DREAM together

10/03/2026

Full Circle at the Spotlight Awards 🌿

Honoured to have sponsored the event styling at the Cambridge County Council Spotlight Awards this evening.

From the Coroner’s Office and Business Support teams to innovative youth at risk initiatives, it was inspiring to see so many people recognised for their compassion, dedication, and impact.

Having worked as a frontline social worker in Cambridge for over 10 years, and in recent years returning as a consultant and therapeutic provider, reconnecting with colleagues and leaders felt surreal.

I felt warmly welcomed, with a real sense of belonging and hope for the future. A moment of nostalgia, pride, and gratitude.

My heart is full 😊

Now offering trauma-informed workshops, training, consultancy, keynote speaking, and therapeutic support for organisations and communities.

dream-together.co.uk



Stephen Moir

Cambridgeshire County Council

with thanks to Minuteman Press - Deep Ellum for their support.

04/03/2026

School Letter of Support for Jay.

To whom it may concern,

We are writing to share our support for Jay. He is a bright, thoughtful young person with significant potential. When he feels safe and understood, his strengths are clear. We see this in lessons, in conversations and particularly in PE and Drama.

We are committed to supporting Jay both academically and emotionally. Within school we provide pastoral care, safe spaces and support to help him regulate his emotions.

However, supporting a young person with complex early experiences cannot sit with one setting alone.

We often find ourselves moving between behavioural approaches and therapeutic approaches, without sufficient confidence in trauma informed practice.

At times this leaves us feeling uncertain and, honestly, carrying a sense of shame or blame, as though we should somehow know more or do more.

We want to get this right for Jay. We care deeply. But care alone is not enough without coordinated support.

There are moments when it feels as though we are working in isolation, without full visibility of the wider network around him. Information does not always flow.

Strategies are not always aligned. Time for shared reflection is limited. When systems feel fragmented, important pieces can be missed, and this can unintentionally create further distress for the child we are all trying to support.

Jay spends a significant part of his life in school. If we truly believe that it takes a village, then that village must be connected, informed and resourced to work together.

A more joined up approach, with shared responsibility and clear communication between school, therapeutic services and adoption support, would strengthen consistency and stability for him.

We remain committed to Jay. He deserves patience, understanding and sustained, coordinated care.

It takes a village not only in principle, but in practice. We ask for stronger collaboration so that the village around Jay can function as one.

Yours sincerely,
School Support Team

🧩 This forms part of a wider submission to the Adoption Support Fund consultation, calling for consistent, tailored and sustained support. The names are changed, but the experiences, patterns and gaps reflected are real, shaped by over 18 years of supporting children, young people and families connected to care. These voices deserve to be heard.

25/02/2026

A letter from Jays Adoptive Parents 🖊

We are writing as parents who love our son deeply and who are also carrying more than we ever imagined possible, its a real struggle, our hearts and minds are heavy. Please help us.

When we adopted Jay, we did so with open hearts. We met his first mum. She was very unwell. It was a quiet, heartbreaking meeting, filled not with blame but with love and the shared hope that he would be safe and loved. We still carry that promise we made every day. But we cant do it alone.

Jay is funny, bright and full of potential. But we know he is also shaped by his early life. He moves towards us and then pulls away. He wants closeness and then fears it. We understand why. But its so deeply painful, all we want to do is love our son and for him to love us.

Professionals tell us this is not bad parenting, that trauma sits deep and healing takes time. We know this...
but when things are hard, shame creeps in.

We ask ourselves if we should cope better. We blame ourselves. We carry grief for what Jay lived through and grief for the ease we once imagined family life might have.

It is embarrassing to admit we need help. Yet staying silent helps no one. Too often, support only arrives when we are at crisis point. Or it comes briefly and ends just as trust begins to form. It feels like we take two steps forward and five back.

The strain touches everything, our sleep, health, work, relationships, our hope. We are not asking for miracles. We are just asking for consistent support that stays.

Please help us. Our children and families deserve nothing less.

With hope,

Jay’s Mum and Dad

🧩 This letter forms part of a wider submission to the Adoption Support Fund consultation, calling for consistent, tailored and sustained support. It is not one single family’s story. The names are not real, but the experiences, patterns and gaps reflected here are. They are shaped by over 18 years of supporting children, young people and families connected to care. These voices deserve to be heard.








Josh MacAlister MP

Adoption UK

22/02/2026

A Letter From Jay’s Birth Mum

Jay,

I don’t know if I should be writing this. Don’t know if you’d even want to hear from me.

