National thematic review of adoption services published
National review of adoption services in Wales finds strong foundations across the system, and outlines where consistency needs to improve to ensure the best outcomes for every child and family.
Care Inspectorate Wales has today published its national thematic review of adoption services, drawing together findings from inspections of all five Regional Adoption Collaboratives (RACs) across Wales.
This is the first time CIW has brought together findings from inspections of all five RACs into a single national picture. The review draws on evidence from case records, surveys, and direct conversations with children, adoptive parents, birth families and professionals across Wales.
The review found that adoption services in Wales have strong foundations. Assessment and matching are consistently high quality, adoption panels provide robust, child-focused decision-making, and there are strong examples of sensitive, well-considered life journey work helping children understand their own histories. Practitioners are skilled and committed, with a genuine focus on children's identity, culture and the Welsh language.
At the same time, the review identifies where outcomes for children are being limited by inconsistency. Adoption support is not timely, accessible or equitable across Wales. A persistent shortage of approved adopters, particularly for sibling groups and children with complex needs, is delaying permanence for some children. Where governance and leadership are strong, this is reflected in more consistent outcomes for children; where they are weaker, they limit the whole system.
This report shows a system with strong foundations, ready to move from good intentions to consistent delivery.
The National Adoption Service Central Team and Voluntary Adoption Agencies were not within the scope of this review.
The report is available in English and Welsh in the following formats:
- full designed version (PDF)
- accessible HTML version
- easy read summary
- young person-friendly version for readers aged 11 to 18
For media enquiries, please contact the CIW Communications Team.