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Board of Trustees
Adoption UK is a charitable trust, the work and management of which is overseen by a Board of Trustees. A minimum of three Trustees is required by the Trust Deed, which does not restrict the maximum number of Trustees in office at any one time. Trustees can serve for two consecutive periods of three years, before having to resign from the Board for at least one year. Trustees are not paid for carrying out their duties.
The Board of Trustees meets four times a year to review the organisation’s work and services, and to agree strategic goals for the charity. The Board also reviews its own operation, effectiveness and governance.
A Finance Committee, comprising three Trustees, has specific responsibility for the organisation’s strategic financial planning and development and for monitoring the charity’s financial situation. It meets at least quarterly, with the Chief Executive, Finance Manager and Director of Adoption Support in attendance.
A Human Resources Committee, comprising three Trustees, has specific responsibility for:
- Ensuring the organisation’s compliance with human resources legislation; and
- Developing, monitoring and reviewing strategy and policy in all matters relating to the recruitment, selection, reward, retention, terms and conditions of employment, motivation and training/development of Adoption UK’s staff.
An annual review of the recruitment needs of the Board of Trustees is carried out under the leadership of the Chair, including an audit of the current knowledge, experience, skills and abilities, and how they will be affected by any Trustee departures in the future.
Any Trustee vacancies are advertised nationally, including as a minimum Adoption Today magazine and Adoption UK’s website. Applicants are shortlisted against the criteria in the person specification for the role of Trustee, including any specific qualities highlighted during the above audit. Shortlisted applicants are invited for interview by at least two Trustees, one of whom will be the Chair. Shortlisted applicants are only appointed where they have the necessary skills and qualities to contribute effectively to the charity’s management and development.
Trustee Profiles
Peter Seymour – Chair and Finance Committee member
How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?
My wife and I started our adoption journey in 1996 – a journey that saw us take delivery of a sibling group of four pre-school children in December 1997 and a birth daughter in 2002. A journey that after many years of trying to progress the support we needed for our family via our local authority, eventually brought us to the services provided by Adoption UK.
Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?My years of adoptive parent experience (contested adoption, local authority adoption services, life story, school statements/appeals, CAMHS, etc), along with my business experience (12 years with Marks & Spencer followed by the last eight years in a business development role across parliament and government departments) provide a useful mix of practical adoption and business experience and expertise to support Adoption UK.
This adoption and business experience is particularly valuable, as it encompasses things that have worked well and things (as they say) that have worked less well.
How do you want to see Adoption UK develop over the next five years?
I would like to see Adoption UK championing some specific adoption areas on top of its broader agenda (e.g., in education getting “adopted” children included in the same category as “looked after children”) as well as seeing the charity increasing its profile across both the wider population and also government, so that more people are aware of the services that it offers.
Anita Bharucha
How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?
My husband and I started the process of adopting from India in 2009 and are currently waiting to be matched with a child. Friends recommended Adoption UK to us and we have been able to draw on that support right from the start of our journey, which has been invaluable.
Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?
I have worked in the civil service for 17 years in the Northern Ireland Office, Cabinet Office, Home Office and Ministry of Justice in a variety of roles dealing with strategy, policy and change. I have senior board level experience within Government and also spent a year on secondment to Marie Curie Cancer Care, leading a programme to improve services to hospice patients and their families.
I hope that I can contribute my experience as someone currently going through the adoption process, including a perspective on the issues that may arise for ethnic minority adopters and inter-country adopters.
How do you want to see Adoption UK develop over the next five years?
I would like to see Adoption UK extending its reach even further over the next five years so that it provides support to more parents and families throughout the adoption journey, increases its influence with decision-makers and raises wider public awareness of adoption issues.
Felicity Collier OBE – Finance Committee member
How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?
I was Chief Executive of BAAF from 1995-2006. I therefore worked alongside Adoption UK on a number of issues and wanted to continue to make a contribution to promoting the interests of adoption children and their families, post retirement. I became a trustee in September 2006.
Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?
I am committed to the importance of permanence through adoption for more children who cannot live safely with their birth families, and have a good knowledge of the obstacles in achieving this.
