Supporting people to adopt: one year on

Last year, we shared with you our work with Buckinghamshire County Council’s Adoption Service to help improve the experience of prospective adopters.

Our work together resulted in the service redesigning their information events and launching Adoption Ready, an online tool helping potential adopters to learn more and prepare to take their next steps.

One year on, we’re delighted to share that Buckinghamshire Council are on track to achieve a 200% increase in newly approved adopters over the previous year. This means that more than 30 additional families will be ready to begin their adoption journey by April 2021.

Defying expectations during the pandemic

The early success during the months following the launch in October 2019 looked set to be halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, interest in adoption increased nationwide. Our work together ensured Buckinghamshire was well placed to help prospective adopters take the next step.

Over 2000 people have now used Adoption Ready, which helps users create a personalised readiness plan with practical things they can do to prepare to adopt, including links to further resources they may find useful.