To be an outstanding authority delays in adoption must be tackled

[Alison J Stevens]

To be an outstanding authority delays in adoption must be tackled

27 Feb 2012

Only local authorities that ensure all children identified for adoption are placed within 12 months will be able to achieve an ‘outstanding’ judgement from Ofsted under new adoption inspection arrangements published today.

Age is the most significant indicator of a successful adoption; the younger a child is placed the better the outcomes. Delays in adoption can have severe impact on children’s health, development and ability to make new meaningful attachments and can impair their chances of enjoying a successful adult life. Inspection will have a key focus on how quickly adoption agencies place children when adoption is in their best interest.

Along with the new adoption inspection arrangements, Ofsted is also launching the new inspection framework for fostering and revisions to the children’s homes framework introduced a year ago. Together these frameworks will place even more emphasis on what makes the most difference and has the greatest impact on the lives of children who are in care.

Associated resources

• Inspection of local authority and voluntary adoption agencies
• Inspection of local authority fostering services and independent fo...
• Inspection of children's homes for inspections from 1 April 2012

Associated articles

• To be an outstanding authority delays in adoption must be tackled

  27 Feb 2012

  Only local authorities that ensure all children identified for adoption are placed within 12 months will be able to achieve an ‘outstanding’ judgement from Ofsted under new adoption inspection arrangements published today.