National Adoption Week 2026 takes place from 19 to 25 October, and the National Adoption Service for Wales is asking more Welsh people to consider adoption when planning their families.
The National Adoption Service is celebrating the second year of its Now is a Good Time campaign, inspired by stories of the lifechanging moment parents took the decision to begin the adoption process.
Across Wales, initial enquiries to adopt increased by 10% over the last year – a positive change following several years of decline. However, the need for adoptive families has also grown. The number of children waiting to be adopted increased by 11%, with 310 children currently waiting.
Who is North Wales Adoption Service?
North Wales Adoption Service is a partnership of all six local authorities covering North Wales from Wrexham, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Conwy, Anglesey (Ynys Mon) and Gwynedd to provide a joint service. If you wish to enquire about adoption, you can contact your local council, apply online on our website or ring us to get in touch.
Raising awareness of adoption across North Wales
During National Adoption Week, North Wales Adoption Service (NWAS)is aiming to raise awareness of adoption across North Wales. NWAS are one of sponsors of the women’s professional tennis tournament The Lexus Open and any visitors to the tournament will be able to learn more about adoption and what it means.
NWAS will be present at the Lexus Open ‘Family Fanzone Day’ at Total Fitness on Sunday, October 18 which starts at 10am. It’s a free event, so if you’re thinking about adoption come along and have a chat with the team.
On Monday, October 19, NWAS will be at Broughton Retail Park to offer advice on adoption, and then on Thursday, October 22 the team heads across to Llandudno’s Mostyn Champneys Retail Park.
If you can’t make any of those dates, there’s online Q&A sessions taking place on Wednesday, October 21 you can join. A Welsh speaking session starts at 5pm, followed by an English one starting at 6pm. You can email nwasmarketingrecruitment@wrexham.gov.uk to book a place.
NWAS has also worked with The One Show on a short film about the adoption process, which aims to be released during National Adoption Week, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
The NWAS team also took part in the Wrexham Ready podcast recently, which you can listen to here. It’s the second item on the podcast, starting around 15 minutes in.
NWAS will be posting regularly on their socials in the lead up, and during National Adoption Week. You can follow the NWAS Instagram and Facebook pages to get information and insights into what adoption looks like. On Tuesday, October 21 the NWAS socials will be showcasing its brilliant ‘word map’ which was launched last year, and you can find out why #YourWordMatters.
We’d love to hear from you
Applications are welcome from everyone, regardless of relationship status, sexuality, beliefs or ethnicity. If you have the flexibility and resilience to give a child – or children – a happy home, we’d love to hear from you.
Simply put, if you have room in your heart and home, then there’s every chance that you can adopt.
Cllr Rob Walsh, Wrexham Council’s Lead Member for Children’s Services, said: “If you’ve ever considered adopting, please get in touch to find out more. The Adoption Team and dedicated social workers are all very knowledgeable, and they work with families and schools to build brighter futures for local children. If you need any more information or have any questions about what it entails, they will be more than happy to help you.”
Get in touch
The North Wales Adoption Service promotes and supports best practice in adoption across Wales.
For more information about adoption and the processes involved, please complete the contact us form online or you can call 08000850774 / 01978295311.
