Dozens of children in Bedford borough found permanent homes through adoption between January 2022 and December 2024 – as the council highlights its focus on support, early intervention, and regular collaboration.
Council data showed that 47 children were adopted, with 19 more receiving long-term care, such as special guardianship or family reunification.
Bedford Borough Council said this reflects the flexibility and child-centred nature of its care planning process, with adoption considered only when other permanent options such as family reunification or special guardianship are not possible.
“Adoption will always be the final care plan when all other options for permanence, such as return to family or special guardianship, have been exhausted,” a council spokesperson said.
“This accords with legislation and case law.”
The council continues to assess and approve adopters and works closely with the Adopt East regional alliance, helping match children not only from the borough but across the region with suitable families.
“We are very pleased that our adopters have been able to offer a stable, loving home for our children and also children from within our regional arrangements with Adopt East,” the council said.
At the end of 2024, 38 families were receiving adoption support from the council’s specialist team.
This includes therapeutic services funded through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF), access to support groups, training and peer-led services.
“While the reduction of the fair access limit has been incredibly disappointing, we have been working with adoptive families and therapy providers to ensure that support continues,” the council said.
“We have tried to ensure… that we have a comprehensive adoption support offer… to ensure that adoptive families can access a variety of support when needed.”
Although three adoption placements broke down during the period, including one involving a sibling group, the council emphasised that each disruption led to formal learning, with additional support provided to the children and families involved.
“We allocate social workers to provide adoption support to families when we are aware that adoptions are at risk of breakdown,” the spokesperson added.
“We use a combination of social work support, peer support, therapy as well as expertise and resources from partner agencies, in order to avert disruptions.”
Early intervention investment
The council is also working to reduce the number of children entering care in the first place by investing in early intervention through the Families First reform programme, in line with the national government strategy.
“There is a considerable amount of work taking place to ensure that early help and intervention is provided to our families at the very earliest opportunity,” said the council.
“These decisions ensure that there is a sharp focus upon achieving permanence and stability for children.”
To further improve adoption outcomes, the council is enhancing training for prospective adopters and equipping its own staff with therapeutic tools.
“We aim to improve adoption outcomes for children by strengthening our training offer to adopters before children are placed with them… and increasing our support offer,” the spokesperson added.
“We are always reviewing our regional adoption support offer, which recently has included specific support to adopters who are parenting teenagers and a peer-led adoption support line.”
More information can be found on the council’s Adoption webpage.
