Maintaining relationships

A focus on modernising adoption so adopted people can stay connected to their birth family and people important to them

Relationships between a child and their birth family, plus others who have been important in their lives, must always be considered when a child is to be adopted. The child’s needs are central to any plan which must also take account of the adopters’ views. Read below about the projects we're working on to help children stay in touch with their birth family.

Adoption England have also developed a range of resources to help with maintaining relationships. The resources have been produced in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders and partners, considering best practice and research. This includes resources for adoptive parents, birth relatives, professionals and children.

View resources to help children maintain relationships after adoption

Theory of Change

Lifelong Links (adaptation for adoption)

Letter-swap prototype

Birth family mapping

Improving Adoption Services for Adults (IASA)

Research in Practice

Be a “Champion” of Culture Change in Adoption

National Practice Standards for Staying in Touch/Contact

Theory of Change

Adoption England has worked closely with the University of East Anglia to develop a theory of change around maintaining significant relationships in adoption. Drawing on existing research and consultation with adopted young people and adults, birth parents, adoptive parents and adoption professionals. The theory of change identified the need for significant changes in approaches to letterbox contact and face-to-face contact, necessitating changes in how staying in touch is considered, planned, and supported.

The identified problems, barriers and potential solutions operate at several different levels: 

Individual level - the characteristics and needs of adoptive parents, adopted people and birth parents
Relational level - particularly the collaboration between birth and adoptive families
System level - the attitudes, values and resources of professionals across the sector from children social workers, adoption social workers in LAs, VAAs and RAAs, birth family support workers, Cafcass, IROs, legal professionals and the judiciary

Read the full theory of change article.

Letter-swap prototype

Letter Swap is a prototype, created by Link Maker, which Adoption England trialled with select agencies to look at modernising communication between children and their birth relatives. The digital system was used to exchange letters that would traditionally have been handwritten and posted. The project commenced in August 2022 and ran until October 2023. The main aims of the project were:

To find out how Letter Swap is working in practice: does it help adoptive and birth families stay connected, and is anything about Letter Swap that needs to change to make it better?

To inform the future use of a digital system and to develop guidance to help agencies decide when to use a digital approach and it will also help adoptive parents and birth family members decide if they want to use a digital system to support staying in touch.

Improving Adoption Services for Adults (IASA)

The IASA project is being progressed in partnership with the University of East Anglia and PAC-UK. The project will run until March 2025 to address the needs of adults affected by adoption. There are issues with lack of support for adopted people, such as accessing birth records, intermediary and therapeutic services. Likewise, services are needed to support birth parents and birth relatives who are affected by adoption. The team will collaborate with experts who have professional experience, alongside adults with lived experience of the impact of an adoption order on their family.

Lifelong Links (adaptation for adoption)

Adoption England Strategic Team has commissioned the Family Rights Group (FRG) to develop and adapt the lifelong links approach for children and young people who have been adopted. A trained coordinator works with a young person in care or care leaver to find the people that matter to them.
The child or young person is at the centre of the approach. The work only happens with their agreement, and it goes at their pace. This would include exploring:

What legal issues need consideration? (This would include access to records, consent, GDPR)

What adaptations or additional tools and resources are required?

What support is needed from the outset, and then throughout for the child, their adoptive family, and their birth family?

How would a lifelong links plan be implemented? Where does responsibility lie for continued support? Which organisation(s) should host lifelong links services for adopted children?

Sustainability of the approach.

Birth family mapping

Adoption England has worked with Family Rights Group to develop a support service tool for birth families impacted by adoption. Previously, there was no nationwide map showing the services available to birth families to support them before, during, and after adoption proceedings have occurred. The tool helps to understand the national support picture and how families are assisted in navigating the adoption process.

We hope this service will help birth families have better access to much needed support and information. Any birth relative of children who have been adopted, are in the process of being adopted, or adoption is a potential possibility for can use the service.

Find support services for birth relatives using the map

Research in Practice

Adoption England has jointly commissioned the update of the micro site “Post Adoption Contact”. The site was originally co- created by the University of East Anglia and Research In Practice in 2017. The content draws together evidence from extensive research led by Beth Neil into practitioner/strategic leader-oriented formats to support maintaining relationships for children who are adopted. Practice, policy and legal content will be reviewed and updated and the visibility of the site will be promoted through Adoption England for practitioners to make use of the resources.

Be a “Champion” of Culture Change in Adoption

Adoption England in conjunction with the University of East Anglia are recruiting ‘champions’ across the country to help stimulate and guide change in their agency’s culture around maintaining relationships in adoption. The below guide explains what this means, and how the team will support agencies through a Community of Practice and a series of webinars.

GUIDE - Being a champion of culture change in adoption ( PDF, 956.22 KB)

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National Practice Standards for Staying in Touch/Contact

Adoption England has developed new standards to help adopted children maintain safe and meaningful connections with the people who matter to them. The standards set clear expectations for agencies to begin planning early, adapt to children’s changing needs, and make use of new technology. Developed with input from professionals and those with lived experience, they provide clear guidance to improve practice and support children’s lifelong relationships.

Adoption England National Practice Standards for SiT-Contact ( PDF, 771.11 KB)

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