Sometimes I think it’s better I stay quiet so I don’t mess with your head.

I just want you safe. Happy. Even if I never knew how to make that happen.

I think about you every day. Wondering where you are. If someone’s got your back.

The shame don’t leave me. Its so heavy!! Follows me around. My heart is broke son without you, I let you down..Im so sorry.

My mum weren’t there for me either. I was mostly raised by my nanny. She tried, but she couldn’t fix what was already broke. I grew up learning people don’t stay.

By the time I had you, I was already drowning, in the weeds.

They told me I could get you back if I did the work. I tried. I was in care at your age too.

Therapy would start, then stop. Funding would run out. Same cycle. Promises made.

Support here one day then gone.

I needed help that stayed.

When it stopped, I spiralled.

I took drugs. I stole. I shut down. I stopped trusting anyone.

Every time I started believing things might change, it all got pulled away again.

And in the middle of all that, I lost you.

That’s on me. And I carry it every day.
I wasn’t strong enough. I wasn’t well..Im so sorry Son.

I needed real support and didn’t get it in a way that lasted. But you paid the price for that 😔

You were never unwanted. Never unloved. I loved you the only way I knew how, but it weren’t enough to keep you safe.

If we’d both had support that didn’t disappear when money ran out, maybe things would’ve been different!!!

I hope someone stays for you. I hope someone believes in you. I hope you know you matter.

You always did Jay

Love you son, from Mum x



🧩 This letter is part of a series that will be submitted to the Adoption Support Fund consultation, calling for consistent, tailored support. It is not one individual story. It is shaped by over 18 years supporting children, young people and families in care. The names are not real, but the experiences are. The patterns are real. The gaps are real. The impact of support that starts and stops is real.

These voices deserve to be heard.

Josh MacAlister MP

Adoption UK

21/02/2026

Yo!!

I don’t even know why I’m writing this. Probably don’t matter. F**k her, f**k him. My mum and dad weren’t there. Never. Got bruised, scared, no food. People dont care.

Heads a mess... sirens, yelling, banging always loud. I was just there, invisible until I got loud, trying not to cry. Felt like nobody loved me. Nobody stayed. People left. They always leave!!

Got passed around different foster homes. Everyone said they wanted to help. ha!!!! Everyone said they cared. But they dont. I felt let down every time they left, reminds me why my mum and Dad left me, feel like nothing.

Then I got adopted by a family who said they loved me. But it don’t feel like they do. They don’t see me. Don’t hear me. Don’t care like they said.

My head’s all over the place. Feelings messy, angry, sad, scared, numb. Chest tight. Stomach knots. Headaches. Panic outta nowhere. The scenes don’t go away. I smoke, steal, sell stuff to keep my head straight.

I need help that stays, take me time trust. I start to believe in myself, start to feel better then the help stops!! There is no money, no funds. That’s all I hear. Nobody has the money. So I help myself. Trust no one. Shut down. F**k em all.

College don’t get it. Police don’t get it. Systems set me up to fail. They don’t get it. Teachers say I won’t come to anything. Probably won’t.

No one listens. No one sees. Just another number. Just want to feel good, safe, to feel loved like I matter. Do I matter?

Probably not. Who cares.

Someone to stay. Someone to believe in me. Someone to talk to. Someone to show me the world can be safe.

I want love that don’t leave. I can hope, I guess.

I’m writing this anyway. I hope someone listens. But yeah. Probably won’t, will they.

Jay X



🧩 This letter, is part of a series to the Adoption Support Fund consultation, highlighting the need for understanding and tailored support.

15/02/2026

Love Heals ❤️

Children need to be reminded they are loved. Every “You are brave,” “You are kind,” “You are enough” helps build their inner safety and belief in themselves.

For children who have experienced trauma, these reminders are even more powerful. Love teaches them: I am safe. I matter. I am worthy.

When we show love and care for ourselves children learn that love is real, steady, and living. It becomes the foundation for who they are and how they love others as adults.

Small words, gentle reminders, lived love these heal hearts and shape lives.

11/02/2026

Rhythm, Ritual, Reading and Relational Safety 📖

This morning, as an Associate with Trauma Informed Consultancy Services, I supported over 20 kinship carers alongside BookTrust to explore the power and ritual of reading.

We focused on safety and rhythm in the nervous system.

A baby’s first experience of safety is rhythmic, the steady heartbeat of a regulated caregiver.

When trauma in utero or early relational trauma disrupts that rhythm, a child’s nervous system can carry a deep sense of unsafety.

