Why Jigsaw
Adopting in London with Jigsaw
Jigsaw is a voluntary adoption agency based in London and Oxfordshire, recruiting and assessing London-resident adopters. The thing that often matters most to a London adopter, though, is which children you'll be considered for — and on that point the picture is not what most people assume.
How matching works for a London adopter
The most important thing to understand when choosing an adoption agency in London is which pool of children you'll be considered for.
There are around 3,000 children waiting for adoption in England. About 340 of those are in London. London is roughly 16 per cent of England's population but has 11 per cent of the children waiting — so a London adopter who is only being considered for London children is, on the numbers, looking at a smaller pool than they might assume.
The Adopt London regional adoption agency matches London children with London families. As a voluntary agency, Jigsaw works with local authorities across England and Wales — which includes London. So a London adopter with Jigsaw is being considered for the children waiting in London plus all the children waiting everywhere else, not one or the other. Travel for matching meetings and introductions is normal and supported throughout the process.
Children waiting for adoption
Children waiting for adoption in EnglandDepartment for Education. View source (opens in new tab)
Children waiting for adoption in LondonDepartment for Education. View source (opens in new tab)
A flat is fine, no car is fine
Prospective adopters in London occasionally come into a first conversation slightly worried about practicalities — whether a flat is enough, whether not having a car is a problem, whether the absence of a garden matters. None of these are issues.
The requirement is a bedroom for the child, not a particular kind of home. A two-bedroom flat is enough for a single child, three bedrooms for siblings. London transport works for the school run, for nursery, for contact meetings and for everything else; plenty of adopters don't drive. Children need outdoor time, not specifically a garden — a flat near a park is an adoption-ready home.
The ex-partner question
A question that often comes up early, particularly from women, is whether ex-partners will need to be contacted as part of the assessment. The honest answer is that it depends on the agency, because this is largely discretionary.
Agencies can choose how widely to cast the net, and some take a maximalist approach that can be distressing for adopters who have moved on from past relationships for good reasons.
Jigsaw's approach is sensible. We do not insist on contacting ex-partners who did not live in the same household as you with children. If you have an ex-partner from a relationship that ended years ago, who you have no children with and who never lived with children of yours, there is no good safeguarding reason to bring them back into your life. Read more about this on the preparing for adoption page.
Working with London families
How initial meetings work
After you fill out a preliminary interest form, we assess whether we are likely to be able to help you adopt. If we think can help you, we usually arrange a one-to-one video call to meet you. Subsequent meetings during Stage 2 will be at your home and by video, depending on what works for you and your assessing social worker.
How matching meetings work
When we are considering a match, you'll usually meet the child's social worker and foster carers at the local authority's offices, wherever that is in England or Wales. Travel for these meetings is part of the process and we support you through it.
Boroughs we cover
We work with adopters across every London borough. The list isn't a barrier — if you live in London, we can assess you. We also work with adopters in the commuter belt and across the Thames Valley, and have a separate page on adopting in the Thames Valley.
In practice, our London adopters come from across the city. We don't have a borough we recruit harder in than others, and we don't restrict on borough at any stage of the process.
"Jigsaw stood out to us as more personal than other agencies. Warm, welcoming, and genuinely interested in us as people — not just as applicants."Victoria and RobertJigsaw adopter feedback forms. View methodologyThinking about adopting?
Fill in our interest form and a member of our team will be in touch.
I'm interested