Adoption North West launches “Growing Families Together” to champion Early Permanence
Adoption agencies across the North West, including those which cover Lancashire, have joined forces to launch Growing Families Together, a new 2026 campaign encouraging more people to explore adoption through Early Permanence.
Early Permanence, also known as fostering for adoption or foster to adopt, places children with approved families at the earliest possible stage, offering them stability while decisions about their long-term future are made. These individuals, couples and families are approved both as foster carers and adopters, giving children the chance to form secure attachments from the very beginning.
As of July 31 2026, 286 children in the North West were waiting for a family through adoption. Between April 1 2025 and March 31 2026, 67 children were placed through Early Permanence by North West adoption agencies, with 54% of children aged under 6 months when placed.
Local authorities are required to consider Early Permanence for every child who enters care and cannot remain with their birth family. This approach reduces the number of moves children experience and supports better long-term outcomes for children.
Early Permanence carers are approved as both foster carers and adopters and will initially perform the role of foster carer while the courts decide whether or not a child can return to his/her birth family. This includes regular contact with birth family members.
Rachael and Paul adopted three children through Early Permanence. Iqbal and Ayesha are parents to two daughters. Khadija was placed with them through Early Permanence at nine months old. Stacey is a solo adopter of her son Elias. The campaign is sharing stories from adopters about their experiences of early permanence in their campaign film on their website at www.adoptionnorthwest.co.uk Link to campaign film: https://youtu.be/XJOssc8K67o