UK's most established adoption agency
Barnardo's is an independent, voluntary adoption agency with over 100 years' experience of finding families for children. We have been an approved adoption agency since 1947.
Adopt with Barnardo's
Barnardo’s recognises that your decision to adopt will be one of the most important in your life.
Alternatively, download our brochure: Information about adopting with Barnardo's (PDF).
Adoption is a way of giving a child a loving, stable, caring family throughout childhood and beyond. Adoptive parents make a lifelong commitment to a child and take on full parental responsibilities.
Find out more about:
Visit our frequently asked questions for information on adoption allowances and pay.
What is adoption?
Adoption is a way of providing a new family for a child when living with their own family is not possible. It is the assumption of full legal and parental responsibility for a child.
Read a definition of an 'adoptive carer' in our glossary.
Louisa and Ian adopted through Barnardo’s in 2010
Louisa and Ian adopted siblings through Barnardo’s in February 2010. Find out about their experiences by watching this film.
About Barnardo's adoption services
As an adoption agency we help local authorities place children who might otherwise not find permanent families. The children we place will come from local authority care and we place children across England and Wales.
We believe that every child has a right to family life and Barnardo’s has a successful history of placing children in new adoptive families. At Barnardo’s we:
- help keep brothers and sisters together
- place children with physical and/or learning disabilities
- find families for black and other ethnic minority children of all ages
- place older children
- help to increase choice and reduce delays for children who need families.
We also have many years' experience of providing other adoption services such as adoption support.
