Fun day finds families for children waiting for adoption

Children walking the alpaca on the fun day

Children from across Oldham and the north-west who are waiting to be adopted, have come together with prospective adopters for a day of fun and finding families.

35 children and 46 sets of adopters were invited to the Disney-themed fun day and given the chance to dress up and enjoy activities such as crafts, soft play, racing cars, and even alpaca walking.

The fun day was enjoyed by all with a highlight of the day being a live magic show from local entertainer Tricky Micky.

The 35 children, some of which have additional needs, are slightly older or are part of sibling groups, are amongst some of those who have waited the longest to be adopted.

The aim of the day was to give adopters the opportunity to make connections with the children in a real-life, face to face, fun and safe way so they can form bonds and memories with their potential future families.

The ground-breaking, collaborative event was the first of its kind with agencies from the ‘North-West Adoption Agencies Together’ consortium joining forces to host a fantastic day and most importantly find strong and lasting matches for children and adopters from Oldham and throughout the region.

The event was funded by the Department for Education.

Children and Families Minister, Will Quince, said: “Seeing Regional Adoption Agencies and their partners come together to energise the adoption system and seek opportunities to match children and their prospective families is exactly what our National Adoption Strategy is all about”

Oldham Council Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Councillor Eddie Moores, said “I’m pleased to see children in Oldham benefitting from these fun and creative tactics, by working in partnership with other areas

“This means it not only raises the possibility for children waiting to be adopted in Oldham but children throughout the North West.

“We hope by allowing children to play in a safe fun setting with potential adopters it means real connections can be formed and trust can be created

“I hope this is the start of many collaborations of this kind.”

The success of the event will be determined in the coming months when links are officially approved but it is hoped many of the connections made on the day will become happy and safe forever families.

Adoption agencies in the region are still looking for more families to come forward and consider adoption so if you live in Oldham and would like to find out more please contact Oldham Adoption Now on 01204 336096 or visit www.adoptionnow.org.uk

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