Congratulations to Rachael Carrott, a training and development manager at Adopt South, who has been shortlisted in this year’s Social Worker of the Year awards for her work using Antser VR.
Adopt South is a regional adoption agency, combining the services of Hampshire County Council, Isle of Wight Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council.
As a training and development manager – a new post for Adopt South – Rachael has been innovative in incorporating VR into Stage 2 training to ensure prospective adopters not only have a secure insight into the impact of early trauma throughout a child’s journey, but are also able to empathise with the birth families and their experiences.
Between 2021 and 2022, Adopt South extended its use of Antser VR into assessment work, in-person training sessions and adoption support bespoke work; using VR to enhance the parents’ understanding of their child’s behaviours, emotions and triggers and how to respond therapeutically.
Most recently, between 2022 and 2023, it has further been used to support families and schools around specific children.
Rachael, who has been shortlisted in the Digital Transformation in Social Work category, said:
“I’m personally very humbled to be shortlisted for this award. It is great for Adopt South to be recognised as a service on a national level for our use of digital technology, especially our virtual reality offer. Ultimately, we want to best prepare and then support our families and VR is an incredibly useful and valuable resource within our social worker toolkit!”
Rachael regularly shares her learning with all staff in Adopt South and trains other staff to deliver training, building their confidence and knowledge. In addition, she has been working closely with a neighbouring regional adoption agency on their training programme, sharing her understanding and experience.
Rachael has also written a training programme to take VR to schools within the four local authorities – which Adopt South delivers – so that teachers can be better informed of the trauma of adopted children and children’s outcomes can continue to be improved.
Rachel Reynolds, Head of Adopt South, said: “Rachael receives consistent, positive feedback from her role as a trainer and her passion for supporting adopters is evident from the moment you speak with her. She wants to ensure children who are adopted have the best possible experience moving forward.”
Serena Hadi, Head of Operations and Practice at Antser, said: “It’s wonderful to hear that Rachael has been shortlisted in the Social Worker of the Year awards in the Digital Transformation category and we’re delighted that Antser VR has been able to play a part in this fantastic achievement.
“Rachael is an incredible advocate for just how beneficial Antser VR can be in providing the best outcomes for children, young people and those who work with and care for them. We wish her all the very best at the awards!”
For more information on Antser VR, visit: https://www.antser.com/antser-virtual-reality/
