Adoption UK - 50th Anniversary

Adoption UK is 50!

50 is a big milestone, and an opportunity to pause, reflect and plan for the future. For 50 years we have supported, advocated, championed and been there for adoptive families around the UK.

Today our cause is as clear and compelling as ever; to secure the right support at the right time for the children at the heart of every adoptive and kinship care family.

For Adoption UK, this all began in 1971, when Elvis Presley and The Jackson 5 were in the charts, a gallon of petrol was 33p and two adopters starting running a voluntary organisation from their homes, for adopted children with special needs. Adoption has changed a lot since then, and so have we.

Rob

Rob is Director of Membership for Adoption UK. He and his husband Sam adopted their two boys back in 2014 - the kids were 7 and 4 years old when they came home. Sam runs a children’s publishing company inspired by their boys’ journeys – one of his top selling books is Blanket Bears, which tells the story of two bears moving from birth parents, to foster care to forever family.

Adoption was always our first and only choice when thinking about creating a family. I had done some volunteering with a charity in Romania, in a children’s home... I was so touched by the children’s lives that I knew I wanted to become a parent through adoption.

We went through the process with our local authority and the assessment part went fairly smoothly. We had a fantastic social worker, who was so supportive and helpful throughout and when our approval panel day came we were beyond excited to be starting the next phase of the journey to find our children.

We were approved for two children. We had made the decision right from the start that we wanted to adopt siblings – it was important to us to be able to help keep siblings together and we didn’t see the point in going through the process again in the future.

However, matching was not plain sailing, with a number of bumps in the road. A match that fell through just before matching panel left us heartbroken and ready to throw in the towel. In a last attempt to find our children we went to an activity day on Sam’s 30^th Birthday. Fate was on our side and we met two gorgeous boys, dressed in Sheep onesies, and fell instantly in love!

From the activity day in March, through to matching panel and introductions, things really picked up pace. The boys moved home in early July and we’ve not looked back since.

Our love for the boys has never wavered, despite many ups and downs, hours on the therapist’s couch and fighting to get the right support in school.

Our kids are our heroes.

We’re now parenting through the early teenage years, which brings new challenges daily.

Ronan Keating wasn’t wrong… Life sure is a rollercoaster – you just gotta ride it.

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