Adoption, fostering and surrogacy

Becoming a foster carer, adopting a child from the UK or abroad, looking after someone else's child.

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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

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Guidance and regulation

• Special guardianship guidance
  • Statutory guidance
  • 26 January 2017
  • Department for Education
• Fostering services: national minimum standards
  • Guidance
  • 8 March 2011
  • Department for Education
• Adoption support fund (ASF)
  • Detailed guide
  • 31 May 2019
  • Department for Education
• Fostering services: assessment and approval of foster carers
  • Statutory guidance
  • 14 July 2013
  • Department for Education
• Adoption: statutory guidance
  • Statutory guidance
  • 17 July 2013
  • Department for Education

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News and communications

Staying Put grant: determination letter

24 April 2020 — Correspondence

Department for Education

• Covid-19 adoption support fund scheme to help vulnerable families
  • 9 April 2020
  • Department for Education
  • Press release
• Strict new measures to protect vulnerable children in care
  • 12 February 2020
  • Department for Education
  • Press release
• Councils urged to prioritise adoption
  • 16 January 2020
  • Department for Education
  • Press release
• More funding to boost adoption support
  • 22 December 2019
  • Department for Education
  • Press release

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Research and statistics

• Fostering in England 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019
  • 22 September 2020
  • Ofsted
  • National statistics
• Fostering in England 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018
  • 21 September 2020
  • Ofsted
  • National statistics
• Outcomes for children looked after by LAs: 31 March 2018
  • 14 May 2020
  • Department for Education
  • National statistics
• Evaluation of adoption support fund: LA and provider experiences
  • 3 March 2020
  • Department for Education
  • Research
• Children looked after in England including adoption: 2018 to 2019
  • 15 January 2020
  • Department for Education
  • National statistics

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Policy papers and consultations

• Changes to the adoption and children regulations: coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • 8 September 2020
  • Department for Education
  • Consultation outcome
  • Date closed 05 August 2020
• Private fostering arrangement notifications: planned revisions
  • 16 December 2015
  • Department for Education
  • Consultation outcome
  • Date closed 15 September 2015
• Fostering better outcomes
  • 20 July 2018
  • Department for Education
  • Policy paper
• Adoption: a vision for change
  • 19 December 2016
  • Department for Education
  • Policy paper
• Regional adoption agencies programme
  • 19 June 2015
  • Department for Education
  • Policy paper

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Transparency and freedom of information releases

• Adoption scorecards
  • 24 August 2020
  • Department for Education
  • Transparency
• Intercountry adoption: list of restricted countries
  • 21 May 2018
  • 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

See more transparency and freedom of information releases in this topic

Organisations

• Department for Education
• HM Courts & Tribunals Service
• Department for Work & Pensions
• Independent Review Mechanism
• HM Revenue & Customs

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• Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
• Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
• Home Office

• Ofsted

Explore sub-topics

• Adoption
• Fostering
• Intercountry adoption
• Special guardianship
• Surrogacy