Hello, my husband and I have been linked with a little one (excited/freaking out) and we are now busy filling in lots of forms... The parental responsibility form (which will be in place until the adoption order) says we can’t leave LO in the care of any other adult without seeking agreement of the social worker. We don't want to ask the SW too many dumb questions (although we will be asking plenty!) but wondered if SW would approve use of a baby sitter for an hour or two once LO has settled in? No family in UK so it would likely be friends who have LO's of their own. I'm talking generally - of course if LO has attachment issues etc we wouldn't. But if the adoption order takes months, and you never know from what we understand, we might just need the odd tiny break. We are not parents so we have no clue if this is normal to think about, but we'd like to understand what's allowed. Thank you!
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With both of ours we got grandparents CRB checked in advance, on the understanding that they'd be our childcare if needed - which they were a few times, generally for meetings with SWs! 
I'd suggest asking whether you can get a relative/responsible friend checked and agreed as babysitter in principle in advance. It'll make it all a lot quicker if you do have to get agreement from SS for every instance, or it might mean that if you need a couple of hours ad hoc, you can just get on with it.
I can't see anyone would object to you getting someone else pre-checked, if you describe it as "wanting to be certain you have back-up plans in place, in case of emergencies". That's just sensible planning, and I would hope your SW would see that. And it's most likely going to be SW-related meetings that would need you and your partner there, that would cause the issue. You can talk about what you'd do to make it easier on LO, such as making sure the sitter was always in your home so there were no new environments to cope with, etc.
You'll just follow your instincts once LO arrives, and in your first post you already mention your understanding of attachment and how your possible plans might need to change. Which is great, and you can only do that as you get to know LO's needs in reality.
I'm a single parent, and my LO could not cope at all with separation, so I didn't use any sitters or alternative care for a very long time. Ideally in the early months, especially while LO is grieving, confused and unsure who to turn to, basically it needs to be the parents consistently providing the vast majority of the care. You can always take it in turns to pop out though, as there are two of you - and with luck, your LO will sleep sometimes so you'll have some couple-time to stare at each other and gasp about being tired! It is such a massive change, but you absolutely can do it. Good luck with all your plans 
Another one saying go with your instincts!
Every child and situation is different, my parents had to help out a lot (I'm single) in the first 3 months as I timed a back injury perfectly with DS arrival! SS didn't bat an eyelid or ask for DBS.
Six months in and he sometimes stays with my mum for an hour or so and has just started a two hour nursery session a couple of times a week but I can't tell you how guilty I feel so don't be surprised if you only want to leave LO with your partner for a while.
Enjoy intros....and the lovely sleep/lie in you get before heading back to see them.
Aaaaah lie ins 
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