NEW figures released by the Department for Education show that there are 450 children waiting to be adopted in Yorkshire.

Among those children are siblings, who are among the hardest group of children to place with new families.

The focus of this year’s National Adoption Week, running this week, is on siblings. With the numbers of children in need of adoption on the increase, numbers of siblings are expected to rise too.

Without enough adopters able to give them a loving, secure and permanent home together, brothers and sisters will wait longer for a family or may have to be split up.

During 2013-14 Kirklees Council found adoptive families for 53 children, 13 of whom were part of a sibling group.

Emma and Andrew Sutton, both 45, adopted a brother and sister, now aged three and four, 18 months ago. Emma, a business consultant, and Andrew, an IT business analyst, decided to adopt after being unable to conceive naturally.

“It soon became clear that having our own children wasn’t to be. Of course we were disappointed but adoption seemed like a natural progression,” says Emma. “We chose not to go down the IVF route, we didn’t feel it was right for us. Also we knew that any child we adopted wouldn’t be loved any less if they weren’t ours by birth.

“We wanted to adopt two siblings. We thought if there are children out there who are already part of a family it made more sense to keep them together.

“The adoption process was pretty full on at times but it helped us to prepare for parenthood. During the final stages our social worker showed us some profiles of sibling groups in need of adoption. Seeing our children ‘on paper’ for the first time was heart-wrenching because I knew straight away that these were the children I wanted to adopt but was worried that Andy wouldn’t feel the same. My fears were short-lived when I discovered he too felt that instant connection. Not long after this we were approved as their adoptive parents and brought them home.”

Adds Emma: “I’ll be the first to admit that going from no children to two children was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. At first they missed their foster carers with whom they’d formed a close bond, but we knew there was bound to be a settling in period – just as we had to work out how to be mum and dad to these two little children, they too had to get used to us as their parents.

“It took a few months but with patience and love they settled in. It helped that they had each other and, particularly during those early days, this was a huge comfort to them.

“By adopting siblings we haven’t just brought two children into our family; we are two families that have merged to become one.”

Paul Johnson, Kirklees Council’s assistant director for family support and child protection, said: “Those of us lucky enough to have brothers and sisters know how special the relationship between siblings can be. Adopted children have usually had a difficult start in life and it is even more important for them to experience the stability and support that being with their brothers and sisters can bring.

“Over the last two years Kirklees Council has made huge progress in moving children into adoption. In August 2012 we were family-finding for 90 children and have since been able to bring this number down to just six, thanks in part to changes in the adoption process.

“Although this is a dramatic reduction, the number of children coming into care locally and nationally is on the increase. This includes sibling groups who are amongst the hardest children to place so we cannot afford to be complacent.”

National adoption information service First4Adoption has announced that a quarter of a million people used the service since it launched in January, 2013. The organisation, run by a consortium of children’s charities and supported by the Department for Education, was set up to create greater transparency around the adoption process.

Head of service Gemma Gordon-Johnson says: “Reaching a quarter of a million users is a significant marker in the growth of First4Adoption. We want this campaign to mark a new era in the recruitment of adopters.”

Call First4Adoption on 0300 222 0022 or visit first4adoption.org.uk For more about Kirklees Council’s adoption team call 0800 028 3001, or visit kirklees.gov.uk/adoption