New figures published this week show that there were a record number of adoptions in Scotland to same-sex couples couples in 2021. In total there were 44 adoptions to same-sex couples, out of a total of 480.  The previous high was 41 adoptions in 2019. The new figures show that 9.2 per cent - or 1 in 11 - adoptions in Scotland in 2021 were to same-sex couples. 

Despite these record figures, Scotland remains behind England and Wales in the proportion of adoptions to LGBTQ+ people, with England recording 1 in 6 adoptions to same-sex couples in 2021 and Wales 1 in 8.

No UK country successfully records the full engagement of LGBTQ+ people in adoption. The data collected is on the composition of the adoptive family - one man and woman, two men, two women - rather than sexual orientation or gender identity data of the adoptive parents. This means all data above excludes single adoptive parents, bi people in an opposite gender relationship and trans people in an opposite-gender relationship.

Year	Male couples	Female couples	Total same-sex couples in Scotland
2010 (earliest year on record)	4	1	5
2011	0	1	1
2012	7	1	8
2013	11	3	14
2014	7	10	17
2015	11	11	22
2016	24	6	30
2017	23	7	30
2018	23	5	28
2019	27	14	41
2020	11	7	18
2021	32	12	44

Source of Data: National Records of Scotland

LGBTQ+ adoptive parents feature in the latest ep of the Blended podcast - which is a special focusing on Fathers' Day. They share their experiences of parenting and how they'll mark the event.

Listen now on Apple podcasts 

We're recruiting! Could you be our new Supporter Engagement Manager, helping LGBTQ+ adopters and foster carers?

Find out more about the role by heading over to the vacancy page.

Applications close on 28 June.

As we head into Pride month, New Family Social shared some of its thoughts on what Pride means with Fyne Times. We also covered some of the barriers that LGBTQ+ adopters and foster carers can face in participating in parades and cutting comments from within our community.

Read the piece online

Day tickets for New Family Social's summer camp 2022 are now on sale. Summer Camp - which brings together hundreds of LGBTQ+ adopters, foster carers and the children they care for, from across the UK - takes place 25-29 August. It's a great opportunity to share time with other LGBTQ+ parented families and to build new friendships.

LGBTQ+ adopters and foster carers who hold a Gold or Silver membership can log in now to find out more. 

Summer Camp 2022

New Family Social is thrilled to announce today – 11 March, the last day of LGBT+ Adoption & Fostering Week – a new partnership with Wales’ National Adoption Service. This strategic relationship will mean that LGBTQ+ applicants to a Welsh local authority adoption service can apply to access New Family Social’s Gold memberships free of charge. It applies to all LGBTQ+ adopters who adopted or are supported through a Welsh local authority and to all future LGBTQ+ applicants taking this route.

This is the first such country-wide partnership with New Family Social in any of the UK’s nations. It provides LGBTQ+ adopters and adoption applicants a consistent level of peer-support services, whichever local authority consortium they apply through. Adoption social workers for Welsh local authorities will also benefit from dedicated support and access to the latest good practice when working with LGBTQ+ people, developed by New Family Social.

Mae New Family Social yn falch iawn o gyhoeddi heddiw – 11 Mawrth, diwrnod olaf Wythnos Mabwysiadu a Maethu LHDT+ – bartneriaeth newydd gyda Gwasanaeth Mabwysiadu Cenedlaethol Cymru. Bydd y berthynas strategol hon yn golygu y gall ymgeiswyr LHDTQ+ i wasanaeth mabwysiadu awdurdod lleol yng Nghymru wneud cais i gael mynediad i aelodaeth Aur New Family Social yn rhad ac am ddim. Mae’n berthnasol i’r holl fabwysiadwyr LHDTQ+ sydd wedi mabwysiadu neu’n cael eu cefnogi gan awdurdod lleol o Gymru ac i bob ymgeisydd LHDTQ+ yn y dyfodol sy’n dilyn y llwybr hwn.

Dyma’r bartneriaeth genedlaethol gyntaf o’i bath gyda New Family Social yn unrhyw un o wledydd y DU. Mae’n darparu lefel gyson o wasanaethau cymorth cymheiriaid i fabwysiadwyr LHDTQ+ ac ymgeiswyr mabwysiadu, pa bynnag gonsortiwm awdurdod lleol y maent yn gwneud cais drwyddo. Bydd gweithwyr cymdeithasol mabwysiadu ar gyfer awdurdodau lleol Cymru hefyd yn elwa ar gymorth penodedig a mynediad at yr arferion da diweddaraf wrth weithio gyda phobl LHDTQ+, a ddatblygwyd gan New Family Social.

LGBT+ Adoption & Fostering Week returns today – 7 March – for its tenth year. The campaign – which encourages more LGBT+ people to consider both routes to parenting and caring – started in 2012. LGBT+ adopters and foster carers created the campaign to raise awareness and drive change, following statistics showing that 1 in 31 adoptions in England were to same-sex couples. In 2021 the figure stood at 1 in 6.

The campaign brings together some 70 adoption and fostering agencies from across the UK and LGBT+ potential applicants.

#BeTheChange – the theme for 2022 – asks LGBT+ people to think about the range of vulnerable children they could parent or care for. Each day will focus on sharing stories from LGBT+ adopters and foster carers already being the change for some of the country’s most vulnerable children.

On Monday the campaign will share stories from LGBT+ people who parent and foster siblings. New research for the campaign showing that same-sex couples are more open to considering adopting siblings than opposite-sex couples will be released.

