Life Journey newsletters & bulletins

How did Life Journey Work begin?

NAS published its Life Journey Work Framework in 2018 and associated with this, brought together a wealth of resources in the form of a LJW toolkit, which is freely available on our website. This was the first such framework in the UK. The aim was to ensure that high quality Life Journey Work is undertaken at key points from when a child first becomes ‘looked after’, through to the time they join their adoptive family and beyond. There has been great progress made since that time, in ensuring that Life Journey materials are made available to children and their adoptive parents in a timely manner.

Our Newsletters

Following the LJW Framework the first NAS Life Journey Work newsletter was published in 2021 and annually every year after until 2025. Each newsletter had a specific focus on different topics, which allowed the development and sharing of good practice and resources across Wales. Since 2025, the newsletter has evolved into a shorter bulletin in preparation for the expansion of the life journey work content on the National Adoption Service website and these bulletins will continue to highlight useful content on the website for everyone to access.

Newsletter 2021 

• National Performance Measures to ensure children have access to quality life journey materials

• The key components of Life Journey Work

• Information on the Life Journey Work Toolkit

• Life Journey Work developments across regions

• Later Life Letter Checklist

Newsletter 2022 

• Information on the Life Journey Work Framework 

• Life Journey Work Across the Child’s Development – A developmental “ladder” showing: How LJW should adapt from ages 0–18+; with guidance on Life Story Books, Parallel Stories, and Later Life Letters at different ages.

• Later Life Letters – Guidance and Good Practice 

• The Trauma Nurture Timeline and Understanding the Child Days – including how these sit alongside Life Journey Work.

• Summary of Katie Wrench workshop – including materials from this session.

• Resources to support life journey work for professionals and families

Newsletter 2023

• Theme of this newsletter is Life Journey Work during the teenage years and beyond

• Young people’s views on Life Journey Work

• The teenage brain and Life Journey Work

• The development “ladder” of life journey work specifically for the teenage years

• Useful resources and links for supporting teenagers and young adults with Life Journey Work

Newsletter 2024 

• The theme of this newsletter is ‘It takes a village…’. It focuses on the contribution that a wide range of people can make to Life Journey Work (LJW). 

• It talks about Life Journey Work Contributions from key people including the Children’s social worker, Independent Reviewing Officers (IRO), and the CAFCASS Children’s Guardians.  

• Reflections from a young adopted person on her experience of Life Journey Work and how this is linked with contact with birth family.  

• Information on the NAS Life Journey Framework and Good Practice Guide 

Newsletter 2025 

• Theme of this newsletter is ‘Baby Steps’. It is for anyone who might find these ideas related to Life Journey Work useful as they are starting out in their conversations with their child, but parents of children at a development age of 0 to 6 years old may find it particularly helpful.  

• The Importance of Stories: Stories, Storytelling and Life journey Work. 

• The development “ladder” of life journey work specifically for children aged 0-6 years old and useful resources and links for supporting this age group. 

• Play Suggestions – activities to do with children at this age to support Life Journey Work. 

• A 16 year old’s story reflecting on their experience of life story work, the complexities of being adopted and the importance of identity.  

• Information about the Difficult Conversations About Adoption support group that parents can join to get peer support and learn more about Life Journey Work from each other and experts in the field that attend the sessions to share their wisdom.  

Bulletin 2025  

• New bulletin format that is designed to be a brief but useful way to disseminate information to both adopters and professionals around different themes within Life Journey Work. These bulletins will sit alongside the new National Adoption Service for Wales website.  

• This bulletin focuses on 5 top tips for adopters on life journey work and also 5 top tips for professionals on producing life journey books.