Number of adoptions increases in Wales

A decline in the adoption rate in Wales has been halted, according to latest figures.

In the year ending March 2011 there were 252 adoptions of looked-after children, an increase of 9% on the previous year.

This brings the adoption rate in Wales to just above the 2006 level, when there were 249 adoptions of children in care.

It remains to be seen whether this trend can be replicated in England, where the adoption rate of looked-after children fell by 13.5% between 2006 and 2010. Figures for the year ending March 2011 are not yet available.

The adoption figures are revealed in the latest looked-after children statistics for Wales.

This also revealed that 5,419 children were looked after at the end of March, an increase of 5% on the previous year. The number of looked-after children in Wales has increased by 20% over the past five years.

Around one in 10 looked-after children in care had three or more placements during the year ending March 2011.

The proportion achieving five or more GCSE A* to C grades increased by just 1% between 2010 and 2011.

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