Free Three Month Leisure Centre Access Offered to Adoptive Families in Cornwall

Adoptive families in Cornwall are being offered free access to leisure centres, gyms and sports facilities as part of Big Adoption Day 2026.

To mark Big Adoption Day on Wednesday 21st January, charitable social enterprise and leisure operator GLL and the UK’s first children’s charity Coram announced a new partnership that will see 500 free three month memberships made available to adoptive families across the UK, including Cornwall.

Free access across Cornwall

As part of the partnership, GLL is offering adoptive families free access to its nine Better leisure centres in Cornwall for three months. This allows families to use every gym, swimming pool and fitness class without extra cost or time restrictions.

The offer also includes access to soft play facilities, Newquay Trampoline Park and the Better UK app.

The free memberships are open to adoptive families in Cornwall who adopted through Coram or another voluntary adoption agency within the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies.

Launch event in London

The partnership was launched at an event on Wednesday morning at Sobell Leisure Centre in London. Adoptive families attending the launch were able to enjoy the centre’s new active play zone, which includes treehouse playrooms, climbing and a sensory room.

Why physical activity matters

A report by Coram and Stormbreak, published last year by the Local Government Association, warned that care experienced children and young people are a hidden group whose needs are often overlooked in physical activity policy and provision.

The report highlighted the importance of prioritising movement to support both physical and mental wellbeing and called for better access to physical activity for care experienced children and young people.

Big Adoption Day and the need for families

Big Adoption Day is an annual campaign led by the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies and Coram. Adoption agencies across the UK are hosting in person and online events in their local areas and sharing real life stories of families who have adopted, encouraging others to find out more about adoption.

There are currently around 3,000 children waiting to be adopted across England. Around half of these children have been waiting more than 18 months since entering care, highlighting the urgent need for more prospective adoptive parents to come forward.

What they said

Dame Carol Homden, CEO of Coram, said:

“We are delighted to collaborate with GLL this Big Adoption Day and to highlight this wonderful offer for adoptive families across the country. We know this will make a huge difference for families, enabling them to enjoy activities together and helping to boost their physical and mental wellbeing.”

Joseph Rham, Customer and Communities Director at GLL, added:

“We are delighted to be supporting Coram and the work it does raising awareness and facilitating adoptions across Cornwall and the UK. We know the huge mental and physical benefits that access to sports, fitness and wellbeing activities can have on all sections of society. When we became aware of the research undertaken by Coram showing that care experienced children often miss out, we wanted to help, both by promoting Big Adoption Day and providing free access to our leisure facilities to adoptive families.

“The charity’s research underlines the huge benefits that physical activity has on care experienced children and as the UK’s largest public leisure operator and a charitable social enterprise it is important to us that we help improve access to sports and leisure facilities.”