Why adopt with Barnardo’s?

Why choose us 

At Barnardo’s we are passionate about making a positive difference to the lives of the children and young people we support, as well as our adopters.  

We listen and respond to the needs of our adopters, which is why we offer a comprehensive preparation, training and support adoption programme, including access to support groups, adopter forums and adoptive family social events.   

Here are just a few reasons why you should choose Barnardo’s adoption:  

We have the experience and expertise 

We have over 100 years’ experience expertise of successfully matching and providing homes for children with the right families, in particular identifying adoptive families for the children who wait the longest:  

• brothers and sisters 

• older children 

• Black and minority ethnic children  

• children with additional or complex needs  

We are on hand to deliver the support you need: our 24/7 support helpline support is staffed by qualified and experienced Barnardo’s family placement social workers.  

What’s more, our families are supported by Barnardo’s workers trained in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP). DDP is a therapy, parenting approach and model for practice that uses what we know about attachment and developmental trauma to help children and families with their relationships. 

We are innovators 

Prospective adopters assessed and approved are using the Barnardo’s Adoption Assessment Report (AAR), a new method of assessment which puts the adopted child at the heart of the assessment.  

The AAR has been designed to strengthen adoption assessment and matching, leading to better outcomes for children with complex needs and those children waiting the longest.  

Read more about our innovative Adoption Assessment Report  

We offer a smooth transition from fostering to adoption 

We follow the University of East Anglia’s Moving to Adoption Process when transitioning children and young people from fostering to adoption.  

The UEA model aims to address concerns that when children move to an adoptive family, their feelings of loss and separation can be overlooked. This is especially so when moves happen over a short time period and when contact with foster carers is abruptly cut off.  The model is underpinned by a framework for providing therapeutic caregiving in foster care and adoption, the Secure Base model. 

We are local 

Although we’re a national agency, we have a local focus. We have over 20 fostering, adoption and short break services across the UK.  

Find your local adoption service. Our friendly team will be on hand to answer any questions you might have.