How Twinkl Can Support You and Your Adopted Child
By Amanda Protheroe, Twinkl Parents Team
Did you know that Twinkl isn’t just for the classroom? While we are a staple in schools, we have a rapidly expanding dedicated Parent area designed specifically to support you and your family at home.
My name is Amanda Protheroe, and I lead the Parent Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) team at Twinkl. Before joining the team, I spent over a decade as a SENDCo and primary teacher. My passion for this work is personal; growing up with a younger non-speaking brother gave me a first hand understanding of the unique joys and challenges that come with supporting children with additional needs.
Adopt London has kindly invited me to share how our resources can support you. Whether your child has an identified need or you are simply navigating the complexities of trauma and attachment, Twinkl offers practical, compassionate tools for your journey.
Dedicated Adoption Resources
The adoption process can often feel daunting and overwhelming. To help you, all of our adoption-specific resources have been created by approved adopters who have personal experience of the journey. However, it’s important to remember that every path to parenthood through adoption is unique, and experiences will vary when consulting these resources.
The adoption journey is filled with significant milestones and stories for both parent and child, which deserve to be remembered and celebrated. To help you and your child organise and process these moments together, we’ve created a range of dedicated journals and logs designed to capture every step of your story. These can be found in our adoption area above.
- Prepare for the process using our foundational guides and training logs.
- Navigate the transition with journals designed to help you track introductions and new relationships.
- Support your child’s identity through our guided storytelling tools.
- Manage your own wellbeing by keeping on top of the paperwork and emotional load with our parent-focused reflection prompts.
Attachment and Trauma
We understand that traditional parenting advice doesn’t always apply when trauma is involved. Our parent-focused guides provide a foundation for trauma- responsive care at home:
Top SEND Resources for Home Support
At Twinkl, we understand that children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) require targeted family support and there can be some common challenges for adopted children due to their in utero experiences, genetic predispositions and/or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). We offer a variety of practical resources and tools designed to help your child, whether they are navigating sensory differences, learning difficulties or other needs.
Our range of support includes:
- Parent Support: We offer a variety of support, including parent guides, seasonal assistance, and help with navigating the school system.
- Visual Timetables and Now/Next Boards: These resources promote predictability to help reduce anxiety in children.
- Emotional Regulation Support: Discover activities to help your child identify their emotions, and gain support in finding strategies to help them manage those big
Find all these activities and more in our dedicated SEND area. These resources are all free until August to support SEND families in navigating the proposed changes to the SEND System in England. (A free account is all you need to access them.)
Inclusive Activities for all Children
Learning and activities should be fun and, sometimes, it just needs to be familiar. We offer resources featuring characters your children already love, including Disney, Minecraft, Harry Potter, and Peppa Pig. Discover these partnership resources.
Because navigating Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) can often be confusing, we have developed tailored support to meet children exactly where they are. For younger children, we offer targeted parent guides and specific resources, such as an engaging emotion-based art activity. At the same time, we know that chronological age doesn’t always match developmental stages. That’s why we are also expanding our Older Learner range—featuring resources like our Older Learners Colourful Semantics activity—which is specifically designed for older children who are still accessing the primary curriculum.
Mindfulness can be a powerful tool, and a simple colouring pack is a great way to introduce it. Never underestimate its ability to help regulate emotions and provide a much-needed calm “brain break” during a hectic time.
Digital Support
Screen time doesn’t have to be “dead time”. Twinkl Symbols is a fantastic tool for making everyday communication accessible at home through our web tool and mobile app. It’s perfect for creating visual schedules or choice boards to help reduce anxiety around daily routines.
🎁 A Free Treat for You!
We want to make things a little easier. You can access a Free Pack featuring helpful resources to support you and your child from now for a month.
How: Simply sign up for a free Twinkl account to download your support bundle.
About Amanda & How to Connect
I am the Parent SEND Content Lead at Twinkl, where I run our Twinkl Parents – SEND Facebook Group. I also send out weekly emails tailored to SEND parents with fresh ideas and supportive resources. You can sign up here.
If you are home-educating, we also have a dedicated Home Ed Facebook Group full of planning support and community advice. We would love to see you there!
