Fun day finds families for children across the region

The fun day, a Disney-themed event, saw 35 children and 46 sets of adopters dress up and enjoy activities such as crafts, soft play, racing cars, and even alpaca walking.

Everyone enjoyed the day, especially the live magic show from local entertainer Tricky Micky, the highlight of the event.

The children who took part in the fun day, some of which have additional needs, are slightly older or are part of sibling groups. They are amongst 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.

Vicky Gent, chair of adoption Lancashire and Blackpool, said: “This fun day has been really special and it’s been great to work with our partner agencies to help achieve the very best outcomes for our children and adopters.

"We know that these events are really successful in giving families the opportunity to spend real, quality-time with children, even sometimes with children who they may not have considered previously with more traditional family finding methods; but by giving them the chance to get to know them and play with them, a magical connection can be formed.

"We really hope that we’ve made some forever families here that will give our children the love, security they need and nurture them to grow and develop into the best little people they can be.”

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 across 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.

"I’m pleased to see children in the North-West benefitting from these fun and creative tactics, and I encourage RAAs across the country to consider similar events.”

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 Lancashire and Blackpool and would like to find out more, visit www.adoptionlancashireblackpool.org.uk