Adoption

Pay and leave, adopting through your council, inter-agency fees, placement, inspection forms.

Services

Child adoption

The adoption process - eligibility, assessment, adoption agencies, adoption court orders, overseas adoptions and the rights of birth parents.
Adoption pay and leave

Your Statutory Adoption Pay and Leave - what you get, how to claim and eligibility
Surrogacy: legal rights of parents and surrogates

Legal rights for intended parents and surrogates; how legal parenthood is transferred; children born outside the UK; pay and leave rights
Apply to adopt a child through your council

Apply to adopt a child through your local council if you are 21 or over and can offer a stable home to a child
Plan your adoption leave

Work out your Statutory Adoption Leave dates - Ordinary and Additional Adoption Leave period, notice period and earliest start date

See more services in this topic

Guidance and regulation

Adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF)
- Detailed guide
- 15 December 2023
- Department for Education
Young person’s guide to the Children and Families Act 2014
- Guidance
- 30 September 2014
- Department for Education
Adoption: statutory guidance
- Statutory guidance
- 18 July 2013
- Department for Education
Adoption: national minimum standards
- Guidance
- 25 July 2014
- Department for Education
Introduction to adoption support agencies
- Guidance
- 18 December 2023
- Ofsted

See more guidance and regulation in this topic

News and communications

Services for vulnerable children in the Northeast rated Outstanding
- 20 August 2021
- Department for Education
- Press release
Families across England to receive better support to adopt
- 26 July 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
Multi-million fund reaches record number of adoptive families
- 2 August 2017
- Department for Education
- Press release

See more news and communications in this topic

Research and statistics

Children looked after in England including adoption: 2022 to 2023
- 16 November 2023
- Department for Education
- National statistics
Children Adopted from Care in Northern Ireland 2022/23
- 27 September 2023
- Department of Health (Northern Ireland) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
- National statistics
Applying behavioural insights to fostering and adoption in England
- 15 December 2022
- Department for Education
- Research
Adoption support fund: local authority, regional adoption agencies and provider experiences
- 15 December 2022
- Department for Education
- Research
Adoption support fund: study of family experiences
- 15 December 2022
- Department for Education
- Research

See more research and statistics in this topic

Policy papers and consultations

Adoption support agencies: proposed regulation changes
- 21 September 2023
- Department for Education
- Consultation outcome
- Date closed 20 March 2023
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
Children and Families Act 2014: government response to the Lords Select Committee report
- 6 February 2023
- Department for Education
- Policy paper
Adoption strategy: achieving excellence everywhere
- 26 July 2021
- Department for Education
- Policy paper

See more policy papers and consultations in this topic

Transparency and freedom of information releases

Adoption scorecards
- 15 July 2021
- Department for Education
- Transparency
Adoption Leadership Board quarterly data reports: 2016 to 2017
- 8 May 2018
- Department for Education
- Transparency

See more transparency and freedom of information releases in this topic

Organisations

Show more organisations

Ofsted