Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the proposed peer‑mentoring pathway for adoptive and special guardianship families will involve; whether trained adopters participating in this programme will be remunerated for their work; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that emotional labour undertaken by adopters is appropriately recognised.

The ‘Adoption support that works for all’ consultation proposes strengthening peer and community support for adoptive and special guardianship families, including developing models where experienced adopters and kinship carers share practical strategies, build resilience, and help families navigate services. The design of these proposals will be based on feedback received through the consultation and will be developed in collaboration with those with direct experience.

Proposals within the consultation explicitly aim to strengthen early support, expand peer and community networks, and ensure support services are better aligned with families’ needs and experiences, as part of creating a more sustainable and responsive system of adoption and kinship support.