Euan

Huge thanks to @privateeyenews.bsky.social for reporting on our campaign. @asgsfprotest.bsky.social

Quick explainer video about this ASGSF thing I've been endlessly harping on about, courtesy of @michaelspicer.bsky.social (thank you, Michael). @asgsfprotest.bsky.social

At our professionals conference last year, our members’ lived experiences took centre stage.

A volunteer team, led by Research Manager Gillian Elam, carried out research that shaped our landmark report.

Clip from Family Matters podcast. thanks to @adoptionuk.bsky.social for inviting us on.

The Impossible Choice

36% of families answering our survey have been forced to make this choice since the cuts to the ASGSF were made.

These cuts must be reversed

The government must listen.

Survey Report: asgsfprotest.com/pcsurveyapril2…

#fundnoworpaylater #ACutTooFar #asgsf #carenotcuts

It’s #NationalAdoptionWeek, and it would be remiss not to mention our landmark research into the lived experiences of adoptive families raising children and young adults affected by early-life trauma.

www.thepotatogroup.o...

“81% of respondents stated the cuts to the ASGSF had a very negative or negative affect on their child’s mental health. 85% of respondents stated the cuts had a negative or very negative impact on their child’s emotion wellbeing.”

#NationalAdoptionWeek

Our survey results were raised with the Minister for Children and Families in Parliament directly by Clive Jones.
When will this government start seeing our children?
When will they recognise their needs?
When will they look to truly address those needs to the right level and at the right time?

Of the 777 children and young adults represented in our survey, only 10 were felt by their parents or carers to have had their therapeutic needs met.

10.

The stark reality of the cuts to the ASGSF from:

“Assessing the impact on families following the April 2025 changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund ‘’.

Key Finding 1 :

The new fair access limit of £3,000 is not enough.

asgsfprotest.com/pcsurveyapri...

🚨Damning Report shows Devastating Impact of Brutal Cuts to Adoption and Kinship Support Fund #ASGSF

We release the findings from our national survey of adoptive parents, special guardians and kinship carers.

The results are stark.

asgsfprotest.com/wp-content/u...

Enormous thanks to @peterstefanovic.bsky.social for standing with our children and backing our campaign. @asgsfprotest.bsky.social

@asgsfprotest.bsky.social

Add Your Signature: An Open Letter to Josh MacAlister MP, Minister for Children and Families - Action Against ASGSF Changes 12 October 2025 Re: The urgent need to restore the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) Adoptive, kinship and special guardianship families across England continue to feel the signif...

As National Adoption Week approaches, it’s also 6 mo since govt cut the ASGSF. Our survey shows the devastating impact on many families.

We hope to meet with the Minister in coming weeks to discuss a way forward. In the meantime, please consider adding your name to our open letter.

Overnight bag packed and on the train to Cardiff for the National Adoption Service Cymru AGM, Adoption in Wales: Learning from Research and Experience. Grateful to have been invited to share insights from our research on how early trauma shapes our children’s lives.
~ Euan

A Welcome Message to the New Minister for Children and Families - Action Against ASGSF Changes Congratulations, Josh MacAlister MP, on your new role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families. Minister, we hope you will meet with us so we can share the devastating impact of cuts to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (#ASGSF). As shown in our surveys, recently featured in the leading social work […]

A welcome message to the new Minister for Children and Families.

Hundreds of dedicated parents. Peer support, solidarity, and a drive for change. Chair of The Potato Group, Euan Preston, introduces who we are, and why we exist.

A clip from the Family Matters podcast. Thanks again to @adoptionuk.bsky.social for inviting us on to discuss our research.

The #ASGSF is being extended for another year. Welcome news, but it’s not enough. Adoptive and kinship families deserve appropriately funded, stable, effective support, not short-term extensions and vague promises.
questions-statements...

We love our kids fiercely, and we always will. But adoption culture needs to move beyond the idea that “love is enough”.

Our research report shows what happens when trauma is left unrecognised and families are left without the right support:

www.thepotatogroup.o...

Thanks to Sarah Ruston OBE from @adoptionuk.bsky.social for inviting our Research Manager, Gillian Elam, and Chair, @euanpreston, onto the Family Matters podcast to talk about The POTATO Group’s research, 𝘍𝘢𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘳 𝘉𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘖𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳. www.adoptionuk.org/family-matte...

YouTube video by Third Time Lucky Productions LTD Torn | A NYAS Cymru Short Film

Torn: A powerful short film written by James Evans. When everything you treasure is tossed in a bin bag, what does that say about you?

youtu.be/RetbmVOy-tA?...

Many thanks @alcoates.bsky.social & @gayadoptiondad.bsky.social for having our Research Manager, Gillian Elam, and Chair, @euanpreston.bsky.social, on The Adoption and Fostering Podcast to talk about our research report.

www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-4r...

Thank you to @alisonebennett.bsky.social for continuing to fight for the needs of adoptive and kinship children.

We need more MPs to take action like this.

Tag your MP and ask them to do just that.

#fundnoworpaylater #ACutTooFar #asgsf #carenotcuts

Some pods to listen out for:
2.
Today Sarah Ruston spoke with us on @adoptionuk.bsky.social’s Family Matters podcast, again about our research, which you can (and should) find here: www.thepotatogroup.o...

Some pods to listen out for:
1.
Last week, @alcoates.bsky.social & @gayadoptiondad.bsky.social very kindly invited our chair @euanpreston and research manager Gillian Elam onto @aandfpodcast.bsky.social to talk about our research, which you can (and should) find here: www.thepotatogroup.o...

Our research reveals the realities of modern adoption.

438 families shared experiences of parenting children living with the impact of early-life trauma.

Read the full report: www.thepotatogroup.o...

Published today: Our research report, Far, Far Beyond the Adoption Order: Lessons from lives Impacted by Trauma.

Based on the experiences of 438 adoptive families, it reveals long-term impact of early trauma and urgent need for better support.

Read here:
www.thepotatogroup.o...

On Monday, we'll publish our full research report Far, Far Beyond the Adoption Order: Lessons from Lives Impacted by Trauma. This is more than a report; it’s a testament to love, courage and commitment from families. Register to receive it: research@thepotatogr...

Shocking comments from Reform UK Councillor in Cambridgeshire Cllr Osbourn Reform UK saying kids "in care are downright evil"

Speechless. How can someone this ignorant be permitted to sit on the Cambridgeshire County Council Children and Young People Committee?
www.youtube.com/watc...

International Day of Potato | United Nations International Day of Potato aims to raise awareness of the multiple nutritional, economic, environmental and cultural values of the potato and its contribution as an invaluable food resource and as a generator of income for rural families and producers, with a view to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieving its Sustainable Development Goals.

❤️ 🥔
www.un.org/en/observ...

YouTube video by KatieGregsonMacVEVO Katie Gregson-MacLeod - i'm worried it will always be you (live performance video)

This is absolutely hairs-standing-on-end, tingly-rushes-down-the-spine, pretending-not-to-well-up beautiful. @katiegm.bsky.social‬
youtu.be/utVxi5MSNPs?...