CHILDREN and families minister Edward Timpson was in Worcestershire to visit staff at a voluntary adoption agency.

He called in at Adopters for Adoption in Bromsgrove, which is celebrating a successful first year after receiving funding from the Government to help support its adoption reform agenda. The voluntary adoption agency is led by people who have first-hand experience of adoption and aims to improve the way adopters are recruited, prepared, assessed and supported.

Mr Timpson, who grew up with two adopted brothers, said: “It’s great to see that the number of children being adopted is increasing, but there are many children still waiting for a stable loving home. However we refused to be complacent and we know there is more to be done. It’s great to see Adopters for Adoption using people with experience of adoption to encourage more people to provide much-needed homes for children and I’m excited to see how the scheme develops.”

Sally Melbourne, chief executive of Core Assets Children’s Services, which set up the new adoption agency, explained: “As the name suggests, our values and services are driven by people who have experience of the process and who are successful adopters. We are committed to making the experience positive and timely for prospective adopters and are committed to delivering the best possible outcomes for children placed. We are equally committed to providing effective adoption support to both the adoptive parents and their adopted children.

“In our first year, we have already achieved a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted, successfully approved a diverse range of adopters and placed a number of children with new families. Not only are we committed to increasing the numbers of adopters for children who are waiting and particularly those children with a disability, we will also be sharing our learnings across the sector to help increase adoption rates and achieve successful outcomes for both children and those looking to adopt.”