Adoption Stories
The best examples of the families and children we’ve matched are when they share their personal journeys in their own words, so here we tell some of the stories of real-life adoptive families. They share from the very start of their journeys through to the experience of assessments, matching, and parenting.

Adoption Stories

Orla’s story
Orla was adopted by a white couple in the 19070s, who then moved to London to live in a more diversely rich area. Read Orla’s adoption story from the perspective of the adopted adult.
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Toni’s story
‘I was taken from school to my last foster home. I didn’t get to say goodbye to anyone. I didn’t know I would NEVER go home again. My birth parents had run out of chances.’
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Ikemba and Funmi’s story
Funmi and Ikemba went into the adoption process wanting to adopt a black African child and yet their adopted son is Caribbean. The reality is for them the bond was immediate.
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An early permanence story
We thought that as we had two of our own birth children, that Early Permanence was not be something that we would be able to manage. It was our social worker who asked us to consider it and explained the challenges.
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Rosaline and Robert’s story
Rosaline had a child from a previous relationship, but after getting married to Robert they decided they wanted a child of their own. They became aware of the number of mixed-race children who needed adopting and found that they were in a unique situation as a bi-racial couple, to help make a difference to a child's life.
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Henrietta’s story
One piece of advice Henrietta would give to other people in the community considering adoption is: “Go for it, don’t let anything hold you back.”
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Evan’s story 2
As a gay dad, as an adoptive dad, I spend a lot of my day over-analysing how I’m dadding – what I should be doing to parent my son and how to make sure he turns into a fine young man.
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Evan’s story
As my son gets older – I realise how much my anxieties about him feeling ‘different’ having two dads were unwarranted. Like any kid, his primary concerns are when can he go outside and play football and what’s for pudding.
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Margaret’s 1971 adoption story
Adoption is a lifelong experience. Read Margaret's 1971 adoption story, a birth mother’s perspective.
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Asye and Hakim’s story
Our son has a medical diagnosis called Spina Bifida, with a high chance he will need a wheelchair. When we saw his photo, we wanted to know more.
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