England

Adopters and prospective adopters living in England can access a wide range of support services, run both from our head office in Banbury and in your local area. To find out more about any of the services on this page, call us on 01295 752240.

As well as receiving copies of our magazines, Adoption Today and Children Who Wait, access to the Members’ Area of the website, Lending Library, and support through the Family Support Service, Adoption UK members in England can access the following dedicated services:

Helpline

Staffed by a team of dedicated Helpline Advisers, our helpline offers up to date information and support.

The helpline is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm. Calls cost 5p per minute at all times. To speak to an Adoption UK Helpline Adviser dial 0844 848 7900* alternatively:

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Local Support Groups

Adoption UK's support groups are run by our Group Coordinators, all of whom are adoptive parents. Every group is unique and will operate differently. As well as evening meetings, many hold coffee mornings and family events, while others arrange dads’ or mums’ nights out.

Meetings are open to all Adoption UK members – to attend, or just find out what is going on, get in touch with your local Volunteer Coordinator.

From Cornwall to Cambridge and Walsall to West Yorkshire, groups are running across England. To find your nearest support group contact Adoption UK on 01295 752240, or log into the Members’ Area of the website to check out the list of contacts.

Family Days

An unrivalled opportunity to meet other adoptive families for a relaxed and fun day out, Adoption UK’s family days take place at different locations across the country throughout the year.

The events are usually a mixture of organised activities and informal fun, taking place at carefully chosen locations which allow children plenty of chances to let off steam! Family Days are advertised in Adoption Today magazine as well as through local support groups.

An Annual Conference

Held in the Autumn each year, the Adoption UK is a fantastic opportunity to find out more about the work of Adoption UK, learn about adoption issues from leaders in the field, and meet other adopters and prospective adopters.

Adoption UK’s Annual Conference 2009 took place at the Think Tank in Birmingham. Four expert speakers took adopters and prospective adopters through the adoption journey, from birth to the teenage years.

Author and clinical psychologist Kim Golding talked about the preschool years, therapist and author Louise Bomber discussing the primary school years, and teacher and adoptive parent Marion Allen, will is the Education Consultant at Family Futures. They were joined by adoptee Zara Phillips, who shared her own emotional story of a troubled adolescence and the search for her birth family.

Training

From short courses on parenting adopted teenagers, school and educational issues and contact, to a six-module parent support programme, Adoption UK has a wide range of training opportunities to offer adopters and prospective adopters.

Our acclaimed 'It’s A Piece of Cake?' parent support programme provides adoptive parents with a fresh approach to parenting hurt children, allowing them to explore their own expectations and share new and creative parenting strategies.

Get training and workshop information...