National Adoption Week

National Adoption Week 2021

  • National Adoption Week 2021 was dedicated to all those impacted by adoption whose stories are often less heard; adopted people, adopters, birth parents and the Children’s Services workforce
  • An emotive animated short film, created by illustrator and adopter Garry Parsons is below and features real life stories of everyone involved in the adoption process – an adopted child, a single parent, an adopted person, a birth mother, social workers, and family members who watched loved ones go through the process
  • 40,920 adoptions have taken place in England in the past 10 years

National Adoption Week Events

Adoption UK, PAC-UK, New Family Social and CoramBAAF ran a number of events for adopters, potential adopters, adopted people, birth parents and professionals during and after National Adoption Week.

Support for adopters, adopted people, and birth family members

Support for adopted people

An adopted child grows up and may need advice and support at certain key stages through childhood and adulthood about issues arising from their adoption. PAC-UK (Tel: 020 7284 5879) may provide support in your region; if not, your regional adoption agency or voluntary adoption agency may be able signpost to suitable support.

Support for birth families

The subject of adoption can be incredibly difficult for birth parents who have experienced separation from a child by adoption, where can they access support?

If you need help or support organisations like PAC-UK (Tel: 020 7284 5879) or Family Rights Group (Tel: 0808 801 0366) may be able to assist, or help you find a local service or support group. Your local authority or regional adoption agency will also know about support in your local area.

Adoption: A Life Story

Sarah, an adoptive mother of one, always wanted a biological child but also knew she wanted to adopt one day. She initially thought you need to be in a relationship to have children but, once she reached 40, she realised she didn’t need to have a partner and didn’t need to give birth to be a mother. Sarah says that her daughter’s foster carers are like ‘angels’ that have been caring, kind and have supported her along with friends and family throughout the adoption.

Sarah's Story

With her mum in prison when she was born Tiegan lived with her for five months and then went into the care of her dad until she was two. Following concerns around his ability to provide a safe and stable home, Tiegan was then taken into emergency protection and was fostered. Tiegan was adopted age 4 by her two mums and throughout her life has accessed plenty of support for adopted people. Tiegan is passionate about adopted people having the opportunity to have contact with their birth family if they want to.

Tiegan's Story

Anna says agreeing to having her son looked after by someone else was the hardest decision of her life. To Anna, she will always be her son’s mum, but adoption has broken a generational cycle of difficult family life and given him a life she couldn’t have given. After meeting with the adoptive father at his request, Anna knows her son is doing well, has memories of her, and will grow up knowing who she is and about his heritage and cultural identity. She dreams of meeting him as an adult.

Anna's Story

Roman, now 11, was adopted by husband and wife, Richee and Vicky when he was five years old. He loves spending time with his pets: Daisy the dog, Parsnip and Broccoli the cats, and Steve the bearded dragon (who is adopted too). Richee and Vicky always knew they wanted to adopt. They initially thought they wanted to adopt a child under three, however when they went to an adoption event they changed their minds when they found out it was harder for older children to find a home. Roman knows his birth grandparents well and spends a lot of time with them, which he loves.

Roman's Story

Sue is the biological mum of 27-year old Molly and ‘Granny’ to Molly’s two children. Molly had a difficult first pregnancy followed by several miscarriages and so adopted her second child, a son now aged two. Sue admits she knew very little about adoption before Molly and her husband considered it amid the COVID-19 lockdown but this has now totally changed. Sue supported Molly, her son-in-law and granddaughter throughout the adoption experience, which felt like quite a quick and smooth journey. In less than a year, her grandson was firmly part of the family.

Sue's Story

Paula has worked in adoption and fostering for more than 25 years and is currently the Head of Service at Adopt Coast to Coast. From the age of 15, Paula knew she wanted to be a social worker. When she told her mum, her mum responded “Ssh, don’t tell anyone!”, knowing the challenges and emotional ups and downs this career could bring. Paula says there isn't a typical type of adoptive parent, we have lots of children who need families, and therefore we need lots of different types of adopters.

Paula's Story

National Adoption Week Podcast

This National Adoption Week, campaign supporter Matt Barbet sits down with Mark Owers, expert in the field, and Chair of the National Adoption Recruitment Steering Group, to answer your questions on adoption. In the episode, Mark talks about the adoption process, eligibility, matching and contact with birth families as well as how adoption has changed and improved over the last decade, and why it is so important that all voices of those impacted by adoption are heard.