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Contents

1. Arrangements for Adoption Plan Reviews
2. Convening and Chairing Reviews
3. Timescales for Reviews
4. Reports for Reviews
5. The Conduct of Reviews
6. After an Adoption Order is made

1. Arrangements for Adoption Plan Reviews

Once an Adoption and Permanence Team has authority to place a child for adoption, the requirement to review the child's case under the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 supersedes the requirement to hold a Looked After Review.

The child's Social Worker should provide written information about the intended arrangements for Adoption Plan Reviews, to the child (depending on age and understanding), to the prospective adopters (usually this will be part of the Adoption Placement Plan), and to any other person considered relevant, such as the child's Parents.

2. Convening and Chairing Adoption Plan Reviews

So far as reasonably practicable, all Adoption Plan Reviews will be chaired by the child's Independent Reviewing Officer.

The child's Social Worker, in conjunction with the Independent Reviewing Officer, will invite relevant persons to Adoption Plan Reviews.

There is no requirement to invite birth parents to Adoption Plan Reviews or to consult them prior to a Review, but the child's Social Worker, in conjunction with the Independent Reviewing Officer, may consider that their views should be ascertained and reported to an Adoption Plan Review or that the Parents should be invited in appropriate cases.

3. Timescales for Adoption Plan Reviews

The timescales for holding Adoption Plan Reviews will depend on whether the child has been placed for adoption.

3.1 Adoption Plan Reviews of children not yet placed for adoption

Where the agency has authority to place the child for adoption and the child has yet to be placed for adoption, arrangements must be made so that an Adoption Plan Review is held:

• No later than 3 months after authority to place the child for adoption has been obtained
• At least every 6 months thereafter until an adoptive placement is made.

3.2 Adoption Plan Reviews of children who have been placed for adoption

Where the child has been placed for adoption, arrangements must be made so that an Adoption Plan Review is held:

• within 4 weeks of the placement
• not more than 3 months after the first review unless an application for an adoption order has been made
• at least every 6 months thereafter until an adoption order has been made or the adoptive placement ends.

Where there are concerns that the placement is at risk of breaking down, the relevant Independent Reviewing Officer should be advised/consulted. The child’s Social Worker and the Independent Reviewing Officer should consider whether an early an Adoption Plan Review should be convened. Where a placement breaks down, see Disruption Meetings Procedures.

Where a placement has been made with Parental Consent and notice is received that such consent has been withdrawn, an Adoption Plan Review must be convened immediately and urgent legal advice should be taken as to whether there are grounds for an application for an Emergency Protection Order/Interim Care Order (if no Care Order exists) and/or a Placement Order. (NB: these terms are defined in Keywords)

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, for example child protection concerns and/or significant risk, no decision to move a child from a placement shall take place without a formal review having taken place. In such circumstances, legal advice should be sought as soon as possible and prior to any action being taken.

3.3 All Cases

The child's Social Worker must inform the Independent Reviewing Officer of any failure to make arrangements agreed at a review or any significant changes in the child's circumstances at a review, so that a decision can be made as to the need to convene a further Review.

4. Reports for Adoption Plan Reviews

The child's Social Worker will prepare a report for the Adoption Plan Review, incorporating the views of the child, the prospective adopters and the prospective adopters' Supervising Social Worker (where the child is placed), the birth parents or family members (in appropriate cases) and any other relevant person (for example health visitor or teacher), which should be circulated prior to the meeting.

5. The Conduct of Adoption Plan Reviews

1. The Adoption Plan Review will consider the following areas:
   1. Whether it remains satisfied that the child should be placed for adoption
   2. The child's needs, welfare and development, and whether any changes need to be made to meet the child's needs or assist his/her development
   3. The existing arrangements for contact and whether they should continue or be altered
   4. Where the child has been placed for adoption, evidence of the child's attachment to the prospective adopters and the arrangements in relation to the exercise of Parental Responsibility for the child and whether they should continue or be altered
   5. The arrangements for the provision of adoption support services for the adoptive family and whether there should be any re-assessment of the need for those services
   6. In consultation with the appropriate agencies, the arrangements for assessing and meeting the child's health care and educational needs
   7. Any concerns
   8. Outstanding Court proceedings
   9. Where the child is placed for adoption, the timing of the adoption application
   10. The timing of the 'Later in Life Letter' from the Social Worker being given to the child (prior to the Adoption Order)
   11. The responsibility for providing Court reports
   12. The frequency of future reviews and the date for the next Review
2. Where the child is the subject of a Placement Order and has not been placed for adoption by the time of the first six month Review, the Review must also:
   1. Establish why the child has not been placed for adoption and consider what further steps it should take to arrange for the child to be placed for adoption; and
   2. Consider whether it remains satisfied that the child should be placed for adoption
   3. Notify the Adoption and Permanence Panel that such a Review has taken place and send a copy of the Review report to the Panel Administrator.
3. The Independent Reviewing Officer must ensure that the views of the child are properly understood by the Review and taken into account.
   
   Where the child wishes to take proceedings on their own account, for example to apply for the revocation of a Placement Order, the Independent Reviewing Officer must assist the child to obtain legal advice or establish whether an appropriate adult is able and willing to provide legal advice and/or bring the proceedings on the child's behalf.
4. The Independent Reviewing Officer must also ensure that anyone responsible for implementing a decision taken at the review is identified, and that any failure to review the case or implement decisions made at a Review is brought to the attention of Senior Managers within the adoption agency.
5. Any decisions made at the Review should be notified in writing to the child (depending on age and understanding), the prospective adopters (where the child has been placed for adoption) and any other person considered relevant by the child's Social Worker and the Independent Reviewing Officer, such as the birth parents.
6. The information obtained during an Adoption Plan Review, any decisions made at the Review and the minutes of any meeting arranged to consider any aspect of the Adoption Plan Review must be placed on the child's Adoption Case Record. NB: these terms are defined in Keywords..

6. After an Adoption Order is made

Once an Adoption Order is made, the requirement to hold Adoption Plan Reviews ends. Adoption Support Plans, however, should continue to be the subject of reviews, at least annually.

Once an Adoption Order is made, the child's Social Worker should complete the Adoption Case Record and ensure that the necessary work has been undertaken to complete the adoption process. The Adoption Case Record should then be closed and sent to the Adoption and Permanence Panel Administrator for archiving within 2 months of the Adoption Order being granted.

The computer recording system should also record the Adoption Order.

End