The Department for Education said the ASGSF will receive an extra £5 million, taking total funding to £55mn in 2026/27, to continue providing access to services such as therapy and counselling for adopted children and a limited number of children in kinship care. It also committed to providing the fund until 2028. 

Ministers stressed that the funding sits within a broader programme of reform as it launches a new 12-week consultation, Adoption support that works for all, setting out proposals to deliver “better, fairer, and more efficient” adoption and kinship support across education, health and social care by 2028.

The DfE said it will also expand funding for specialist teams working with adopted families in regional adoption agencies (RAA), through a series of local pilots.

These multidisciplinary teams will bring together social workers, psychologists, mental health practitioners and teachers to provide more coordinated, targeted support where it is needed, it said.

The partial reprieve follows outcry by campaigners over significant cuts to the ASGSF introduced in April 2025, when the DfE reduced the fair access limit and removed additional funding streams for specialist assessments and match funding – measures that are to remain under the latest plans. 

Josh MacAlister, minister for children and families, said: “Adoptive and kinship families make an extraordinary commitment to children who have had a difficult start, and they deserve the strongest possible support.

“Our proposals build on what we know works, and I look forward to hearing from families and experts on how we can improve support further.

“I’m also pleased to confirm continued funding for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, ensuring families can keep accessing the services they rely on.”

From September, Adoption England – a collaboration of RAAs – will help deliver new support for adopted children preparing to enter Year 7, a time when transitions are a known challenge.

The offer will include online learning, group sessions and peer support for parents, aimed at preventing difficulties that can lead to absence, exclusion or strained family relationships.

The DfE will also work with the Department of Health and Social Care on a pilot to improve mental health support for children in social care, including adopted children.

Sarah Johal, national adoption strategic lead at Adoption England, said: “While the ASGSF remains a crucial lifeline for many families, it is encouraging that the government’s consultation looks beyond the Fund alone.”

The announcement follows sector calls for any fundamental reform of adoption support to begin no earlier than 2028, with a January 2026 paper proposing a two-year moratorium on further structural or delivery changes to the fund, arguing that this would allow time for learning from the Adoption England pilots.

Dame Carol Homden chief executive of Coram, one of the charities behind the paper, welcomed the latest DfE proposals as an “ambitious route map” to enable children to receive appropriate and timely support from across service areas.

“The certainty of continuing funding whilst full consultation takes place means that the evidence and experience of children, families and agencies can help drive the shape the future of services so no child is left behind,” she added.