We run two groups chaired by regional adoption agency leaders who work together on delivering the Adoption England EP workplan, currently running until March 2025.
Adoption England brings together key stakeholders in adoption services to focus on increasing the number, quality and consistency of Early Permanence (EP) arrangements across England.
Early Permanence working group
This is a cross sector working group that provides a national lead for the development of EP and oversees the work being undertaken across England to increase the number, quality and consistency of EP arrangements. They have commissioned a number of projects, such as the development of the EP national standards. Task and finish groups are created to undertake specific tasks, for example one group is currently working on developing an EP data dashboard and another is working on standardising fees and allowances in early permanence.
Early Permanence practice & service development group
The Practice & Service Development Group (P&SD) focuses on disseminating learning and acts as a consultative forum for a range of developments and resources. The P&SD group runs a programme of virtual workshops centred around EP practice for a range of practitioners, managers and wider agencies.
Virtual workshops will be held on the 26th March, 25th June and 17th September 2024. To be added to the invitation list email nationalwork@nationaladoption.leeds.gov.uk.
Early Permanence projects
The EP working group has commissioned 19 projects centred on developing and embedding EP practice across the country. Some of the projects are focused on testing out innovative ideas, such as EP for older children, while others are hoping to improve the sufficiency of EP carers. All the projects meet collectively twice a year to share ideas and learn from successes and many of them are producing resources, which you can find here. The learning from these projects is ongoing and independent evaluation will commence shortly. The evaluation report will be published here once it has been completed.
Early Permanence Resources for Professionals and Families
Adoption England continues to gather a number of EP Resources which can be used and adapted for any adoption agency across the country. Resources have been developed for professionals and families and include guidance on the Leadership and Management of EP as well as a range of training videos to help with EP practice.
Early Permanence National Practice Standards
The Early Permanence National Practice Standards have been developed in conjunction with colleagues across the sector. They have been introduced as part of our national programme of work to promote greater consistency and opportunity for children to access the benefits of early permanence, regardless of where they live in England.
The standards are to be used as a tool to enable local authorities, regional adoption agencies and voluntary adoption agencies to progress and secure consistency and coherence in the early permanence offer to children within their governance and partnership arrangements.
North East and Cumbria Early Permanence Conference October 2024
The North East and Cumbria Early Permanence Conference brought together speakers and professionals from across the adoption sector and beyond to explore how we can improve early permanence for children. The conference focused on key themes such as building resilience for adopted children, supporting their identity, and maintaining significant relationships to enhance mental wellbeing.
The event featured a range of speakers who shared useful insights and thoughts. Below are the key presentations, handouts, and additional resources shared by presenters during the conference.