MORE than a dozen children were waiting for a home after being awarded an adoption placement order in St Helens as of March, new figures show.

It comes as the number of approved families waiting to adopt has fallen steadily since the coronavirus pandemic, with more children now waiting for a placement than homes available.

This week is National Adoption Week, an opportunity for charities to encourage people from all walks of life to consider adopting.

Adoption agency Coram also raised concerns about the supply of families willing to adopt, and is calling for a more diverse range of families to consider adoption.

Coram and Department for Education figures show 16 children in St Helens were waiting to be adopted by a family after a placement order had been issued as of the end of March.

Across England, 2,580 children with a placement order were waiting to be matched with a home – the highest figure since December 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, the number of families volunteering to adopt has steadily decreased from a pandemic peak in March 2022, falling by almost a third to 1,800 as of March.

At the end of every quarter since June last year, more children have been waiting with a placement order than families approved to adopt.

Dr Carol Homden, CEO of Coram, said the figures show a downward trend in people enquiring about and being approved for adoption.

She added: "This National Adoption Week, we are encouraging more people to come forward and find out more about whether adoption might be for them.

"For all the challenges adoption can bring, our experience tells us that for the overwhelming majority, adoption is a hugely rewarding journey for children and parents.

"We are encouraging people from all walks of life to consider whether they have the room in their hearts and their home for any of the many young children currently waiting to be adopted."

The figures also show 2,940 children nationally were placed with an adopting family in the year to March, but the time it takes for different children to find a placement varied greatly due to age and characteristics.

Of the children adopted last year, those aged five and over waited an average of three years and 220 days from entering care to being adopted. This dropped to two years and 24 days for under-fives.

It took an average of three years and 139 days for a disabled child to be adopted last year, while ethnic minority children had to wait two years and 200 days, both higher than the average for all children of two years and 134 days.

In St Helens, 17 children were adopted last year, waiting an average of two years and 74 days.

Minister for Children and Families Janet Daby said: "Adoption is a life-changing experience for both the child and carers. The value of being loved completely and unconditionally is the foundation for achievement that all children need.

"Sadly, not enough people are coming forward despite the huge number of children in need of a loving home. We deeply encourage everyone from all walks of life and a diverse range of backgrounds to consider adopting to be the difference for children."