Good Practice in Post-Adoption Contact: Key Guidance from the Family Court

Case Note: Post-Adoption Contact and Good Practice

Prospective Adopters v Lincolnshire County Council & Ors (Good practice: supporting post-adoption contact) [2026] EWFC 47 (11 February 2026)

Ms Justice Harris has considered whether a post-adoption contact order should be made in favour of a child’s birth mother and sibling when prospective adopters applied for an adoption order. Ms Justice Harris provided helpful guidance contained in a Post Adoption Framework Document at the end of the judgment which the court hoped to be of assistance to other adopted children and their families.

Facts 

The child, AB, had been placed with prospective adopters together with an older sibling pursuant to a placement order.  The children were aged two and a half and five and a half.  A younger sibling, aged twelve months old,  remained living with the birth mother under a supervision order.

Although the birth mother initially opposed adoption, she ultimately accepted that AB was settled and thriving in the adoptive placement and that returning him to her care would not be in his best interests. She instead sought an order for post-adoption contact, particularly to preserve the sibling relationship.

Legal Framework

The case concerned the court’s powers under the Adoption and Children Act 2002  section 51A, which allows the court to make post-adoption contact orders;

S 51A (2) When making the adoption order or at any time afterwards, the court may make an order under this section—

(a) requiring the person in whose favour the adoption order is or has been made to allow the child to visit or stay with the person named in the order under this section, or for the person named in that order and the child otherwise to have contact with each other, or

(b) prohibiting the person named in the order under this section from having contact with the child

The court also considered;

• Public Law Working Group: adoption sub-group ‘Recommendations for best practice in respect of adoption’,November 2024
• Oxfordshire County Council v X, Y & J[2010] EWCA Civ 581
• Re B (A Child: Post-Adoption Contact)[2019] EWCA Civ 29

Decision

Ms Justice Harris concluded that a court-ordered post-adoption contact order was not appropriate in this case.

Although the court recognised the long-term importance of maintaining sibling relationships, the immediate priority was allowing the two children to settle securely within their adoptive family. The court accepted evidence that introducing direct contact at that stage could be confusing and emotionally destabilising for the children.

Instead, the parties agreed a flexible post-adoption contact framework, supported by the local authority’s adoption support services.

The Agreed Contact Framework

The framework, annexed to the adoption order, included:

• Twice-yearly letterbox contact between the birth mother and the children.
• The exchange of photographs and videos through the adoption support team.
• Annual professional reviews to assess whether contact arrangements should progress.
• The potential for future video contact and eventually face-to-face sibling contact, depending on the children’s emotional readiness and welfare needs.

Importantly, the adoptive parents retained discretion over the timing and progression of contact, with professional support available to assist if direct contact becomes appropriate.

Key Message from the Court

The judgment highlights the growing discussion around more open approaches to adoption, including recommendations from the Public Law Working Group: the Public Law Working Group: adoption sub-group ‘Recommendations for best practice in respect of adoption’, November 2024 encouraging greater consideration of face-to-face contact with birth families.

However, the court emphasised that post-adoption contact must always be determined on the individual facts of the case, with the child’s welfare and the stability of the adoptive placement remaining paramount.

Closing Remarks

What stood out in this case was the strength of Mother’s position, her favourable circumstances, clear insight, and child-focused approach and yet an order was still refused. This illustrates how high the legal threshold remains, even where many positive factors are present despite this an order was still not made.

Natalie Oakes

Natalie Oakes has a particular interest in post adoption contact and recently acted on behalf of a local authority where post adoption contact was considered as part of the making of care and placement orders;

Placement Order: sibling contact order- s26 ACA 2002 [2025] EWFC 199 (B) (09 May 2025)