People in Cornwall are encouraged to consider becoming adoptive parents during National Adoption Week, October (17 to 23).

Andrew Wallis, Cornwall Council’s lead member for young people, said: ‘We have adopters from all walks of life, and backgrounds and would encourage anyone thinking about adoption to contact us to find out more.

‘Because of the backgrounds of children who need adopting, we are looking for a special type of person to become an adoptive parent. We need people who are able to emotionally attune to the needs of a child and provide a loving and stable home, but who also can offer a child understanding and acceptance of their past history.’

Cornwall Council’s specialist adoption support service is The Family Plus Team.

Adoption service manager Alison Waters said: ‘The team is made up of experts working across a variety of skills including psychology, youth work, social work and theraplay. We were delighted that the Adoption Service has recently been rated as ‘good’ by Ofsted, and the hard work of the Family Plus Team played a huge part in this.’

If you would like to find out more about the Family Plus Team, or about adoption in Cornwall, please contact 01872 322200 or visit www.adoptincornwall.co.uk for more information.