Coram Adoption retains Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ rating

  • 3 October 2024

Coram Adoption has retained its ‘Outstanding’ judgement by Ofsted for its services for children, young people and families.

The latest inspection rated the overall experiences and progress of service users as ‘outstanding’; and how well children, young people and adults are helped and protected as ‘good’, while the effectiveness of leaders and managers was rated as ‘outstanding’.

Coram Adoption, a member of the Coram Group of charities, has over 40 years’ experience in finding permanent loving families for children needing adoption.

The Ofsted report says: “Children and adults benefit from an exceptionally high-quality service that is innovative and insightful. The service is continually evaluated by leaders and managers and is delivered by social workers who are exceptionally passionate about their work. This ethos permeates all aspects of the agency and is highly effective in securing positive experiences and outcomes for children.”

“Prospective adopters receive a warm and professional welcome when they contact Coram. There are well-thought-out procedures that are consistently delivered and robustly overseen to ensure that prospective adopters are given as much information as possible. This enables them to make an informed decision about whether adoption is right for them and if any further work is needed before registering an interest. Assessments of adopters are thorough and of excellent quality. Together with preparation training of a high standard, this contributes significantly to the ability of adopters and foster carers to provide safe and secure placements that meet children’s complex needs. One adopter said, ‘I don’t think we could have been better prepared.”

Ofsted’s report also noted that “relationships between social workers and adopters are extremely positive and highly effective”, highlighting comments by adopters who expressed their views such as ‘I felt safe in safe hands’ ‘the social workers are amazing,’ and ‘there is an atmosphere of trust’.

Cathrine Clarke, Managing Director of Adoption and Family Services at Coram Adoption (interim), said: “We are delighted by the outcome of our most recent Ofsted inspection. We pride ourselves in keeping children and their voices at the heart of everything we do, as well as providing excellent preparation and ongoing support to adopters. Our committed and talented team work tirelessly to bring innovative approaches to secure the best possible matches for children and parents.”