AN AGENCY searching for loving families for some of the area's most vulnerable children is urging people to "Count Yourself In" during National Adoption Week.

There are currently 30 children in the BCP and Dorset council areas waiting to be adopted.

And Aspire Adoption, the adoption agency for the area, is particularly keen to hear from people who would consider adopting siblings, children aged four and over, little ones with additional needs and children from different ethnic backgrounds.

The agency has stressed that applications are welcome from all backgrounds and has urged people not to rule themselves out.

The agency, one of the first of its kind in England, has placed 135 children from the BCP Council and Dorset areas since its launch in July 2017.

Heather Freeman, Service Manager, said: "I urge anyone who has been thinking about adoption to give us a call and have an informal chat with one of our friendly team.

"There are many myths around adoption, so what we are doing this National Adoption Week is saying to people to Count Yourself In. To be eligible to adopt you have to be 21 or over, you can be single, married or in a long term relationship.

"You can be from any ethnic or religious background and it doesn’t matter if you are heterosexual or from the LGBT community. We need people to come forward who can give a safe and loving forever home to a child."

Andrew Christie, Chair of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board said: "Please don’t rule yourself out because there is something about you or your family’s circumstances that you think would make you unsuitable – all sorts of people make great adopters.

"To those that have adopted a child from care, I want to thank you personally for the commitment and love you bring to parenting some of our most vulnerable children. If you know someone that has adopted or someone that is considering adoption, please give them your support."

Councillor Sandra Moore, Cabinet member for children and families, BCP Council said: "There are many vulnerable children of all ages who would thrive from being part of a family in loving and supportive homes. I would encourage people who are interested in finding out more about adoption to contact Aspire Adoption and help make a positive difference to a child’s future."

Aspire are currently family finding for 30 children across the area, but latest figures suggest that there are as many as 350 children in the South West who need an adoptive home.

Call 0300 123 9868 or go to aspireadoption.co.uk for details. There will also be an information evening in Poole on Monday October 21.