Birmingham Children’s Trust Adoption Agency

Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Birmingham Children’s Trust Adoption Agency 1 Birmingham Children’s Trust Adoption Agency Birmingham Children’s Trust Community Interest Company 1 Avenue Road, Aston, Birmingham, B6 4DU Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

This agency was formerly the Birmingham City Council Adoption Agency. On 1 April 2018, Birmingham transferred its children’s social work services to the Birmingham Children’s Trust, which is a community interest company wholly owned by Birmingham City Council.

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

Adopt Birmingham (the agency) is a voluntary adoption agency, which sits within the trust. It also forms part of a regional adoption agency, which went live in January 2022.

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

 The recruitment, preparation, training, assessment and approval of adopters. The agency also provides intercountry adoption services and non-agency adoption.

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

 Family finding, matching and placement, including visiting potential families and agency decision-making for matching prospective adopters and children.

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

 Post-adoption support to adopters, including birth record counselling and a letterbox facility, which enables indirect contact between adopted children and their birth families.

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

 Work with adopted adults, including intermediary work and support to birth parents, is commissioned to another voluntary adoption agency.

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

The agency is managed by a permanent and suitably experienced adoption agency manager and leadership team.

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

The agency has six teams: a recruitment and assessment team, a panel team, a matching and support team, a post-adoption support team and two family-finding teams. Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Birmingham Children’s Trust Adoption Agency 2 At the time of the inspection, there were 20 approved adoptive households waiting to be matched with a child. The agency had six adoptive households who were also approved to provide early permanence placements. Post-adoption support was being provided to 27 adults and 93 children. The agency facilitates 2342 letterbox exchanges along with 280 direct contact arrangements with birth family members. Since April 2025 the agency has made 38 adoption placements.

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good

How well children, young people and adults are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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good

The voluntary adoption agency provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of previous inspection: 28 November 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Birmingham Children’s Trust Adoption Agency 3

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Children move to live with their adoptive parents following careful and considered planning. The agency’s staff promote decisions that are child centred and tailored to each child’s individual needs. Introductions are thoughtfully planned and sensitively paced, supporting the development of secure and loving relationships between children and their adoptive parents. As a result, children make positive progress from their starting points. Adopters demonstrate a strong understanding of their children’s needs and provide nurturing parenting that promotes growth and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Children make progress in their learning and education, and their health needs are well met. Agency staff and adopters advocate effectively for children, including attending education meetings and ensuring access to specialist health services. Adopters provide a range of enriching experiences for their children, such as holidays, attending play-and-stay groups run by the agency, and engaging in age- appropriate activities. Children are supported to maintain meaningful relationships with those who are important to them, including birth families and previous foster carers. For some children, this includes increasingly imaginative and direct contact arrangements with their birth families.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Agency staff promote effective partnership working with a wide range of professionals and services that benefit children and their adoptive families. However, some aspects of practice in the local health authority and the wider trust—outside the agency’s control—do not consistently support a smooth and timely adoption process. This includes delays in completing children’s medicals, changes to social workers, limited understanding of adoption processes among some social workers and delays in life-story work and later-life letters. Where necessary, managers and staff in the agency challenge and question these practices. They offer support, education, training and practical solutions where possible. Despite these efforts, such issues are having an adverse impact on the adoption experience and journey for some adopters and children.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

The agency responds in a timely and inclusive manner to people enquiring about adoption. Adopters feel welcomed by the whole team and speak positively about their initial contact with the agency and the quality of information provided. They are well supported to understand the adoption journey and the challenges that parenting may bring. Adopters hear directly from other adopters, birth families and adult adoptees, whose voices are embedded throughout preparation, assessment, training and post-adoption support. As a result, children live with families who understand the impact of their previous experiences and have the knowledge, confidence and capacity to meet their developing needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Assessments of prospective adopters are comprehensive, analytical and well evidenced. They reflect professional curiosity and ensure that adopters are well Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Birmingham Children’s Trust Adoption Agency 4 prepared to meet children’s needs. Research-informed practice underpins clear conclusions, recommendations and robust decision-making. The timeliness of assessments is closely monitored by managers, who take action to reduce delays at all stages.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

The panel chair and members are skilled and continue to enhance panel practice. For example, they are creative in strengthening the child’s voice within the panel arena. Children pre-record questions for prospective adopters, providing insight into their world. Prospective adopters praise the panels and describe how the chair helps them feel at ease while still asking probing questions to assess their suitability to adopt. One adopter stated, ‘Both panels have felt natural and positive experiences despite initial nerves, and the members have all been positive and enthusiastic.’

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

The post-adoption team provides a range of services for adopters and children, including access to birth records for adopted adults. Children and adopters speak positively about the support provided through this service. Children value the relationships they have formed with their workers and express enjoyment in the time spent with them. One child told the inspector that a member of staff ‘helps me manage my stresses’, while another said, ‘She has helped my mental health.’

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good

There are effective safeguarding arrangements throughout the agency that ensure children are kept safe and their well-being is promoted. Managers demonstrate a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to both children and adults. Safeguarding incidents are rare; however, when they do occur, they are managed effectively in close partnership with other agencies.