I am familiar with adoption research findings and understand the life-long difficulties experienced by children who have suffered broken attachments, abuse (including parental drug and alcohol abuse while in the womb), and multiple placements. I have experience of managing a complex charity and a good grasp of finance, HR and fundraising.
How do you want to see Adoption UK develop over the next five years?
I would like to see Adoption UK more widely recognised as the UK-wide voice for adoptive families and therefore increasing its already positive influence on policy and practice and also on public understanding of adoption issues.
Rosemary Cook CBE – Vice Chair
How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?
Being adopted myself, I have become increasingly aware in recent years of the research evidence demonstrating the impact of early abandonment on children, and the very different needs of adopted children from birth children. This convinced me of the importance of supporting parents as they respond to these needs.
Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?
I am a charity director, so I have some expertise in charity governance, finances and management. I also enjoy editing and proofreading documents. I have done a lot of public speaking and presentations at national and international conferences, and would be happy to use any of these skills on behalf of Adoption UK.
How do you want to see Adoption UK develop over the next five years?
Very much as I see it working now – combining practical support to parents both before and after adoption, with a strong voice influencing Government policy on adoption. It might be good to develop more links with higher education institutions involved in infant mental health/early years research, as this is key source material for both aspects of Adoption UK’s work.
Bob Duthie - Chair, Human Resources Committee
How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?
After a wait of several years my wife and I adopted our son, aged six months, in 1985 and our daughter, aged four months, in 1988 – the two best things we ever did. At that time the prevailing assumptions were that early life experiences had no impact, adopted "babies" had no baggage and that therefore post adoption support was unnecessary. I sit as an independent member of a Local Authority Adoption Panel and became aware of Adoption UK as a provider of practical support to some of the couples coming before the Panel where the skills required of them as adoptive parents were clearly going to be significant. I joined as a Trustee in June 2010.
Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?
My membership of an Adoption Panel provides me with knowledge of both the theory and practice of the training, assessment, approval of prospective adopters, and (possible) matching, together with the backgrounds of the children available for adoption and the future support which could be available.
Professionally I spent 35 years in the City in investment banking and investment management. I retired in 2008 from Invesco, a global investment management business, as HR Director with responsibility for the UK and Continental Europe. This has given me experience, as an Executive Director of a company in a heavily regulated industry, of corporate governance, risk assessment, strategic and business planning. I am used to working within organisations undergoing constant change and hope that some of my HR experience can be of benefit to the management and staff of Adoption UK.
I have been a Trustee of pension schemes and currently sit on another charitable board and therefore have some knowledge of Trustee responsibilities.
How do you want to see Adoption UK develop over the next five years?
As an organisation which has expanded its size and reach over the last few years and is now facing more uncertain times, there must be a preparedness to review its role, purpose and efficiency to ensure that both people and funds are used with best effect. We must also be open to taking on new functions from other organisations. As a campaigner Adoption UK should focus on the roots of why children spend such a long time in the looked after system. We should be assertive in challenging some of the assumptions and practices which mitigate against early removal, favour the prolonged search for a viable parent within the kinship group of birth families, and result in adoption being the last resort.
Judith Evans – Wales Advisory Group member
How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?
I become involved in Parent to Parent Information on Adoption Services (PPIAS), as Adoption UK was then, in 1986 when my husband and I adopted our two sons, half brothers, then five and two years old. We were both social workers and were therefore expected to know what we were doing; we very soon learned this was not the case!
We have found the support and advice from other adoptive parents invaluable throughout our adoptive parenting lives.
We became support group coordinators and for some years held regular meetings for adoptive parents new to the process, or ‘old hands’. Gradually it became clear that we and other adoptive parents of some years standing needed a different group where we could share our concerns and worries without burdening others who were only just beginning the assessment to be adopters. We resigned from support group coordination and together formed a new support group, which continued until our children were adults.
Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?
I was also involved in the founding of a post adoption support agency, at first called After Adoption Wales, which is now part of the UK wide organisation, After Adoption. I am now semi- retired from my post as a social work trainer and I am a volunteer for After Adoption, where I can use some of my social work skills with people who are seeking to find birth relatives, and a volunteer support group coordinator for Adoption UK. We have now a Development Manager for Adoption UK based in Cardiff, which is wonderful, and it feels as if new developments in terms of support and campaigning for adoptive parents will really improve in Wales.
