Launched in June 2019, Coram Ambitious for Adoption is a partnership between the UK’s oldest children’s charity Coram and several local authorities, bringing together expertise to match more children waiting to be adopted more quickly with their new adoptive families. Slough Borough Council becomes the ninth local authority to join the Regional Adoption Agency (RAA).*
Coram is a voluntary adoption agency judged Outstanding by Ofsted, with over 40 years’ experience in finding permanent loving families for vulnerable children and a decade of experience in delivering statutory services with local authorities. Based in central London, Coram welcomes adoption enquiries from across London and surrounding counties and this arrangement will now be extended to cover Slough Borough Council.
Today’s announcement comes as Coram reports that it has seen enquiries from prospective adopters increase since the start of the pandemic, with a 16% rise between March 2020 and February 2021, compared to the previous year, with the largest number of enquiries seen in May 2020 at the height of the first national lockdown.
With over 2,000 children currently awaiting adoption in England, with more than half waiting for 18 months or longer**, more adopters of all backgrounds are still needed.
Dr Carol Homden, CEO of Coram, said: “We urgently need more adoptive families to come forward to meet the diverse needs of children awaiting adoption. We need adopters from every type of background as this will enable us to ensure the many different children waiting are best able to find the loving home they need as quickly as possible.
“We look forward to working in partnership with colleagues at Slough to enable the timely matching of children and adopters and to then ensure that all families have access to high quality adoption support. If you are in Slough and feel you can offer a safe, secure and loving family for a vulnerable child, please don’t wait – get in touch with us to find out more at coramadoption.org.uk.”
Eleni Ioannides, Director of Children’s Services at Slough Borough Council, said: “We all want the best for the children in our care and by joining this partnership with Coram Ambitious for Adoption, we will be able to find more loving, nurturing homes for those children, providing them with the stability they need in order to thrive.”
Coram Ambitious for Adoption aprovides adoption services for the following local authorities: Harrow, Hillingdon, Bromley, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, The City of London and the bi-borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster.
Coram Ambitious for Adoption welcomes enquiries from prospective adopters across London and surrounding counties, and hosts free monthly online information events for those interested to find out more about the process. Upcoming events take place on 28 April, 11 May and 8 June, and places can be booked at coramadoption.org.uk/adoption-events.