North East-based adoption agency Adopt North East has become the first regional adoption agency in the UK to receive a thematic inspection from Ofsted.
Arriving on 23 October, Ofsted’s inspection took place over four days, and it was the first time any agency had been inspected under the new framework.
Five other regional adoption agencies across the country will be of inspected and while no graded judgements will be given, Ofsted will publish a report covering all six inspections in 2024.
During their visit inspectors spoke to adopted children and adults, adoptive families, birth relatives, social workers, therapists, management, and many others to hear the experiences of receiving services from Adopt North East.
Inspectors highlighted areas of strength for Adopt North East, including its assessment processes and support for prospective adopters as well as how children’s lived experiences are valued and incorporated in training, support groups and feedback.
The agency’s family finding team was praised for its proactive support in creating forever families.
Nik Flavell, Senior Manager at Adopt North East, said: “Since being established almost five years ago we have worked extremely hard here at Adopt North East to build an agency that has children and families at the centre of everything we do.
“To be one of the first agencies to undergo this new inspection framework has been a great experience and has given us the opportunity to receive invaluable feedback about what’s working well and where we can strengthen our offer to give everyone the best possible service.
“I’m proud of the team and it’s fantastic to receive encouragement and validation of our journey so far. We will take forward the learning we received.”
Adopt North East is one of 34 regional adoption agencies in the country and was established in December 2018.
The agency provides adoption services for five local authorities in the region: Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, Gateshead, and South Tyneside.
Adopt North East is looking for adopters today. You can find out more on the website.