How do you want to see Adoption UK develop over the next five years?In the next five years, I would like to see Adoption UK build on the work done in the past 30 to 40 years. It is vital that the self-help group ethos remains the foundation of the organisation. Adoptive parents are central and must be consulted and listened to and their ideas about what is needed must be used by the employees of the organisation in their campaigning role to influence social policy.
Mary Greenwood
How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?
I applied to become a member of the Adoption UK Board to complement my social work knowledge and practice in respect of children and their families, and to inform my more recent role as independent chair of adoption panels. Having spent over 30 years in children’s social work, both in statutory and voluntary agencies, I wished to get an informed perspective, both from adopters and adoptees, through the work of Adoption UK.
Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?
I have more than 30 years’ experience of social work with children, young people and their families both in a statutory and voluntary setting. My chairing of adoption panels is particularly relevant to the work of Adoption UK. I can therefore bring an understanding of social work and agency practice to the Board, whilst being able to influence adoption practice from my learning of the experiences of adopters and their children from Adoption UK’s work.
How do you want to see Adoption UK develop over the next five years?
I am interested in using adopters’ experiences to inform the process of adoption at all levels, from recruitment and preparation to the challenges of parenting and to explore ways of influencing social work practice to improve the outcomes for adopted children and their parents.
Penny Jones - Human Resources Committee member
How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?
My husband and I tried for many years to conceive before pursuing adoption. In 2009, we were assessed and then matched with two little girls (then aged four and two) who came home in February 2010. I discovered the Adoption UK website early on in the process and began to appreciate that there is an enormous wealth of support and experience amongst the community of adopters and prospective adopters.
We also subscribed to “Children Who Wait”, both in paper form and online and eagerly awaited every issue. Shortly after the children came home, I saw an advertisement online for new Trustees to sit on the board of Adoption UK and felt I wanted to try to make a positive contribution to this community.
Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?
Currently, I am at home with our girls and experiencing life as a new mum, with all its many ups and downs. However, I also qualified as a barrister in 1992, and for the 12 years or so until I took adoption leave, I specialised in cases concerning child abuse, care and adoption. I have represented many local authorities, children themselves (both individually and through their Children’s Guardians) and parents against whom there have been serious allegations of harm and neglect. I have advocated for and against rehabilitation of children to their birth parents or wider family, and for and against post-adoption contact, so I have an understanding of how these issues are tackled at court and some knowledge of current judicial attitudes and concerns.
How do you want to see Adoption UK develop over the next five years?
I believe Adoption UK has a vital role to voice the needs of the children we are caring for, in terms of improving the speed and efficiency of the care and placement process and in bringing home the message that our families often need and deserve long term, well-funded support to ensure their well being and stability. At the same time, we need to retain and develop the strong sense of community that exists online and on the ground and to remember that at heart, Adoption UK is about adopters and prospective adopters coming together to support each other.
Linda Palmer – Vice Chair and Human Resources Committee member
How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?
A letter from a friend advising that she had adopted two boys was the catalyst for my adoption journey. I had never considered adoption before, although I had recently married and wanted to have a family. This led me to think seriously about adoption for the first time and to discuss with my husband the possibility of adopting a child.
Early on in the adoption process, our social worker advised us to join Adoption UK and BAAF. After a three-year wait to be matched with a child, our daughter was placed with us in 2002, aged eight. Having been a member of Adoption UK since 1999 and following redundancy in 2006, I was keen to become more actively involved, so applied to be a Trustee and Buddy.
Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?
I have wide experience and knowledge of lobbying and campaigning work through my 21-year career with the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I have past experience of working for a membership organisation, identifying members’ needs and representing their interests, and have experience of parenting and meeting the needs of an older adopted child.
How do you want to see Adoption UK develop over the next five years?
I would like to see Adoption UK continuing to develop its campaigning activities and achieving recognition as the major campaigning organisation on adoptive parenting issues.
I believe we should conduct regular membership surveys to gauge members’ views on a range of issues. This will help inform our policy and campaigning activities, promote our work on behalf of adoptive families and provide key data and statistics for press releases and responses to media enquiries.
Liz Searle
How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?
