What is SafeBase?
SafeBase is a therapeutic parenting programme for adoptive parents. It helps to create a strong foundation for loving and lasting relationships within the family, helping children to feel more confident, safe and secure with their parents and carers. Everyone who adopts with Adoption Focus has the opportunity to take part in our SafeBase programme.
SafeBase was first delivered in 2005 and was originally known as SAFE (Strengthening Adoptive Families in England). Since then, over 1500 families have attended the course.
How does SafeBase Work?
SafeBase explores the impact of loss and trauma on a child's attachment and uses Theraplay principles and activities to provide a framework for parents to engage with their child in a fun way. It also helps parents to become more sensitively attuned when responding to their child.
The comprehensive SafeBase parenting programme is usually run in a group setting over several half-days. It’s aimed at adopters a few months after their children have come home, and we highly recommend that people take the opportunity to attend. It is effective in:
- Helping you to better understand your child and the impact of adverse childhood experiences
- Building secure attachments between parents and children
- Helping you to become more sensitive to your child’s needs by providing insight, and context, to their behaviours
- Offer you practical techniques to understand and respond to your child’s behaviour and help you feel more confident
- Provide you with a community of ongoing support even after the programme has completed
- Use a strength-based approach which helps adoptive parents to strengthen their own resources and confidence
We recognise that every family is unique and has different needs, and SafeBase supports to improvements to parents’ wellbeing and brings hope for the future.
Feedback
People who have completed the course have said:
Meeting other adopters and hearing their ideas and tips was really great. Feeling less alone always invigorates me.
I can’t express enough what a different the programme has made to me personally and I am confident it will benefit my family.
It was an insightful and informative course.
How to Access SafeBase
Our SafeBase programme is run several times throughout the year and is available for free to everyone who adopts with Adoption Focus. Dates are publicised in our regular adopter newsletters and adopters can book on by contacting the SafeBase team.
SafeBase in the Teenage Years
SafeBase in the Teenage Years runs over two days and is for families who are either parenting adolescents or have children nearing this stage. The programme is designed to strengthen relationships between parents and their children and help them remain connected to them. It also considers strategies for supporting adolescents in developing healthy identities, having positive self-esteem, and understand the developments that they are going through.
SafeBase for Schools
SafeBase for schools aims to support education professionals to gain knowledge about early life experiences and developmental trauma, learn more about the impact of trauma upon children’s education and explore practical strategies to use within their school environment.
Learning outcomes include:
- Increased understanding of the impact of trauma on children
- Awareness of how early childhood adversity affects brain development and children’s capacity to learn
- Increased staff competence and confidence in supporting pupils with attachment needs
- Helping young people to reach their potential
SafeBase for Schools can either be run as a half-day or full-day programme, in-person or remote. It’s aimed at any staff who have a supporting or teaching role with pupils. All participants receive a resource pack which includes further information about topics covered as well as activities they can do with individual students and classes.
For more information, please contact the SafeBase team.