Tuesday will share the stories of LGBT+ people who’ve adopted or care for children aged 5 or older. In England 6 in 10 children who started to be looked-after in 2021 were aged 5 or older.

There’s inspiring stories on Wednesday from LGBT+ people who’ve adopted children with life-limiting or life-changing conditions. On Thursday LGBT+ people who’ve adopted or foster children who have a mental health issue, are neurodivergent or have experienced trauma share their stories. LGBT+ autistic people who’ve adopted will share their stories too.

The campaign week closes on Friday with stories from LGBT+ people who don’t share the same heritage as the children they’ve adopted or foster. An LGBT+ adoptee will also share their story of this situation.

Tor Docherty, New Family Social Chief Executive said: ‘The need for more LGBT+ people to consider adoption or fostering is as great as ever, despite ten years of our successful campaign. When it started few agencies could answer the question ‘How many LGBT+ applicants do you have?’ Now it’s the bare minimum of information agencies should have when speaking to potential applicants. If you’re LGBT+ you can find agencies that want to hear from you and will offer you dedicated support.’

Visit the campaign page

Volunteer for Adoption, Fostering & Tea -  The New Family Social podcast

We’re keen to speak with volunteers with a story they’d like to share. We’ve showcased stories from adopting a child with a serious medical condition to fostering if you’re an LGBT+ Muslim. We hear challenging moments, wise words and tales of inspiration.

So – whatever you’ve got to share – we’d love to hear it.

New Family Social’s podcast plays a key role in our support for LGBT+ potential applicants, adoptive parents and foster carers. Hearing about other people’s experiences prepares and motivates them in their adoption and fostering journeys. We’re dedicated to helping as many LGBT+ people who can adopt and foster do so, no matter what their situation is. Hearing a range of voices and experiences help us better affect the lives of our community members.

Over the last 10 years, there’s been a dramatic increase in LGBT+ adopters and foster carers. In 2020, one in six adoptions in England were to same-sex couples. We’re here to help them and so many more.

Who’s eligible for the podcast?

If you identify as lesbian, gay, bi, trans or part of the wider LGBT+ community, have adopted/fostered in the UK or plan to, we’d like to hear from you. Whether it’s about adopting sibling groups, learning how to parent for the first time or meeting your child’s needs. Our team’ll guide you through the whole process.

We have the tools to virtually record a podcast. You can even stay on the sofa if that’s best for you. All you need is a computer and a quiet environment.

Recording the podcast with our Chief Executive Director – Tor Docherty – feels just like meeting an old friend for coffee.

How do I apply?

To find out more about becoming a speaker on our podcast, contact us on through our website.

How do I listen to the podcast?

Bronze, Silver and Gold members can log in and listen to our podcast on our website

Or find it on

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Podbean

Or search for  ‘New Family Social podcast’ on your podcast provider of choice

Some tips and tricks for getting childcare experience that’ll benefit your application and family finding

Childcare experience demonstrates your ability to meet a child’s needs. Experience with children is essential to your application for adoption or fostering.

Tips for gaining childcare experience:

• Ask friends and family
  Probably the simplest solution, look after children of your friends and family. They get a free babysitter. You get the experience you need. Social workers are keen to see routine or overnight care for children. This could be a weekly pick-up from school or babysitting while the parents are out of town for the weekend.
  
  
• Volunteer for community groups
  Volunteer for local community groups such as pre-schools, churches and parent-toddler groups. Try after-school clubs, reading schemes or even become a mentor (although this tends to be for older children). Volunteer centres can help you find suitable volunteering experience. Find your local centre by searching ‘Volunteer Centre’ and the name of your area, e.g. ‘Volunteer Centre Leicester’.
  
  Due to the COVID pandemic, a lot of schools reduced the amount of visitors allowed indoors. Consider volunteering for sports and activity clubs held outdoors. These could be forest schools, scouts, gardening, etc.
  
  
• Similar age-range
  Aim to look after children in the age bracket you hope to adopt. This demonstrates an understanding of the mental and physical development a child of this age might have.
  
  
• Similar family structure
  Find families with a similar LGBT+ structure to yours. Spend time with these families and children to gain an understanding of the dynamic and children’s knowledge of family. This also helps you build a support network of familiar families for when you grow your family.
  
  
• Spend time with other looked-after children
  Spending time with other adoptive families or groups for looked-after children helps you gain an integral understanding of looked-after children. This gives you can idea of the types of needs and difficulties your own child could have. However, if a child is still in care, you can’t look after them without their foster carer remaining present.
  
  
• Children with additional needs
  Caring for children with additional needs requires certain skills. Having experience in this can benefit your decision-making process. It can help you work out whether you could meet the needs of a child with additional needs. If so, this experience can demonstrate to the panel and family finders that you’re the best carer for a child.
  
  
• Contact agencies
  Talk to your agency about the best way to gain childcare experience. Often agencies run in-house activities you can volunteer at. Events like family fun days or stay and plays could be a great opportunity to gain that vital experience.

You can also volunteer at our annual New Family Social summer camp. Lots of families attend and it's a great place to access some childcare experience.

Contact us for information

New Family Social's annual campaign to encourage more LGBT+ people to consider adoption and fostering will return on 7 March. This year's theme is Be The Change to highlight the children and young people LGBT+ people make a difference to when they adopt or foster.

If you're an Orange member of New Family Social and work for one of our member agencies you can find out more by registering for this event after logging in to the site.

(Not an Orange member, but work for one of our member agencies? You can also apply for this membership through the website)