THE ADOPTION service run by Cambridgeshire County Council is good, well managed and provides a variety of effective services to children, parents and adoptive families, according to inspectors. A report by the Office for Standards in Education (OfSTED) sa

THE ADOPTION service run by Cambridgeshire County Council is good, well managed and provides a variety of effective services to children, parents and adoptive families, according to inspectors.

A report by the Office for Standards in Education (OfSTED) said: "The matching of children to adoptive families is good. Most children are placed locally and very few wait a long time for a suitable placement."

It adds: "The agency is well managed at all levels. Staff are experienced, qualified, committed and enthusiastic."

The report found a thorough and well- established matching process for children and praised the use of a psychologist, who is attached to the adoption team.

Helping children to achieve well and enjoy what they do was another area described by inspectors as good.

The service was encouraged to ensure that its case files give clear documented evidence about decision making in placing brothers and sisters, to further develop life story work with children and to increase the numbers of life appreciation days - times when prospective adopters meet other people in the child's life.

The report notes that birth parents, both mothers and fathers, have access to a social worker, as do the adoptive parents. The agency also offers counselling to grown-ups who have been adopted as children.

Inspectors recommended that social workers' evidence about decision making in sibling placements included the wishes of birth parents.