After a long journey of trying to add to our family, we adopted our son in 2009. We have a birth daughter and so this was a big move for us. During the approval process I became interested in how the process works and, from a professional point of view, became interested in health-related issues for children who have experienced trauma. I was shocked at how little health-related preparation there was for adoptive parents
Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?
I started my career as a qualified nurse and moved in directorships for health-related charities. I have also worked as an educator in Higher Education and am a Parent Governor of my local Primary School. My current role is as a Skills Director for the East Midlands. I have a particular interest in support and access to education for children with special needs or from disadvantaged backgrounds.
How do you want to see Adoption UK develop over the next five years?
I would like to see Adoption UK continue to grow but also to build on the role of critical friend to policy-makers and Government. There is a need for adopted children and their families to continue to get support for as long as is needed and then on request. “Support is whatever the family say they need, whenever they say it's needed.”
Roisin Smyth - Northern Ireland Advisory Group member
How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?
In 1986 I commenced a social work post in a voluntary sector adoption agency when the adoption legislation changed in Northern Ireland in 1987. As this law permitted tracing and reunion in adoption for the first time this was a significant part of my counselling role at that time, in addition to finding and supporting permanent family placements for children via adoption. This was also during those early years of ‘the permanency via adoption’ movement in policy and practice developments. The particular needs in adoptive parenting of older children with traumatic and disrupted lives became dramatically apparent in my work and I recall a particular moment of relief as I read an article produced via Adoption UK, published in the BAAF journal around that time. At last someone had put words to the parenting experiences I was encountering in the families I was supporting – help at last! My interest, enthusiasm and gratitude arose in that moment. I have learned that the best theory comes via those who are doing the work, evidenced also by the psychologists, therapists and authors who are also adoptive parents.
Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?
I am neither adopted nor an adoptive parent, but my greatest compliment as a practitioner was when a young man commencing on a ‘tracing’ journey asked me ‘are you adopted yourself’? He was surprised that I was not and I gave the compliment immediately to all those who had intimately trusted me with their stories and feelings. I owe the same to the adoptive parents and birth parents and children I have journeyed alongside over many years … humbled and enriched by the learning curve we shared.
I am, since 1996, engaged as a Guardian ad Litem in the State’s intervention to safeguard and care plan for the family life and parenting needs of children. The task, skill and challenge in adoptive parenting as we now know it, has compelled me to advocate for post-adoption support and to value immeasurably the resource of adoptive families for each other. This needs to be ever more harnessed and made accessible at the local and ‘intimate‘ level. I am delighted to be part of Adoption UK as a member of the Northern Ireland Advisory Group and the Board of Trustees. For me, in my many years of professional practice, Adoption UK is the primary vehicle for achieving this and thus achieving the ‘life saving’ work of sustaining family life for our most damaged and in need children.
Rosie Webster – Scotland Advisory Group member
How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?
My husband and I adopted two girls in 2002, aged five and two. I had secondary infertility but felt unable to face IVF treatment. Life since then has been the adoption rollercoaster of ups and downs as we have dealt with the unequal levels of support provided in different areas of the UK, and fought for recognition and understanding of the attachment issues our daughters and family faced.
I foolishly let my membership of Adoption UK lapse during our long wait for placement but rejoined in 2006 when we arrived in Scotland. Since then I have really appreciated the shared knowledge and huge support the organisation provides. I started up two local support groups through Adoption UK in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders, became a member of the Scotland Advisory Group and latterly a Trustee.
Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?
In my previous life I worked as a veterinary surgeon. My career has had to take a substantial change of direction. I bring my valuable experiences as a parent of both adopted and birth children, and the challenges that we face, empathy, understanding and a desire to drive the whole process of adoption forward and upward.
How do you want to see Adoption UK develop over the next five years?
I strive for the wider recognition of the catastrophic and disabling effects of emotional and physical neglect in a child’s life.
I believe children should be protected from this much earlier in many cases and that too many chances are given for parents to turn their lives around. Adoption is a great option but adoptive parents should be prepared and educated so as to ‘hit the ground running’ with knowledge on therapeutic re-parenting.
I believe that adoptive parents and children should be supported, not only by their peers, but also by enlightened professionals with a working knowledge of the challenges facing them and their children. I hope that over the next five years Adoption UK can continue to grow and, by increased prominence, further promote the interests of our children and our families.