Family Life

Families for Children, local adoption agency and charitable trust who cover Devon, Dorset, Cornwall and Somerset, are delighted to announce the appointment of new a new Fundraising & Engagement Specialist, Tracy Ebbrell.

At a crucial time for Adoption in the UK, Families for Children is focussing on finding families for ‘priority’ children. These include older children, sibling groups and children with additional needs. It is these groups of children and their adoptive families who benefit from the work of the charity. Tracy has been appointed to help meet the increasing demand...

Adopt South West prepares to re-launch its TV campaign this week with emphasis falling on encouraging those who would consider adopting ‘priority’ children to come forward.

The appeal comes as Somerset County Council joins the partnership alongside Barnardo’s, Devon County Council, and Families for Children, Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council, to promote adoption.

With much attention being drawn to the decline in adoption placements of young children and babies across the UK, Adopt South West is keen to find adoptive families for those children whose numbers continue...

Nearly a quarter of South West parents (23 per cent) struggle to get their children to “unplug” and take part in activities away from television, phone and computer screens, according to a survey published by Action for Children.

When asked which behaviour they found most difficult to control in their children, more South West parents said they struggled to limit technology-based activity (23 per cent) than get children to eat healthily (18 per cent), go to bed (18 per cent), or do their homework (12 per cent).

Brigitte Gater, director of children’s services at Action for...

While Christmas and New Year are meant to be happy times, the fact is that every year the beginning of January sees a spike in divorce proceedings as couples bite the bullet and resolve to split. This phenomenon has become so well established that in legal circles it is referred to as ‘Divorce Day’, with Monday 4 January expected to see this year’s peak.

Andrew Barton, partner in Stephens Scown LLP’s family law team, has experienced this many times. He said: “Sadly, while Christmas is meant to bring people together, often it just serves to drive them apart. The tensions of being...