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• Children are entitled to grow up as part of a loving family which can meet their needs during childhood and beyond
• It is best for children where possible to be brought up by their own birth family
• The child’s welfare, safety and needs will be at the centre of the adoption process and will be the paramount considerations of the service
• The child’s wishes and feelings will be actively sought and fully taken into account at all stages
• Delays in adoption can have a severe impact on the health and development of children and should be avoided wherever possible
• Children’s ethnic origin, cultural background, religion and language will be fully recognised and positively valued and promoted when decisions are made
• The particular needs of disabled children will be fully recognised and taken into account when decisions are made
• The role of adoptive parents in offering a permanent family to a child who cannot live with their birth family will be valued and respected
• People affected by adoption will receive a service that is appropriate and tailored to their needs
• Prospective service users are welcomed without prejudice and are given clear information on services provided by the agency
• Where the services involve an adopted adult and their birth relatives, the agency will take into consideration the welfare and safety of both parties

The Welfare Checklist

Section 1 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 provides that whenever a court or adoption agency is coming to a decision relating to the adoption of a child, it must have regard to the following matters (among others) -

a.	The child's ascertainable wishes and feelings regarding the decision (considered in the light of the child's age and understanding),
b.	The child's particular needs
c.	The likely effect on the child (throughout his life) of having ceased to be a member of the original family and become an adopted person
d.	The child's age, sex, background and any of the child's characteristics which the court or agency considers relevant,
e.	Any harm (within the meaning of the Children Act 1989) which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering,
f.	The relationship which the child has with relatives and with any other person in relation to whom the court or agency considers the relationship to be relevant, including - The likelihood of any such relationship continuing and the value to the child of its doing so, The ability and willingness of any of the child's relatives, or of any such person, to provide the child with a secure environment in which the child can develop, and otherwise to meet the child's needs The wishes and feelings of any of the child's relatives, or of any such person, regarding the child.

End