TO mark the start of National Adoption Week, from November 5 -11, Redditch couple Lorna Owen and Jonathan Deakin, joined other adoptive families at an Action for Children day out to share their wishes for thousands of vulnerable children still in need of a loving home.

The couple adopted brothers Oscar, aged seven, Louis, aged six, and sister Scarlett, aged five, through Action for Children’s independent adoption agency.

Sibling groups are some of the hardest to place children in care.
Recent figures show the number of UK adoptions has risen in 2012, with Action for Children’s Midlands service making six per cent more matches in comparison to last year. 

Some 650 looked after children were adopted during the year ending March 31 2012 in the East and West Midlands.

But with more than 67,000 children currently in the English care system, there is still an urgent need for adoptive families to come forward.

On Monday, November 2, 20 families who made adoptive matches through Action for Children huddled under the Wish Tree at West Midlands Safari Park to share their experiences and hang their own wishes from the branches.

Some of the children wishes included: “I wish that every child had a permanent mum and dad, like my mum and dad.”

And: “If someone has a baby and then they have another one and another one, they can't look after them all. I wish that a mum and dad will come to get them and keep them all together.”

Lorna Owen said: “We wish that we had a bigger home and could adopt more beautiful families.

“We wish that we could keep more brothers and sisters together. We wish that everyone who is adopting could be as prepared as we were with Action for Children, that they find their children quickly and feel valued as Action for Children made us feel.”

For more information about Action for Children’s adoption services, e-mail adoption@actionforchildren.org.uk or call 0845 355 5533.