Amendments

In March 2026, information was added in Section 6.3, Placement before a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) is Granted to highlight that the DfE has extended the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund initially until March 2027, with a new fair access limit of £3000.

This chapter was updated in March 2026.

This chapter was refreshed in March 2026, to include information from the Criminal Injuries Compensation: A Guide.

This chapter was updated in March 2026.

This chapter was updated in March 2026.

This chapter was updated in March 2026.

This chapter was updated in March 2026.

In March 2026 information was added in Section 3, Examples of Adoption Support to highlight that the DfE has extended the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund initially until March 2027, with a new fair access limit of £3000.

In September 2025 information was added from How Local Authorities Can Help Young Carers (Ofsted Blog) and additional resources were added to Further Information.

This chapter was added to the manual in September 2025.

In September 2025 this chapter was revised in line with updated government guidance.

This chapter was updated in September 2025 to reflect Granting Leaves of Absence in Working Together to Improve School Attendance statutory guidance, which states that generally, the DfE does not consider a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation to be an exceptional circumstance for leave of absence.

In September 2025 links have been added to Youth Remand Concordat - Guidance and principles to follow a joint approach throughout the youth remand process for local and national partners and Delivering the best for girls in custody - an independent review into placements and care for girls in the Children and Young People Secure Estate.

This chapter was refreshed in September 2025. 

The Government guidance ‘Report the death or serious harm of a child or care leaver’ has been updated to provide what information is needed when reporting incidents involving children who have died or been seriously harmed and abuse or neglect is known or suspected, looked after children and care leavers. The Serious Incident Notification Guide for local authorities has been added to this chapter.

This chapter was updated in September 2025.

In September 2025, in Section 2.1, Additional Considerations Where a Child Has Multiple Needs information was added about how to access pre-application advice on caring for children with complex needs (Ofsted) If you are thinking about opening a children’s social care service for children with complex needs.