As we approach Christmas, Researching Reform would like to thank our readers for their incredible kindness, and their support of other courageous families who came on to the site to share their stories this year.

We feel honoured to host this community, and continue to be inspired by the children, mothers, fathers, and extended family members whose grace under unbearable pressure is astounding.

Researching Reform would also like to thank everyone who filled out the Children and Families Truth Commission survey, which would have been emotionally draining and an act of courage for many.

As we do our yearly roundup of the content on the site, we can see what continues to matter to you. Themes around mental health, forced adoption and mothers’ treatment in the courts were top of your list this year.

Most-read articles included “UK Family Courts Are Harming Children’s and Parent’s Mental Health”, “Victims of recent and non-recent forced adoptions invited to Parliament,” and “Top Court Finds Judge Bullied Mother Into Accepting Care Orders For Her Children.”

Perhaps the most left-field stat for this year is the digital platform which saw the greatest number of shares for Researching Reform’s content. Tens of thousands of shares were made on WhatsApp, a surprise development, followed by Telegram, another surprising platform, and then Facebook. LinkedIn also featured, while thousands of shares were made through Reddit and email.

And on a lighter note, the award for the most comments went to Dr Manhattan, with more than 1,600 posts. A truly impressive score, closely followed by Ian Josephs with more than 1,300 comments on the site. Thank you, gentlemen.

This project could not exist without all of you, something we say every year and mean it, and we remain humbled and deeply grateful for your wisdom and insight.

We know this is a deeply traumatic and challenging time for parents who have lost a child to the care system or through other forms of loss, and although we realise nothing we say can take away the pain, Researching Reform is with you, and thinking of you.

We started this project for you, and it will always be for you.

We wish you strength to carry on and a much better year ahead, and we send our love to every child in care this Christmas,

Natasha (Researching Reform) xxx