express diverse perspectives and have different ways to take part. Lots of zines and collage, plus great discussions & facilitation.

Great to hear from @andycopp.bsky.social he shares his views and experiences of been a #birthdad in adoption #firstfamily #birthfamily #adoption #birthdad thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/ste...

thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/kee... A journey of trauma and healing as a #birthmum. please sure and spread a little bit of hope. #firstmum #forcedadoption #adoptionuk #birthfamily

sites.google.com/view/nihrrss... If you work in a local authority and have been thinking about doing research, you can find out more information about fellowships from the National Institute of Health and Care Research by coming to one of these regional events. #NIHR @nihr.bsky.social #SocialWork

Yesterday, Greater Manchester approved free travel passes for young people who have experienced care up until the age of 25. Through devolution, important progressive steps continue to be made.

My own winding path: 1. BMus - UOB 2. PG Dip - Guildhall 3. Head injury 4. Unemployed 5. Support worker (adults learning disabilities) 6. MA Social Work - UOB 7. STWC & SWP 8. Children's social worker & UNISON organiser 10. Adoption support worker 11. MA Social Research - UOS 12. PGR (current) - UOS

There are a few tickets left for PFAN's webinar tomorrow, 29th November at 4pm. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/parent-adv...

ucu.group.shef.ac.uk/campaigns/st... This describes the current state of the University of Sheffield, how we got here, how it could have been prevented, and what should happen next.

ucu.group.shef.ac.uk/campaigns/st... An excellent overview of what happen to Archaeology at the University of Sheffield.

Higher education members 📢 Don't forget to vote in the consultative ballot: 📨 Check your emails for the ballot link ❌ REJECT the pay element ✅ ACCEPT the terms of reference on pay-related elements ⏰ Ballot closes Tuesday 3 December at 5pm ⏰ VOTE now✊

Some thoughts on the trade union banner collection at the fantastic People's History museum. This one is the oldest surviving miner's banner from Ashover, Derbyshire (which now has a Tory MP). "Success to miners!" I can't imagine raising a similar slogan about any workplace I've been chained to...

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/parent-adv... If you've missed this, the next Parents Families & Allies Network webinar is all about parent peer advocacy. You can hear how parents can build better responses to child welfare through advocacy, care and support, & how people have managed to set up such services

My abstract got rejected by ECSWR so I'm looking for an alternative conference to present my literature review findings about social harms and child adoption in England

Higher education members 📢 Have you voted in the consultative ballot yet? ❌ REJECT the pay element ✅ ACCEPT the terms of reference on the pay-related elements VOTE before Tuesday 3 December at 5pm ⏰ Find out more 👉 ucu.org.uk/HEconsultati...

I hear a lot from research funders about wanting to fund "the right people" ie people who will progress to professors, MBEs etc. Then I think about the way the inverse care law (least access to health services for those who need it most) is mirrored in the distribution of funded health research 🤔

Hey 👋 Our first words on @bsky.app go to Salma, a care experienced young woman in London, who explains how our Lifelong Links approach has made a difference for her and for other young people in the care system. #BuildNotBreak

This is a really important webinar, especially if like me you're thinking about whether parent peer advocacy could be set up in your area and wanting to learn from the experiences of those who have done it.

nowthenmagazine.com/articles/nea... In case you missed what's happening at University of Sheffield

I'm honestly not sure what's new in here. Easy to score points about pirates and profiteers. We all hate them. But without plans to end reliance on a market-based system, and with tightening budget strings, I can only see the profiteers popping up at every turn www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

If you want to know about peer parent advocacy in child protection in England - what it is and what's happening in the parent advocacy movement watch the first 10 minutes of this video. vimeo.com/840158241

From parental blame to partnership with families: how to transform children’s social care Investing in parent advocacy is key among ideas for reform put forward by parents with lived experience www.communitycare.co.uk/2022/02/22/f...

National statistics published 31/10/2024 show the rate of children put through a s47 child protection investigation in England that didn't lead to a child protection plan has nearly doubled since 2014. That's 162,410 children investigated in 2024 that did not find harm

I'm really interested to know, do people feel there is an expectation from their parents that they should be grateful? I'm thinking of this in terms of saviour narratives in child adoption, but I'm also curious more generally what people feel, whether care experienced or not.

Participated in a very important UCU meeting at University of Sheffield today. Around 1300 members involved, spread between two lecture theatre and online, discussing the entirely preventable situation which has led the university leadership to propose targeted voluntary redundancies.

New paper led by @DrKatieEllis based on interviews with 15 prominent care experienced activists regarding their activism to achieve change in care systems. Thank you to all the participants for their insights. Available: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

If you still haven't seen the pledge for Palestine - social workers need to sign this.

I'm not sure whether there are many / any UK #socialwork academics on here yet? The fees look fairly US based to me.

I'm hoping that this platform makes it possible to connect with people affected by child welfare interventions, including adoption, and social work practitioners or academics willing to work to end the harms caused by the child welfare system. That no longer seemed a realistic possibility on Twitter

Ok so now I've recycled some of my Twitter posts from the last couple of years so that people can see I'm not a bot. What did I notice? I rarely posted, and really did not get very much out of Twitter in that time. And I didn't really post much about what I was on Twitter for.

I’ve just been awarded an @NIHRresearch doctoral fellowship!  I’ll be working with people affected by adoption (adoptees, birth family members, adopters) to understand ongoing family time and relationships across adoption.

So good hearing Judy Cox considering Blake's 'Jerusalem' as a response to feelings of defeat after Napoleon declared himself Emperor. The first two verses as a series of rhetorical questions, to which the answer is NO, and the rest as a commitment to struggle in mind & deed. Fab

Is a shame to see prominent social work academics mouthing off about the MAB. Their non participation is the real harm here, allowing the underfunding of social work education to continue unopposed. That means unaffordable fees, unmanageable workloads, lower quality education.

University students are being let down by relentless underfunding, tuition fees, the creation of a highly ideological market in higher education, and your cost of living crisis. UCU and students are the only people standing up to any of this.

I'm quite concerned that predictive analytics that commissioners don't understand and which might have negative consequences for both false positives (harm from unnecessary investigative response) or false negatives (cases deprioritised for support) could be prematurely scaled up

The ACEs concept lacks coherence & blames individuals. Popular "brain science" includes fakery (shrunken brains anyone?) & frequent mistranslation/oversimplification. As a concept explaining the social origins of mental health trauma is so important. Trauma-informed is too vague

If there is transparency in how this is commissioned and used, and if its function is to assist workers with dyslexia etc., then it may be relatively benign. To know that, I'd want answers on the opacity, scale and damage. www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

Very big & vibrant protest here in Sheffield. Amongst them lots of UCU and trades unionists out in force, students, working class, Muslims together. Fantastic to be claiming the space as anti racist. Looks like the fascists have been humiliated in towns and cities across the UK

Walked some of the Peak District Boundary Wall today. A short bus ride from Hillsborough, we saw a brown hare running across a field, red deer and stag with stunning antlers, goldfinches and swallows. We also had every weather: rain, cold & windy, then bright sun #sheffield