WIRRAL Council is joining adoption agencies across the North West region to find families for the children who usually wait the longest to be adopted. 

The ‘Growing Families Together’ campaign, launched by Adoption North West, will encourage potential adopters to open their homes and end the wait for many youngsters.  

Children aged three and over are often classed as “older children” in the world of adoption.

This means they tend to wait some of the longest times to be placed with their adoptive families, along with children with additional needs, those in sibling groups, or children from global majority backgrounds. 

The latest data shows that at the end of last year, across the North West 318 children were waiting for an adoptive family and 134 of these children were aged three years and above.

Elizabeth Hartley, Director for Children, Families and Education at Wirral Council said: “People may think they might struggle to build a family bond by adopting a child over age three but, on the contrary, there are so many ‘firsts’ to be discovered with slightly older kids 

“Adoptive parents may get to experience the joy of huge milestones in a young person’s life such as their first days at school, teaching them to ride a bike or cheering them on as they score their first goal.

“The strength of a parent-child bond is not determined by the starting age but by the depth of care and support provided – and with dedication and patience, families can create strong, lifelong bonds. 

“If you or anyone you know is thinking of adopting, it would be fantastic to see more people opening their hearts and homes to these young people.” 

To find out more information including video interviews with real-life adopters visit: www.adoptionnorthwest.co.uk