Adopter Stories by Adoption Now

For our first episode of 2024 we wanted to take things right back down to basics and give you the best advice possible for starting your adoption story. There are a lot of myths that still exist around adoption and the adoption process and often a lot of these myths will tie in with your own questions that you want to find the answers too. There is a wealth of information out there on the internet...

In the weeks leading up to Christmas we have been excited to bring you very some special, festive episodes of our Adopter Stories podcast, in which we asked some of our families about their first Christmas as adoptive parents, those first precious moments as a family. In this fourth and final episode we had the privilege of sitting down to chat with Shauneen, finding out about their first Christma...

In the weeks leading up to Christmas we are excited to bring you very some special, festive episodes of our Adopter Stories podcast. We asked some of our families about their first Christmas as adoptive parents, those first precious moments as a family. In the third episode we had the privilege of sitting down to chat with Matthew, finding out about their first Christmas as a family. If you are co...

In the weeks leading up to Christmas we are excited to bring you very some special, festive episodes of our Adopter Stories podcast. We asked some of our families about their first Christmas as adoptive parents, those first precious moments as a family. In this first episode we had the privilege of sitting down to chat with Tracey, finding out about their first Christmas as a family. If you are co...

In the weeks leading up to Christmas we are excited to bring you very some special, festive episodes of our Adopter Stories podcast. We asked some of our families about their first Christmas as adoptive parents, those first precious moments as a family. In this first episode we had the privilege of sitting down to chat with Terry, finding out about their first Christmas as a family. If you are con...

At Adoption Now we take great pride in the way we are able to support our families so, with Christmas just on the horizon we thought it would be good to offer some extra support and advice for the holidays. There is no doubt that Christmas is a magical time of year; what with all the lights, sounds, smells and traditions that are associated with it. However, a lot of children find this time of yea...

National Adoption Week (16th – 22nd October) by You Can Adopt, backed by Northwest Regional Adoption Agency, Adoption Now is celebrating the life stories of different generations of adopted people to encourage potential adopters to come forward to change the lives of children who are still waiting for their forever home. To find out more about the National Adoption Week campaign or to seek informa...

Brothers and sisters, or sibling groups, are often one of the groups of children who often wait the longest for their forever families. These siblings have such a unique, and powerful bond and they have often been through extremely difficult circumstances and in most situations have been the only constant within each other’s lives. So when it comes to our family groups, we always try our best to k...

The overwhelming majority of people who contact our agency and are thinking about adopting do so with the intention of adopting a child that is aged 0 to 2 years old. And understandably everyone has their reasons for this. However, our latest figures show that 40% of our children that have a Placement Order are in fact 3 years old or older, and with this group of children waiting the longest for t...

Did you know that we are the only Regional Adoption Agency in the North West of England that offers a Mentoring Service to adopters? It’s an invaluable service that we offer to all of our adopters and is designed to be a safe and supportive space where they can share their experiences with their Mentors who are themselves experienced adopters. Our mentors have been there and done it, and they are...

Throughout April to June we have been focusing on our Every Step campaign. As a fitting end to this campaign and with the brand new national adoption campaign from You Can Adopt starting on the 20th June I thought it would be an ideal time to sit down and reflect on the breadth of support that we offer to our adopters here at Adoption Now. My guest in this episode is our Head of Service Karen Barr...

In the latest episode of Adopter Stories by Adoption Now I sat down to chat with one of our adopters who accessed our therapeutic parenting course. We find out how they accessed the course, how they found it and how it helped their family. If you are thinking about adoption we would love to hear from you. Visit www.adoptionnow.org.uk to fill out our Online Enquiry Form or you can all our Informati...

As an agency we are extremely passionate about putting our children first and at the heart of everything that we do. We are only as good as our team, and we are extremely lucky to have a truly amazing team here at Adoption Now! On the 1st June we are holding our Online Jobs Fair and we are inviting YOU to come and find out what it's like to be part of this amazing team along with finding out about...

The beginning of April saw the launch of our ‘We’re with you EVERY step of the way campaign’, in which we focus on the support that we offer here at Adoption Now; from that first contact and beyond. As part of this campaign we are proud our brand-new Welcome Team. While a new team they are highly trained, caring, and understanding professionals who staff our Information Line, and are often the fir...

In the longest episode we have ever done we sat round the table with 4 of our adoptive dad's to find out about their experiences of adoption and the adoption process itself! If you’re thinking about adoption then we could love to hear from you. You can contact us through our website www.adoptionnow.org.uk or you can all our information line on 01204 336096, and this line is open 9am – 5pm Monday t...

Have you been to one of our Virtual Information Events? When the Covid 19 pandemic started we had to stop hosting our in-person Information Events. However, this enabled us to re-evaluate how we do them and by taking them online we have made it easier than ever for any one who is thinking about adoption to attend from the comfort of your own home! They are led by a social worker and finish with an...

National Adoption Week this October aims to highlight the importance of identity. Having some form of link to be connected to our pasts, that gives a sense of identity and emotional wellbeing, is something that is crucial for those who have been adopted as they mature into adulthood. One of the ways in which we help our children maintain some from of link to their past is by creating a Life Story...

The You Can Adopt National Adoption Week campaign this October aim’s to highlight the importance of identity, to recognise the significance of identity for children who are adopted. Our guest in this episode is Nicole; she was adopted at 6 and in this episode she tells us her story and experience of adoption, sharing with us her memories of that time and her life growing up as an adoptee.  If...

Regardless of whether you are thinking of adopting for a second time or if you have a birth child or children, one of the immediate things to consider if you are thinking adopting is the possible impact that your decision to adopt may have on your existing family. As parents the wellbeing of your child/ren is paramount so taking the time to explore their thoughts, finding out their feelings about...

Being a parent to a child is one of the most amazing and rewarding experiences in life and, having enjoyed parenthood once, many people look to do it all over again and grow their family by adopting; be that by adopting whilst already having a birth child or children, or by returning to adopt again. In this episode we are talking with Kathryn who, along with her husband adopted their daughter afte...

A common myth that still exists is that you cannot adopt if you are LGBTQ+ and single or in a relationship. But that is just not true. Same sex families have had the right to adopt since December 2005, when The Adoption and Children Act 2002 came into law. This legislation gave unmarried couples and same sex couples the right to adopt. In this episode we are talking to David who, along with husban...

In this very special episode we are catching up with Rav & Phil, who are previous guests on the podcast. It’s been a while since we first spoke to them about adopting siblings so we thought it would be great to catch up with them and to see how they are. It’s fair to say that they have had some ups and downs along the journey since we last spoke however, what is in no doubt is that they are an...

Family is family, and at Adoption Now we welcome your enquiry no matter what your sexuality. A common myth that still exists is that you can’t adopt if you are part of the LGBT+ community and in a relationship. The Adoption and Children Act 2002 came into law in December 2005, giving unmarried couples the right to adopt and this included the same rights to adopt for same sex couples. In this episo...

Across our website and social media we talk a lot about adoption support. The support we provide for our children is our number one priority and we are also passionate about supporting adopters throughout the adoption process and beyond. We are extremely proud to have our own team of specialist, therapeutically trained adoption support workers who are there for you once you have been approved and...

Throughout June we have been focusing on our need to find adopters who can consider adopting siblings or family groups, and in this latest episode we thought it would be good to talk to one of our team about the sibling groups that we are currently finding families for. I sat down to chat with Lisa, one of our social workers on the Family Finding team here at Adoption Now. We talked about the role...