Inspection report identifies strengths and improvements needed at Western Bay Adoption Service

Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) has published its findings following an inspection of Western Bay Adoption Service (WBAS) conducted between 1 September and 5 September 2025. The inspection, which focused on how the service promotes the well-being and safety of children through permanent adoptive placements, identified significant strengths alongside areas requiring improvement.

Key strengths in adoption support

Western Bay Adoption Service, the regional adoption collaborative serving people living in Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot and Swansea, demonstrated notable strengths in adoption support services. CIW inspectors found these services to be responsive, accessible, and tailored to meet the needs of children, adopters, and birth families. The service has developed a virtual hub and dedicated life journey/contact hub, enabling families to access advice and support promptly. There are no waiting lists for support services, and regular check-ins at 12 months and three years post-adoption help identify emerging needs at an early stage.

The inspection found that assessments of prospective adopters are robust and comprehensive, delivered by an experienced workforce. Adopters reported feeling well supported throughout the process, with one commenting: "our experience of WBAS has been nothing but positive, professional, supportive and wonderful. We were kept up to date throughout the process."

Life journey work was identified as a particular strength, with practitioners co-producing materials in collaboration with foster carers, birth families, and adopters. All life journey work undergoes robust quality assurance, with practitioners, managers, and the adoption panel reviewing materials. The service's Therapy and Psychology Team delivers life journey work as part of its multi-disciplinary offer.

The service also demonstrated good practice in its work with birth parents through sensitive and flexible approaches. A dedicated birth parent support group is in place, with one birth parent noting: "the service helps me write to my son… they understand my disabilities and difficulties and help me the best they can."

Leadership was found to be visible and ambitious, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. The workforce is stable and sufficient, with practitioners reporting manageable caseloads. The pooled budget arrangement was identified as a strength, enabling timely and regionally consistent decisions about resources and support.

Additionally, the service delivers timely and accessible intermediary services with no waiting lists, supporting adopted adults and birth relatives to understand their histories and access information.

Areas for improvement

The inspection identified some areas requiring improvement. Although effective quality assurance processes were in place, WBAS must ensure that quality-of-service reviews fully comply with regulatory requirements. The service must also ensure its records management arrangements fully comply with statutory requirements.

CIW made recommendations, including that WBAS should continue to embed the Welsh Early Permanence framework to ensure consistent and timely permanence planning. The service should also improve communication and written materials to ensure all adopters are fully informed about the range of adoption support services and lifelong entitlements available to them.

The service should update its partnership agreement as a priority to support effective governance and compliance, and continue to finalise arrangements to ensure equitable medical advice for all children across the region.

Next steps

CIW requires that WBAS compile an improvement plan outlining how they will address the findings in the report. CIW will review progress through a meeting with the Head of Children's Services and the Regional Adoption Manager within 18-24 months of publication of the report.

For all our findings and recommendations, read the full inspection report available on the page linked below.