Driving culture change in adoption

At Adoption England, we are passionate about making sure children who are adopted do not lose contact with the people who care about them. Our Maintaining Relationships culture change project, delivered in partnership with the University of East Anglia (UEA) and supported by Research in Practice, is all about turning decades of research into everyday good practice across the country.

Over the past few years, hundreds of practitioners have stepped up as “champions of change”, helping to shift professional culture and create better outcomes for adopted children and their families.

Why maintaining relationships matters

For nearly 30 years, Professor Elsbeth Neil and Julie Young from UEA’s School of Social Work have been at the forefront of research into birth family contact after adoption – including the UK’s only longitudinal study on post-adoption contact.

Traditionally, adoption in the UK was based on the assumption that a child could only have a new family by losing their existing one. This meant cutting off a child’s existing links, even when those connections could have provided love, identity, and belonging.

Research has shown that where it is safe, staying in touch with birth parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents or other relatives can have significant, long-term benefits for children. However, there has often been a gap between what research tells us and what happens in practice. Too many children have still been losing those vital connections.

Turning research into practice

Through the Maintaining Relationships culture change project, we’ve made real progress in bridging that gap. At the start, UEA researchers, people with lived experience, and practitioners worked together to create a ‘Theory of change,’ building consensus on what culture change should aim to achieve and what the likely enablers and barriers might be.

Following our launch conference, we developed a programme of training webinars and facilitated community of practice workshops to equip agency champions to inspire colleagues and make changes on the ground.

Working with Research in Practice, UEA redesigned a national website to host videos, resources, and training tools for professionals across England. These resources explore flexible, relationship-focused, and creative ways of keeping in touch, showing that the traditional annual letter is not the only option, especially when it often proves difficult in practice.

Changing thinking and practice across England

The response to the webinars and training has been overwhelmingly positive. They’ve sparked discussions, challenged thinking, and have been used to train frontline social workers and prospective adopters on how birth family connections can support a child’s lifelong identity journey.

We’re now hearing that around 70% of agencies have introduced individualised contact planning, and many are thinking more creatively about how to keep in touch with different family members, including siblings and extended relatives.

Some agencies are even supporting families to use digital platforms such as Letter Swap, enabling children to share video or voice messages and see or hear from their birth relatives. Adoptive families have valued being able to share everyday achievements – like winning a sports day race – in real time, giving birth relatives a richer insight into their child’s life.

This broader culture change work has been crucial in shifting professional mindsets and supporting relational work with families to negotiate arrangements that work for everyone.

Our Practice and Development Lead, Vicky Swift, reflects:

“Being part of Adoption England and this national shift, working in partnership with UEA, has been both inspiring and heartwarming. It’s been incredible to witness the changes in practice across the country, where research and frontline work are coming together to create better outcomes for children.

One of the most meaningful aspects of my time with Adoption England has been seeing the growing recognition of the lifelong needs of adopted people. The Chancellor’s Award is a wonderful acknowledgment of the dedication and determination shown by champions across England, and I’m so pleased to see this important work celebrated nationally.”

Influence beyond practice

This work has also informed high-level policy conversations, including guidance from the President of the Family Courts and findings from Adoption UK and the House of Lords.

We’re incredibly proud to see decades of research and the voices of people with lived experience influencing real change so that more children grow up with a good sense of their life story, who they are, and where they’ve come from.

We are especially grateful to the many people with lived experience who have been a vital part of this work speaking at events, producing videos, joining project steering groups, and making changes in their own families for the benefit of children.

Looking ahead

We know there is still more to do. Champions have highlighted that with more resources, especially staff time, they could deliver even more ambitious keeping-in-touch plans, but we’re committed to continuing this journey.

UEA Chancellor's 2025 Award for Outstanding Achievement, awarded to the UEA team, is a recognition not just of research excellence, but of a national effort. One where Adoption England is proud to stand alongside partners, practitioners, and families to make sure no child loses the people who matter most to them.