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good

Prospective adopters are well prepared and supported to understand the potential impact of abuse and neglect throughout their assessment period. The secure base model is embedded within the assessment process and informs the identification and management of any concerns. Where appropriate, measured decisions are made not to progress applications. This model also supports panel members in making recommendations and enables agency decision-makers to apply clear rationale when approving adopters and matching children. Panel members and agency decision-makers provide constructive feedback to the agency and act as an additional layer of safeguarding and quality assurance.

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good

Safeguarding training across the agency is thorough and well embedded. It ensures that staff and adopters are equipped to identify and respond appropriately to children’s vulnerabilities and risks. All social workers in the agency receive safeguarding training and are trained to at least level 1 in dyadic developmental practice. Robust recruitment procedures for staff and panel members further contribute to the protection of children.

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good

Children and adopters continue to benefit from a wide range of in-house and external resources, accessed through the post-adoption team. Courses, support and Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Birmingham Children’s Trust Adoption Agency 5 opportunities to explore feelings and develop new skills help reduce the risk of disruption and have contributed to a low number of adoption breakdowns. Since the last inspection in 2022, there has been one adoption breakdown. Leaders and managers responded promptly and thoroughly, undertaking learning within the service that has informed and improved practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The agency is led by a suitably qualified and highly experienced manager, supported by a skilled and knowledgeable management team. Over the past 12 months, the manager’s role has been split across services within the trust. Despite this, the wider management team has continued to deliver a learning-focused service. Managers and staff share an ambitious vision and remain child centred in their approach. They use a range of internal and external strength-based quality assurance processes to identify areas for development, implement changes and monitor progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Since the last inspection, managers have introduced new structures and practice models to further improve the agency and enhance outcomes for children and adopters. One example is the increased management focus on recruiting adopters from global majority communities and those able to care for sibling groups and older children. A refreshed media campaign has led to an increase in enquiries and assessments and a continued rise in the recruitment of adopters from global majority backgrounds. These initiatives have contributed to more children being placed with adopters approved by the agency, rather than with other service providers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

In April 2025, the agency undertook a planned and considered realignment of staff teams. This aimed to strengthen the recruitment and timely assessment of adopters through the creation of a dedicated recruitment and assessment team, while extending post-adoption support for a further twelve months via a dedicated matching and support team. Although the recruitment and assessment team is still in transition, the average time for families to complete stage two has improved, with more consistent completion within four months. Further capacity is expected following the recent recruitment of a senior social worker and senior practitioner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The post-adoption team and several adoptive families are currently participating in research led by the University of Glasgow. This study explores the clinical and cost- effectiveness of dyadic developmental psychotherapy for children who have experienced abuse and neglect, and for their parents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff benefit from a well-structured training programme that continues to strengthen practice across the agency. Managers have recently introduced a specific model to support social workers and panel members in understanding and responding to the cultural needs of children in transracial adoptive families. This model is now embedded throughout the agency and across the adopter and child journey.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A key strength of the agency remains its staff. They are therapeutic and empathetic and demonstrate a strong sense of care and responsibility towards children and Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Birmingham Children’s Trust Adoption Agency 6 adopters. Teams are stable and hold a wide range of specialist qualifications. Staff are experienced, committed and passionate about their roles, creating a positive environment that champions adoptive families. Adopters speak overwhelmingly positively about the relationships they have with staff across the adoption team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Overall, staff feel well supported by managers, both formally and informally. However, some recent changes to team structures have caused understandable concerns. Some staff feel they are not as well informed as they would like and have not had sufficient opportunity to reflect on how these changes are affecting them. During the inspection, managers responded promptly to this feedback and identified a range of forums to support ongoing discussion and reflection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Agency staff receive regular, reflective supervision and annual appraisal meetings that formally review their practice and development. They also participate in team therapeutic reflection groups, learning from practice sessions and appraisals that support continuous improvement. Staff value the progression pathways and career development opportunities available to them, including participation in programmes such as LeadHERship and Black and Asian Leaders in Adoption training. Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Birmingham Children’s Trust Adoption Agency 7

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Recommendation

 The agency takes action to address any issues of concern that they identify, or which are raised with them.

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Recommendation

This recommendation specifically relates to ensuring effective working processes and relationships with partner agencies so that the adoption process and post-adoption experiences for children and their adopters promote consistent, timely, and positive outcomes. (Adoption: national minimum standards 25.7, page 73)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Voluntary Adoption Agencies and The Adoption Agencies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2003, The Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005, any other relevant legislation, and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Birmingham Children’s Trust Adoption Agency 8

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Voluntary adoption agency details

Registered provider: Birmingham Children’s Trust Community Interest Company

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Voluntary adoption agency details

Registered provider address: 1 Avenue Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 4DU

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Voluntary adoption agency details

Email address: AFEnquiries@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk

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Inspectors

Dawn Bennett, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Lydia Isaac, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Birmingham Children’s Trust Adoption Agency 9 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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