Reading can become a restorative rhythm.

The same voice.

The same pace.

The same story revisited.

Consistent, relational reading helps regulate, connect and gently repair.

We also reflected on our own childhood experiences, because understanding our story helps us better understand the children we care for.

Thoughtful, brave kinship carers carrying out extraordinary, heart connected care. 💛

Sometimes healing begins with something as simple and powerful as a story.








TICS (Trauma Informed Consultancy Services Ltd.) BookTrust Kinship

10/02/2026

SUPPORTING CHILDREN TO UNDERSTAND THEIR FEELINGS THROUGH BODY BASED PLAY 🤸‍♀️🧩🎨

Many children do not yet have the language to describe their emotions. While words may be limited, the body often communicates feelings clearly through sensations and tension.

At DREAM, we use creative, body based approaches to help children explore emotions safely and build body awareness, also known as interoception.

Why body based emotional learning matters?

🧩 Emotions are experienced in the body before they can be named

🧩 Trauma can make noticing internal sensations feel unsafe

🧩 Neurodivergent children often process emotions through sensory experiences

🧩 Play based work supports the nervous system and reduces pressure to explain feelings

How we support emotional understanding?

🧩 Exploring facial expressions using a mirror in a playful, non-threatening way

🧩 Choosing colours that match how the child feels inside

🧩 Using a body outline to show where emotions are felt, such as a tight chest or wobbly tummy

What this supports?

🧩 Awareness of body signals

🧩 Emotional language without forcing words

🧩 Curiosity rather than judgement

Gentle ways to support regulation ?

🧩 Stretching or gentle movement

🧩 Squeezing playdough, a ball, or using deep pressure

🧩 Grounding through the feet

🧩 Checking in to notice changes

Working with the nervous system builds emotional literacy, self regulation and a sense of safety, especially for trauma experienced and neurodivergent children.

What looks simple is deeply powerful.

Emotional understanding grows slowly and safely.

One colour. One shape. One breath at a time 😊

09/02/2026

03/02/2026

The Importance of Continued Professional Development 💡

I take investing in my CPD seriously. Most recently, I completed DDP Level 1 training, which reassured me that I am on the right track with the families and clients I support.

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) is an attachment focused, trauma informed approach developed by Dan Hughes. It supports children and young people who have experienced developmental and relational trauma by strengthening the relationship between child and caregiver.

At its core, DDP uses the principles of PACE playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, and empathy to help families make sense of behaviour, emotions, and experiences together.

The training reinforced the importance of slowing down and supporting the child, young person, and parent to become curious about their inner experiences.

When working with developmental trauma, applying clinical, researched, and evidence based approaches is essential to creating meaningful and lasting shifts for families.

It was a real pleasure to have Dan Hughes join us for a half day. Hearing his belief in the power of storytelling, role play, puppet play, and creative therapy processes in supporting the application of DDP felt deeply affirming.

The training has helped me clearly see how my current modality of dramatherapy can work alongside DDP, supporting children and families on their journey towards healing and recovery.

31/01/2026

From Shadows to Strength | BADTh Conference: the evaluation researching the impact of creative modalities in delivering trauma-informed training and supervision to staff in an adoption team.

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to share reflections and emerging evaluation findings from an 18-month trauma-informed workshop programme, grounded in dramatherapy processes, at the British Association of Drama Therapists Conference.

The conference offered a valuable moment to share early findings and focus group data ahead of the full evaluation paper being written later this year. Presenting alongside Dr Debbie Amas (Anglia Ruskin University), we explored our collaborative work with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Adoption Team, bringing together social work perspectives and creative therapeutic practice within trauma-informed adoption support.

Alongside sharing the data, the conference also created space for reflection that extended beyond cognitive understanding. Through movement and sand tray methods, we were able to reflect creatively and somatically, allowing deeper listening to inner experiences, relational dynamics, and parallel processes within the work.

By the end of sharing at the conference, a heart-centred sense of connection and togetherness was strongly felt. This offered both affirmation and insight, and reinforced the value of holding space where evaluation data, lived experience, and embodied knowledge can sit alongside one another.

This experience reaffirmed how the integration of social work and creative therapies supports deeper introspection, illuminates relational patterns, and strengthens trauma-informed practice not only with children, families, and caregivers, but also across the wider systems that surround and support them.

We are now moving towards publishing the evaluation paper later this year and continuing this work alongside children, families, caregivers, and the systems that support them.



Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Adoption Service

British Association of Dramatherapists Charity

Amas