Research published last week by the University of Birmingham outlines critical gaps in safeguarding and support for children placed under Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs) or through adoption, particularly those with complex needs and traumatic early life experiences.

The research shows that though many children thrive when placed in adoptive or SGO families, a significant minority face serious challenges during these placements which can lead to harm, family relationship breakdowns, or re-entry into care.

The report states that “safeguarding concerns often arose when families, despite their best efforts, were overwhelmed by the demands of caring for children with complex needs,  which were exacerbated by a lack of both timely and specialist support.”

The study is one of the most comprehensive of its kind in the UK, drawing on case file analysis to examine the experiences of 115 children who were subject to statutory safeguarding interventions after adoption or SGO. This was further supplemented by interviews with over 90 professionals, parents, and guardians.

Sarah Johal MBE, Adoption England’s National Adoption Strategic Lead said:

“There is a lot of valuable learning from this report, for professionals supporting families and for policy makers. We continue to discuss the learning from this report with regional and voluntary adoption agencies and wider sector partners so that professionals offer or refer to the right support at the right time for adoptive families. Crucially, this report also highlights the need to equip prospective adopters with training and support so that they understand the impact of early trauma on a child and are able to manage challenging behaviour and this is something that we are actively addressing with agencies. A range of resources and other routes to support can be found on our website: www.adoptionengland.co.uk/adoptive-parents/support

Read the full report here.