Adoption, fostering and surrogacy

Services

Maternity pay and leave
Your Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Leave - what you get, how to claim, maternity rights and extra help
Paternity pay and leave
Your Statutory Paternity Pay and Leave - what you get, how to claim, eligibility
Child adoption
The adoption process - eligibility, assessment, adoption agencies, overseas adoptions and the rights of birth parents.
Shared Parental Leave and Pay
You can start Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) if you're eligible and you or your partner ends your maternity or adoption leave early - eligibility, entitlement, starting SPL and splitting blocks of leave
Becoming a foster parent
Foster carers look after children when their parents are not able to - becoming a foster carer, money and support available, fostering agencies, foster parents

Adoption support fund (ASF)
- Detailed guide
- 31 May 2019
- Department for Education
Fostering services: national minimum standards
- Guidance
- 8 March 2011
- Department for Education
Special guardianship guidance
- Statutory guidance
- 26 January 2017
- Department for Education
Fostering services: assessment and approval of foster carers
- Statutory guidance
- 15 July 2013
- Department for Education
Young person’s guide to the Children and Families Act 2014
- Guidance
- 30 September 2014
- Department for Education

Staying Put grant: determination letter
- 26 March 2021
- Department for Education
- Correspondence
Education Secretary launches review of children’s social care
- 15 January 2021
- Department for Education
- Press release
New adoption and special guardianship leader appointed
- 15 December 2020
- Department for Education
- Press release
Education Secretary urges overhaul of adoption system
- 14 October 2020
- Department for Education
- Speech
Covid-19 adoption support fund scheme to help vulnerable families
- 10 April 2020
- Department for Education
- Press release

Adoption support fund: baseline survey of families
- 24 March 2021
- Department for Education
- Research
Fostering in England 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019
- 26 January 2021
- Ofsted
- National statistics
Registrar General Northern Ireland Annual Report 2019
- 16 December 2020
- Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and Department of Finance (Northern Ireland)
- National statistics
Social care questionnaires 2020: what children and young people told Ofsted
- 16 December 2020
- Ofsted
- Research
Children looked after in England including adoption: 2019 to 2020
- 10 December 2020
- Department for Education
- National statistics

Future inspection of Cafcass from 2021
- 17 March 2021
- Ofsted
- Consultation outcome
- Date closed 11 November 2020
Changes to the Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020
- 9 March 2021
- Department for Education
- Consultation outcome
- Date closed 28 February 2021
Changes to the adoption and children regulations: coronavirus (COVID-19)
- 8 September 2020
- Department for Education
- Consultation outcome
- Date closed 05 August 2020
Fostering better outcomes
- 20 July 2018
- Department for Education
- Policy paper
Adoption: a vision for change
- 19 December 2016
- Department for Education
- Policy paper

Intercountry adoption: list of restricted countries
- 12 March 2021
- Department for Education
- Transparency
Adoption scorecards
- 24 August 2020
- Department for Education
- Transparency
Adoption Leadership Board quarterly data reports: 2016 to 2017
- 8 May 2018
- Department for Education
- Transparency
Adoption Leadership Board quarterly data reports: 2015 to 2016
- 20 January 2017
- Department for Education
- Transparency
Adoption Leadership Board quarterly data reports: 2014 to 2015
- 27 March 2016
- Department for Education
- Transparency