You may have some questions about the study. Please read the answers to these Frequently Asked Questions to understand more.
About the study
Who is funding the study?
The Department for Education- the government department responsible for children’s services and education - is funding the Family Routes Study.
Who is doing the study?
The research is being run by Ecorys UK, an independent research organisation, Professor Julie Selwyn at the Rees Centre at the University of Oxford and Ipsos. The research team have lots of experience of doing similar studies with adoptive and Special Guardianship families.
Why is this study being done?
Family Routes aims to help improve the ways that families are supported, how schools understand the experience of young people who are adopted or living with a Special Guardians and learn how services need to change and develop to better support young people as they become adults.
There is a lot of research on younger children. But we know very little about young people’s experiences (both good and bad) as they grow up and become adults, and the support they might need.
Why is taking part so important?
Previous Department for Education studies, such as Beyond the Adoption Order led by Professor Julie Selwyn, resulted in the government introducing the Adoption Support Fund and extra support in schools. Family Routes is the first ever study of families during adolescence and early adulthood.
Sarah Jennings, Deputy Director at the Department for Education said “This ground-breaking research will inform future government policy and delivery of both adoption and kinship care support. Previous research on adoption led directly to the development of the Adoption Support Fund and additional support in schools for adopted children. This research will inform our thinking on how to further improve the support provided to adoptive and kinship care families.”
Who can take part?
To take part you must be:
- Aged 12-25 and you left care on an Adoption or Special Guardianship Order. Please note young people aged 12-17-years will need consent from an adoptive parent or Special Guardian before they can take part. Consent is asked for in the sign-up form.
- An adoptive parent or special guardian of a young person aged 12-25 who came to live with you from care.
- Living in England.
Ideally, we’d like one parent/carer and one young person to take part per family. We understand that won’t always be possible though.
Is it confidential?
The research findings will not identify you or your family. No personal information will be passed to anyone outside the research team. All responses will remain totally confidential except if you say something that makes us worried that you or somebody else is at risk of danger. We have a duty to report this, to keep you and others safe.
What does the study ask about?
You’ll be asked about different things including:
- You and your family
- Important relationships
- Experiences with school/college
- Health and wellbeing
- The help you and your family need and have received
- How you feel about family life
A more detailed summary of the questionnaire content can be viewed here.
What if I don't want to answer something?
If you don’t know what the question means or do not want to answer a question, you can skip the question or say “I don’t know”. You can also take a break or stop at any time.
Will the findings be published?
The results of the study will be published on the DfE web page. We will add the findings to here on this webpage once the report is published.
You can also ask for the findings to be sent to your email address.
We plan to stay in touch with everyone who takes part to keep them informed of the findings.
Taking part in the study
How can I take part?
Please register your interest here ipsos.uk/familyroutes. The research team will be in touch with more information later this year.
If you’d prefer to speak to someone or need help signing-up, please contact the team on email family.routes@ecorys.com, or you can phone or text us on 07976 948102.
How long will the survey and interview take?
The registration survey will only take a couple of minutes of your time.
The online survey will take around 15-25 minutes per person.
The interview will take around 60-90 minutes per person.
Do I get anything for taking part?
Everyone who takes part and completes the survey and provides their contact details will receive a £10 shopping voucher as a thank you.
What other reassurances can we give about the study?
We would like to reassure those taking part in the survey that:
- Taking part is totally confidential and anonymous for all individuals. If you say something that makes us worried that you or somebody else is at risk of danger, we have a duty to report this, to keep you and others safe.
- Findings from the study will be published and shared widely. We hope the findings can be used by lots of people including social workers, teachers, therapists, and courts, to help young people and their adoptive or Special Guardian families, just like yours.
- This research will comply with the Market Research Society code of conduct.
- This research will also fully comply with the new GDPR regulations (see the privacy policy for more details).