In the weeks leading up to Christmas we are excited to bring you some very special, festive episodes of our Adopter Stories by Adoption Now 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 considering adoption and would like to enquire with Adoption Now, or ask any questions that you may have then please head over to our website which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk. Or, alternatively you can ring our information line on 01204 336096. Our Information line is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

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 book for them.

Each local authority and agency has their own way of creating these pieces for the children, however they all have some record of the child’s past by photographs, notes and such like about their birth family. They go into their present and they also look towards their future by including information about their adopted family.

In this episode I sat down to chat with Kerry, a member of the team here at Adoption Now to find out more about Life Story books and the crucial role that they play in an adopted childs identity.

Could you be part of a Life Story? 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 to Friday.

Find out more about National Adoption Week by visiting www.adoptionnow.org.uk/youcanadoptor by heading to www.youcanadopt.co.uk

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 hearing Nicole’s story has got you thinking about adoption then we would love to hear from you. You can call our information line which is open 9am -5pm Monday to Friday on 01204 336096. Or you can visit our website www.adoptionnow.org.uk, where you will find a host of resources such as a downloadable information pack, children’s stories, adopter videos, podcasts and more.

To find out more about the You Can Adopt campaign visit www.youcanadopt.co.uk

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 your decision to adopt is important As we find out in this episode of adopter stories.

Our guests are Nicky & Simon, once they were thinking about adopting they sat down with their birth children to discuss what they were thinking, what it could mean for their family and they also gave their children a veto if they weren’t comfortable with the idea of adopting. As we will hear their children were fully behind their parents and as well as this we will be hearing about some of the challenges that were presented to them but we also find out about the joys too.

If hearing their story has encouraged to you start thinking more about adoption, then we would love to hear from you. Whether you have a birth child already or not, if you are considering adoption we always recommend that everyone does as much research as possible, and we are only too happy to help you with this. On our website we have a free, downloadable Information Pack, Information about the adoption process, FAQ’s and lost more, we of course also have the entire back catalogue of adopter stories by adoption now and this is all available at www.adoptionnow.org.uk . Want to talk to us? Our information line is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday and you can call us on 01204 336096, one of our highly experienced team will be more than happy to chat with you and answer any questions that you may have.

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 after having their birth son. We find out about their adoption story and why they chose to adopt.

If you’re thinking about adoption and would like to find out more about the adoption process you can visit our website which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk You can also call our information line on 01204 336096, which is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday.

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 husband Michael adopted their two boys. We find out about their adoption story, how they came to adopt and also what advice they would give to anyone from the LGBTQ+ community who is thinking about adopting.

If hearing David & Michael’s story has inspired you to find out more about adoption, why not visit our website www.adoptionnow.org.uk . There you will be able to download our free information pack, browse our FAQ’s page and listen to the whole back catalogue of Adopter stories by adoption now podcasts! You will also be able to fill in our online enquiry form. Alternatively you can call our information line on 01204 336096, our information line is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday.

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 amazing, strong and loving family unit who are constantly learning from and inspiring each other.

If you’re thinking about adoption and would like to find out more, why not talk to us – we would love to hear from you! You can call our information line on 01204 336096 or you can also visit our website which is adoptionnow.org.uk

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 episode we are going to be hearing from not one, not two but 3 of our adopters! Sam, who adopted with his husband Tom, Heather & Emma and Lee. As we always say, no two adoption stories are the same and that is certainly the case with the adopters featured in this episode. But you will be hearing about their adoption journeys and some of the challenges they faced during the adoption process.

If listening to them has inspired you to think about starting your adoption journey, then simply give us a call and we’ll be happy to talk to you and answer any questions that you may have. You can call our information line, which is open 9am -5pm Monday to Friday on 01204 336096. Or you can also visit our website which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk. There you can download our free information pack, check out our FAQs page, read stories about the children who are currently waiting for their forever families, and you can of course stream all the other episodes of the Adopter Stories by Adoption Now podcast!

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 matched with a child or children. In this episode we are talking to Elaine and Laura, two of our social workers who are on our adoption support team. They are here to talk about what that support actually looks like and how they go about delivering that support.

Our Adoption Support Line is 01204 336097 and that’s open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday. 

If hearing about the support that you will receive from Adoption Now has you thinking about adoption we then would love to hear from you. You can call our information line on 01204 336096 or visit our website which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk. You can find us across the usual social media channels just search ‘Adoption Now’ and you will be sure to find us.

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 that the Family Finding team carry out, along with an insight into how they go about keeping siblings together as best as they can.

If you are thinking about adoption why not book onto one of our Virtual Information Events to find out more? These are free, online events in which you can find out about adoption, the adoption process as a whole and also have the chance to listen to our adopter guest speaker. Presented by either myself or my colleague along with one of our social workers and you will have the chance to ask any questions that you may have about adoption. To book your place visit www.adoptionnow.org.uk/events. Don’t forget you can also call our information line on 01204 336096, and it’s open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday.