Adoption West are proud to support this year’s National Adoption Week (NAW) – Telling the stories of adoption
- National Adoption Week kicks off on Monday 18th, through to Sunday 24th October
- 40,920 adoptions have taken place in England in the past 10 years
- The week will be 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 has been released featuring 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
- Adoption West will re-release their animation which tells the real-life story of one young person’s journey through care to adoption
Monday 18th October 2021 marks the launch of National Adoption Week 2021, which aims to educate and inform people on the process of modern adoption today, with a rounded, honest, and inclusive portrayal of the journey – showcasing the highs and lows and champion all the voices involved in the process that are often less heard. These include adopted children, adopted adults, adoptive parents, birth parents, and the adoption and social care workforce that work tirelessly to get children into loving permanent homes.
To mark the week, the National Adoption Recruitment Steering Group (NARSG) has released two new surveys looking at the nation’s understanding of modern adoption and exploring experiences of those personally or professionally involved. The research shows the reality of adoption in 2021 – the many benefits, the challenges, and the perception gaps still to be addressed.
Despite the need for more to be done for the public to have a better understanding of adoption, one in five adults say they would consider adopting in the future and nearly nine in 10 believe that adopting a child would be rewarding.1 In the past 10 years, 40,920 adoptions have taken place in England, the vast majority of which have been incredibly beneficial and positive to the children and families involved.2
National Adoption Week this year aims to shine a light on the real-life stories of those affected by adoption, something Adoption West is always keen to do (please visit our social platforms to find out more).
National Adoption Week brings some of these issues and voices to the forefront in an emotive short film by illustrator and adoptive parent, Garry Parsons. The four-minute animated film features the life stories and real voices of six people that have had their lives changed by adoption – birth mother Anna*, single mum and adopter Sarah*, social worker Paula, 11-year-old Roman who was adopted age five, 19-year-old Tiegan who was adopted age four, and Sue who supported her daughter through the adoption process.
Tiegan, age 19, who features in the short film said: “Being adopted has been an incredibly positive experience for me. I love my adoptive mums and I have good relationships with many birth relatives, but it is important people don’t look at adoption with rose tinted glasses. Growing up would have been much easier for me if people had a better understanding of adoption and how this shaped me as a person.”
Adoption West produced their own short animation last year, which will be shared again to mark this year’s NAW; Tia’s Story aims to to show what a difference adoption can make to a child’s life. “There has been plenty of press that covers who can adopt, but more than that we want people to consider why they should adopt and Tia’s Story highlights this perfectly; she is succeeding and thriving because of the love, stability and commitment her parents have given her, and because of her incredible spirit.” spokesperson for Adoption West.
“There are currently 22 children awaiting adoption in the region covered by Adoption West. Children who through no fault of their own are currently waiting for a permanent family. These children often come from neglectful and harmful homes, as an agency we want these children to live settled, fulfilled lives in a stable loving home. Therefore, it is one of our primary focuses to recruit families to adopt; we are constantly looking at how we can encourage people to consider adoption and all that it entails. We hope that this year’s campaign will help educate people about the realities of adoption”.
Tia’s Story is a short animation, available to view at on our homepage.
Sarah Johal, member of the National Adoption Recruitment Steering Group and National Adoption Strategic lead, said: “Over the past 50 years, more than 400,000 children have been adopted, each with their own unique stories to tell. While adoption has been an incredibly rewarding experience for many of these children, we cannot underestimate the complexities of adoption and its historical difficulties. National Adoption Week is a chance for every single person touched by adoption to feel seen, heard, valued and understood.”
A series of events offering insight, advice, and support to adopted adults, adopters, birth families and adoption professionals will be taking place from 18th October. To find out more about National Adoption Week or to seek information or support, visit www.youcanadopt.co.uk/NAW
Adoption West are also running as series of virtual events where anyone (both prospective and approved adopters) can come along and ‘ask the adopter’ the realities of adopting siblings and what direct contact with birth families can look like, visit out events page to find out more.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
For more information, any interview requests, or questions, please contact the #YouCanAdopt press team on: adoption@freuds.com
Please note all campaign materials are embargoed until 00:01 Monday 18th October 2021.
Please use the following link to download additional assets and film content for the National Adoption Week campaign:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ms1zrfrk97xxyq0/AACD0KSt5uvmUG7TnkSzh6Yua?dl=0
Footnotes
* Name changed to protect identity
1 Censuswide surveyed 2,001 adults in the UK (24-28 September 2021)
2 Department for Education, 2021 https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children
3 Survey Monkey survey of 419 people from adoption community; 413 adopters and 71 adoption agency social workers or local authority child’s social workers (28 September – 4 October 2021)
4 ASGLB data (April 2020 – March 2021 https://coram-i.org.uk/asglb/data/
About National Adoption Week
To view the series of events taking place during National Adoption Week, visit: www.youcanadopt.co.uk/NAW
CAMPAIGN FILM/ ANIMATION
National Adoption Week brings some of these issues and voices to the forefront in an emotive short film by illustrator and adoptive parent, Garry Parsons. The four-minute animated film features the life stories and real voices of six people that have had their lives changed by adoption – birth mother Anna*, single mum and adopter Sarah*, social worker Paula, 11-year-old Roman who was adopted age five, 19-year-old Tiegan who was adopted age four, and Sue who supported her daughter through the adoption process.
