Annual Reports 2021/2022
Read Adoption England's annual reports to find out more about our work in the adoption sector
Download the Adoption England Annual Report 21/22
Foreward
I’m proud to share with you the very first annual report for Regional Adoption Agencies (RAAs). This last year has been a busy one as we work together to strengthen adoption practice to provide high quality services for children and families. I am truly honoured to have been appointed as the National Adoption Strategic Lead and remain committed to putting those with lived experience of adoption at the heart of all the work we do. Over the last year I’ve had the privilege to work with a passionate and committed group of RAA leaders from across the country and a small, dedicated national adoption team.
There has been an enormous amount of work undertaken so far, with various working groups led by RAA leaders, producing great insights and resources to improve services for all.
We’re working collaboratively across the sector with colleagues in voluntary agencies and local authorities to deliver the very best outcomes for children.
We have also worked closely with an amazing group of adopted people, birth parents and adopters to help shape and develop the key priorities. I can honestly say that I have been humbled to hear about their experiences and their ability to help us think about how we can improve practice and services to better meet their needs. We are very early on in our journey as Regional Adoption Agency leaders and I am really pleased with the progress we have made so far. This report records the achievements and learnings over the last two years, there’s still lots to do and we’re only just at the start.
- Sarah Johal, National Adoption Strategic Lead
Background
A Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) brings together adoption professionals from councils across a region, providing expertise and support at every stage of the adoption journey.
In 2015, the Government announced plans to regionalise adoption services to improve recruitment and support, reduce costs, and speed up matching to deliver the best outcome for children in care. Previously, the adoption system was highly fragmented with around 154 individual Local Authorities (LAs) separately recruiting and matching adopters for the children with a plan for adoption.
Much has changed since then and many LAs have come together to combine resources and form RAAs. There are currently 32 RAAs with just 2 LAs left working towards being part of an RAA. Within the last year, RAAs have started to work more collaboratively with each other and RAA leaders now meet every month to discuss sector challenges and working practices, share ideas, monitor workstreams and commit to national practice improvements.
There has also been several practice events and sector-wide training sessions for leaders and practitioners. The work detailed in this annual report is reflective of a time when the Covid-19 pandemic rapidly changed the way in which the sector operated and recruited adopters. There were many delays across the sector which impacted the number of adoption orders being granted and the timeliness of children being matched and placed with an adoptive family.
RAA Leaders are continuing to improve adoption services and are building on some of the work undertaken by the National Adoption Recruitment Steering Group (NARSG), working collaboratively with the group for ongoing improvements. Our work is built upon a commitment from all those involved in the adoption system across England to ensure that every child with adoption as their plan finds the right adoptive family to meet their needs in a timely way. RAA Leaders are committed to achieving improvement in adopter recruitment, matching, preparation, policy, practice, and support for all those whose lives are impacted by adoption.
Working with adopted people
Over the last year, the national team have developed an Adopted Persons Reference Group supported by Advanced Practitioner Denise Smalley. The adopted people regularly meet with various working groups and RAA Leaders to ensure that those with lived experience are informing working practices and consulting on sector changes. They have advised professionals in many areas, including on the importance of more nuanced messaging about adoption and acknowledging that adoption emerges from loss and trauma to help build a more trauma informed and responsive workforce.
Discussions in 2021/2022 evidence that RAA leaders recognise the importance of consulting more widely with adopted people and, as a result, PAC-UK are working with us to widen consultation and to deliver some specific resources over the next year. The ongoing work with adopted people ensures they are at the heart of everything we do and represented in all areas, from public facing campaigns to sector training and preparation for adopters. We recognise that there’s still improvements to be made to make sure adopter voices are represented accurately and fairly.
Working with the NARSG
RAA Leaders have been working closely with The National Adoption Recruitment Steering Group (NARSG) to deliver their commitment to improving adopter recruitment and sector practice.
Reducing delay
Adopter journey
Diversity
Diversity