Parents sharing information about adoption

It is the choice of parents whether they share information about their child's adoptive status. To give them confidence in sharing this information, you will need to ensure that your school makes their information-sharing agreements explicit. You may want to include an item in your newsletter or on your website to encourage adoptive parents to inform you of their status, ensuring that you guarantee complete confidentiality when they do so.

The mechanism for recording the child on the January census so that they are eligible for the Pupil Premium Plus grant is designed to protect their anonymity since only the number of eligible children is recorded and on the census rather than their names or initials. A senior member of staff will need to have sight of adoption documentation to verify that the child is eligible for funding. This information should never be passed on to other members of staff or to school governors, unless their parent has requested that they should be made aware of your child’s adoptive status.

A photocopy of the adoption certificate can be produced as evidence of adoptive status. You can invite parents to redact any information that they would prefer not to share with the school: the crucial information to be left visible is the child’s name following the adoption and the name of the adoption agency. Once you have had sight of the adoption certificate or equivalent, you do not need to ask to see this again when registering for the census in subsequent years.

If a school closes, the funding, or part of it, should be allocated to the new school. If a child moves school midway through the funding period, a request should be made to the previous school to transfer funds to the new school.