We are in the midst of National Adoption Week and so far we have already seen some firsts for adoption in Wales. There’s been the launch of  Wales’ first adoption podcast from the National Adoption Service plus Western Bay’s first virtual child profiling event – things are being done differently and some great conversations are being held.

National activity and adoption firsts

‘Truth Be Told’ the National Adoption Service podcast features a range of adopters from every region in Wales taking candidly about their adoption experience. There is a real cross section of the different types of people adopting in Wales from older adopters, single people and LGBTQ+.  There are six episodes in total with the next being released Sunday 18 October.

Alongside the podcast the national service has also created a series of webinars and online discussions. The webinars focus on subjects such as the LGBTQ+ adoption experience and the role of welsh language to the adoption process in Wales.

ITV Wales, S4C’s Heno and BBC Radio Wales are also putting out interviews and features with regional adopters from the podcast.

Regional Activity

Alongside the national activity Western Bay have received some great initial feedback from their first virtual profiling event held on Wednesday 14 October. The aim of the event is to potentially match more children with adopters. Utilising video and graphic design allowed Western Bay to really express the colourful personalities of these wonderful children.

An approved adopter couple from Western Bay have written honestly about their experiences of the profiling event and of their overall adoption journey during lockdown – this is being published as a blog in the later part of the week.

Other regional developments for Western Bay include the Life Journey Framework Awards and a new adopter video campaign which are coming later in the month.

Nicola Rogers Regional Manager for Western Bay said “We are confident that the result of all these conversations and activity is potential adopters being better informed, current adopters feeling more supported and most importantly, more children being matched and placed in their forever home.”

For more information on or to watch the webinars click here

To listen to the podcast please click here 

Click here to find out more about adoption and the difference you could make here