News
Volunteering: A step towards becoming an adoptive parent
Adoption is filled with anticipation, learning, and emotional preparation. While reading books and attending training sessions are essential parts of the process, an incredibly valuable way to prepare for being an adoptive parent is through volunteering. Volunteering in child and family-focused settings offers a unique, hands-on opportunity to build your confidence, skills, and understanding of what it means to nurture…
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Transition to Adulthood for adopted young adults
Transition to Adulthood is a new group for adopted adults set up by Adopt London. Adulthood isn’t just about age—it’s about confidence, planning, and knowing where to find help when you need it. The Transition to Adulthood sessions are designed to give you an opportunity to meet other young adopted adults so you can make new connections, access support, information and…
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Black History Month 2025
Belonging and identity: Black Adoption in London Adoption has always been more than finding a home for children – it’s about giving children a sense of love, belonging, and identity. For Black children in London, that journey has sometimes been complicated by history. In the past, many children were placed with families who didn’t always understand their culture or heritage…
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You Don’t Need a Perfect Home – Just a Welcome One
As National Adoption Week (20–26th October 2025) begins, Adopt London is supporting a new campaign that gently challenges the idea that prospective adopters need to have the ‘perfect’ home or circumstances to adopt. New research from You Can Adopt reveals that nearly nine in ten adoptive parents (86%) were worried they wouldn’t meet the criteria because their home wasn’t ideal.
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NEW Adopt London South Complaints Procedure
Adopt London South has recently updated its Complaints Policy to improve clarity, accessibility, and responsiveness for all our service users. The administration of complaints will move to Southwark’s Social Care Complaints Team. We remain committed to resolving concerns quickly and informally wherever possible. Whilst affected parties are entitled to raise complaints, the new policy should not dissuade those involved from seeking resolve the…
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Supporting Proud 2b Parents’ LGBT+ Parents & Carers Day
Adopt London is proud of the many LGBTQIA adoptive parents and people who come forward to adopt and we’re happy to support the work of the inclusive charity organisation Proud 2b Parents as they celebrate and mark this important day – Friday 19 September. LGBT+ Parents & Carers Day aims to bridge the gap by shedding light on the narratives,…
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The Other Side of Adoption: Birth parents experience of care proceedings and contact
If you’re exploring adoption in the UK — whether you’re considering domestic adoption, early permanence, or simply learning about the assessment and approval process — you’ve likely come across the term ‘contact’. And you might be wondering: What does contact mean in adoption? Is open adoption better than closed adoption? What is letterbox contact, and how does it work? …
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Grants available to small organisations and groups
Adoption England Community Development Fund – applications open until 8th August 2025 The Adoption England Community Development Fund aims to help small organisations or groups with lived experience in adoption, to grow community groups and support adopters, adoptees, and birth families. These small grants are designed to provide financial assistance to initiatives that model good practice in adoption support, community…
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#UnfoldingJourneys: Celebrating the Creative Journeys of Adopted Adults Through Art
Adopt London South is proud to present #UnfoldingJourneys—an inspiring arts showcase celebrating identity, creativity, and resilience through the voices of adopted adults. The showcase will take place from 16–27 June 2025 in the Atrium at Southwark Council’s 160 Tooley Street offices, SE1 2QH and is free of charge, fully accessible to all visitors and open to public during office hours…
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Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund Newsflash
The Government have announced that the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF). will continue in 2025-26 with 31/03/2026 being the latest date therapy can be commissioned up to. A budget of £50m has been agreed. However, in order to support as many families as possible there will be changes to the ‘Fair Access Limit.’ This will now reduce from…
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Confirmation received that the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund will be continuing for the financial year April 2025 – March 2026.
The Children’s Minister made a statement in the Commons this afternoon (01/04/25) and we are now able to confirm that the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund will be continuing for the financial year April 2025 – March 2026. We are pleased that this has been announced however exact details are yet to be shared to ensure that it reaches…
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Celebrating two decades of LGBTQ+ adoption progress
Adopt London we have been reflecting on the strides made towards equality and inclusion. In adoption, the past two decades have brought monumental change transforming the landscape for LGBTQ+ adopters, breaking down barriers, and ensuring that children find the loving families they deserve. This week we look back at the successes of the last two decades, acknowledge some of the…
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The Notional SEN budget for mainstream schools
Understanding how schools allocate resources can be crucial for adoptive parents aiming to support their child’s education, especially for those who may need extra help. One significant resource available is notional funding — an annual allocation of up to £6,000 to support additional needs, sometimes on top of the Pupil Premium. Here, we’ll explain what notional funding is, how to…
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Janet Daby, Minister for Children and Families
Adopt London hosted an unforgettable staff conference, where we had the privilege of welcoming Janet Daby, Minister for Children and Families. The event focused on the powerful and uplifting work of the Black Adoption Project — a London based project committed to creating better futures for Black children in need of loving, supportive homes. Photo by jamiesmith.photo Minister for…
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The Adoption Barometer survey 2025 is now open!
Each year, Adoption UK – the leading charity for all those whose lives involve adoption, survey adopters and adopted people to help them build the case for more support. Adoption UK, which supports adopters, adoptees and the professionals that support them, has launched its annual ‘Barometer Survey’ to find out what life is really like for those involved with adoption.
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Early Permanence carers needed across London
We need adoptive parents who can take on the responsibility of becoming foster carers to a child, with the chance of going on to adopt them later, if the court decides that child should be adopted. Early Permanence (EP) is an umbrella term for a type of care planning which helps a child who needs be removed from their family…
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School Resources: Bridging The Gap
A project to support adopted children in schools. For many adopted children, school can feel challenging. The regional adoption agency Adopt London South is working with SEND practitioners, teachers, and school staff across ten South London Local Authorities and have launched a new resource to help them to understand what adopted students of all ages experience every day. This initiative…
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There’s no such thing as a ‘normal’ family.
New data released this National Adoption Week shows there has been a 22 per cent increase in the number of children with a plan for adoption not yet matched with an adoptive family in England in 2023-4, compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the numbers of prospective adopters coming forward remains lower than previous years, believed to be largely due…
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LGBTQ+ Adoption and Fostering Week 2024
LGBTQ+ Adoption and Fostering Week is taking place 4-10 March 2024. Organised by New Family Social, the theme this year is ‘Different Together’ and encourages more people from the LGBTQ+ community to consider adopting or fostering. The campaign is a time to recognise and celebrate the many LGBTQ+ people who have already adopted or fostered, but it is also about…
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Black Adoption Project Launch
At the end of last year over 200 people attended online as Adopt London hosted the launch of the Black Adoption Project Report – the first of many webinars to share information on the findings of the Report and the progress of key initiative as we develop and grow. Thank you to everyone who attended and for sharing professional and…
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