Adoption Matters supports National Adoption Week 2024

There’s no such thing as a ‘normal’ family, say 65 per cent of Brits – as National Adoption Week highlights adoption journeys of all kinds

• A new survey by You Can Adopt reveals that nearly half of Brits (48 per cent) have a ‘chosen family’ and 42 per cent come from a ‘non-traditional’ family structure
• The survey explored attitudes to family diversity, as National Adoption Week aims to highlight that ‘the journey to a family is not always a traditional one’
• This comes as new adoption data 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, alongside a fall in the number of adopters coming forward
• To mark National Adoption Week, a new film features adoptive families onboard a train, reflecting on their journeys and the people who’ve been there along the way

Adoption Matters is proud to support this year’s National Adoption Week. The campaign aims to show adopters that they are not alone by highlighting the ‘village’ that makes every journey unique – from social workers and foster carers to birth families and grandparents.

Rachel, who features in the film alongside her two-year-old adopted daughter Winnie, father Daniel and social worker Becky, said: “You have an idea in your head of what family looks like, and for us it’s been different, but even more wonderful in different ways. For me, it’s really important that Winnie has a sense of herself and her identity – that she understands that not only do all families look different, but she has more than one family, and that’s OK.”

This comes as latest data 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, meaning there are 780 more children not yet placed with a family, than there are approved adopters waiting to be matched with a child. With fewer potential adopters coming forward – believed to largely be a result of the cost-of-living crisis – this means that nearly half (47 per cent) of all children face delays of over 18 months to be placed with an adoptive family.

Adoption Matters adopters Rachael and Paul adopted their three children, in their video to support the campaign and Rachael comments:

“The most surprising thing for me on our adoption journey has been how little I’ve cared about a DNA connection. It was something that worried me so much, but within seconds of meeting our children, that all just melted away”.

We host regular online information sessions for people who want to find out more about adoption, view our events page here for more details and download our adoption guide here.

National attitudinal research:

The attitudinal research was conducted by Censuswide, between 09.09.24 and 12.09.24 with a sample size of 2,000 UK adults (including a min of 1,000 parents).

Stats include:

• There’s no such thing as a ‘normal’ family, according to 65 per cent of Brits
• Nearly half of Brits (48 per cent) have a ‘chosen family’ and 42 per cent come from a ‘non-traditional’ family structure
• Nine out of 10 (87 per cent) think it’s important to teach children that families come in all shapes and sizes – but half of the public (50 per cent) were not taught this when they were growing up
• Only a third (37 per cent) feel that ‘blood’ is an important factor in defining a family
• 42 per cent of the public consider themselves to belong to a non-traditional family – such as blended, extended, adoptive, or single parent