There are 1,980 children waiting for adoption in England
- One in five (20%) are aged 5 years or over
- 41% are in a brother and sister group needing to stay together
– 1,170 / 59% of these children wait longer if they:
- Are aged over the age of 5 years
- Are part of a brother and sister group
- Have additional needs
- Are from a diverse ethnic background
- The average time from entry into care to adoption for all children is 28 months
- Children aged 5 years and over have the longest average journey from entry into care to adoption, an average of 41 months, 13 months longer than the average for all children
- Children with a disability wait 37 months – 9 months longer than the average
Source statistics from June 2023 – Average times from entry into care to adoption for children who had been adopted in the first three quarters in 2022/23. Produced by the Children’s and Social Care Secretariat, delivered by Coram-I.
