Adoption inspection report 2008

Nottinghamshire Adoption Service was last inspected by Ofsted. The 2008 inspection made the following observations:

The agency is very good at recruiting adopters and making good matches with children waiting to be adopted. The preparation, assessment and approval of adopters is thorough and they are provided with good and full information about children's histories through the well-established practice of life appreciation days. The adoption panel provides robust scrutiny of the work of the agency.

Also, support to adopters is outstanding, including comprehensive welfare rights advice, training, support groups, social events and newsletters. The service to birth parents is also outstanding and there is a life-long commitment to all involved in the adoption triangle. Birth parents are involved in planning, they contribute to maintaining the child's heritage through a pro-active and robust letterbox system, have access to support groups and are given advice, support and understanding when trying to contact adopted adults.

The overall quality rating for Nottinghamshire Adoption Service was 'good', which means the services it provides are 'strong'.

Read the full 2008 Ofsted inspection report [PDF265KB]  
2008 Ofsted inspection report [WORD79KB]

In the previous inspection covering 2005-06, carried out by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCi), the adoption service was described as "very good at recruiting adopters from a range of diverse backgrounds, including single adopters, same sex couples and black and Asian adopters".

The inspection went on: "The preparation of adopters is very good, including the group work and home study. There is a wide range of specialist advice available which adopters can access. This includes educational advice, links with the youth and community service, welfare rights advice, a training co-ordinator and medical advice."

The inspectors spoke to people who had adopted through Forever Families and said: "Adopters speak highly of the staff in the agency: 'Everyone has been so helpful  -  nothing is too much trouble'; 'I can't praise the team enough  -  they have been absolutely fantastic'.

"To quote one adopter: 'We can't thank them enough for the help and support they have given us during our journey into parenthood' and another said: 'All the staff have been fantastic  -  always very supportive and helpful'. Another adopter commented: 'We have felt supported throughout and respect and value our social worker and the work she puts in with us'."