The Department for Education (DfE) has published a new report on children in England returning to care after an adoption or special guardianship order (SGO). The report examines the stability of permanence placements, factors associated with returning to care or ‘disruption’, and what happened to the children after they returned to care. Based on an analysis of DfE data from 2004 to 2023, findings indicate low rates of children re-entering care after being adopted or living with a special guardian. About 95% of adopted children and 89% of children who left care to live with a special guardian had not returned to care by 31 March 2023. Additional findings include:

• adoption was more stable than special guardianship.
• older age at entry to care and leaving care was associated with a greater frequency of disruption for adopted and SGO children;

and most children who experienced a disruption remained in care.