Voluntary adoption agencies across the UK to open their doors for Big Adoption Day 2026

Big Adoption Day, led by the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies (CVAA) and the UK’s first children’s charity Coram, will see participating agencies hosting in-person and online events in their local areas, and celebrating the real-life stories of families who have adopted, to encourage anyone interested in exploring adoption to find out more.

A full list of VAA events being held across the country is available HERE.

Satwinder Sandhu, CEO of CVAA, said:

“Across 2025 we have seen a lot of media attention on the availability of support for adopted children and families. This won’t have escaped the awareness of anyone thinking about adoption – many will have questions and concerns, and it is the job of adoption agencies to help inform people, honestly and transparently. Big Adoption Day 2026 is therefore all about inviting dialogue with voluntary agencies, through a range of events and drop-ins. Every person who may be interested in adopting a child is owed clear and accurate information about what they can expect from their agency, over a timespan of years and even decades.  All voluntary agencies see this as a core responsibility, as well as providing high quality lifelong support to families as they have historically always done, in a flexible and responsive way.”

3,000 children are currently waiting to be adopted across England, of which half have been waiting more than 18 months since entering care (1,500). There is an urgent need for more prospective adoptive parents to come forward to provide permanent, loving homes for these children.

VAAs are independent, not-for-profit organisations, offering a personalised service to adopters from all backgrounds. They have a wealth of experience having found homes for thousands of children with adoptive families, particularly those who often wait the longest in care, including older children, those in sibling groups, and children from the global majority or with disabilities. VAAs also provide all of their adoptive families with lifelong support, which is flexible and responsive to what families need, whenever they need it.

Across the UK VAAs spend roughly £7 million on delivering adoption support, not including the government-funded therapeutic support they deliver (e.g. via the Adoption and Special Guardianship Fund in England). In 2024-25 VAAs spent over 15,000 hours providing therapeutic support to adopted children, and provided support to almost 9,500 recipients overall.

For more information about your local VAA, visit the CVAA agency finder here.

Learn more understand more about adopting with a VAA here.