Ok, now on to the exciting bit!
I finally (after what feels like weeks of waiting!) attended the panel meeting yesterday for discussion of my approval. I was so nervous a whole 2 days before the meeting so u can imagine what I was like on the day. It was held in a beautiful location and the panel members were all very nice, but that really didn't do much to calm my nerves.
I met the chair person when I arrived and waited with my link worker (from the agency, the lady who had carried out all the homestudy meetings) while the panel prepared questions. This took them some time but they finally called us through to the meeting room. After introductions, I was asked a series of questions that had arisen from my Form F (homestudy) report, which took quite a long time to get through and were all very in depth and personal. Not at all like the 'so why do you want to foster question' I was expecting (although this did come up towards the end anyway!)
When they had finished questioning, we were asked to leave the room, and after 5 minutes or so the chair person came out meet with us again. There was a very anxious moment when he walked in the room and I waited and held my breath trying to guess what he was going to say... and then he held out his hand and said congratulations!!! Phew! I couldn't stop grinning!
The panel were impressed (with my nervous babbling?! I don't think so!!), were sure I had a lot to offer and had agreed that I would be suitable to foster one child, or two children if siblings, aged 4 to 7, either long or short term!!! Wow, I still can't believe it! The age range is only fixed for a short time, and will be reviewed after I've had children placed for a while. Now I just can't wait to hear I've been matched with a child/children, and get to start what I've worked so hard to achieve.
Thursday, 18 October 2007
Preparation group training
This was all booked for earlier in the month - a three day residential course for both me and my daughter to attend - and I was really looking forward to it but unfortunately it had to be cancelled at the last minute. I've been told it will be rescheduled so I'm now awaiting details of a new date.
Health and safety
Especially for Anita, here's a quick summary of the healthy and safety check that was carried out on my home, and the items that I have had to buy and install...
The checklist consisted of four parts: a health and safety checklist, a questionnaire for dog owners, a farm safety questionnaire and a section to describe any pet, other than dogs, which may pose a threat to children. I only had to worry about the first section as the others don't apply.
The health and safety section looked in detail at the house in general, indoor safety factors, the kitchen, bathrooms, outdoor safety factors, first aid, hazardous activities, insurances, cars, and firearms.
In order to meet all of the requirements, I have done the following:
* booked a first aid training course specific to child care
* purchased a first aid kit
* fitted all electrical sockets with child resistant safety covers
* installed window locks (so that they only open a small amount)
* fitted safety gates at the top and bottom of my stairs and at the kitchen door
* checked smoke detectors work
* had the fire service round to advise on fire escapes
* bought a fire blanket
* bought a fire extinguisher
* bought and installed a carbon monoxide detector
* ensured cleaning products, medicines and alcohol are kept in a locked cupboard
There is a lot more in the checklist that I could mention too, but a lot of it is down to common sense, and different areas probably do things differently anyway. But hopefully this will give some ideas as to what an agency will be looking for :)
The checklist consisted of four parts: a health and safety checklist, a questionnaire for dog owners, a farm safety questionnaire and a section to describe any pet, other than dogs, which may pose a threat to children. I only had to worry about the first section as the others don't apply.
The health and safety section looked in detail at the house in general, indoor safety factors, the kitchen, bathrooms, outdoor safety factors, first aid, hazardous activities, insurances, cars, and firearms.
In order to meet all of the requirements, I have done the following:
* booked a first aid training course specific to child care
* purchased a first aid kit
* fitted all electrical sockets with child resistant safety covers
* installed window locks (so that they only open a small amount)
* fitted safety gates at the top and bottom of my stairs and at the kitchen door
* checked smoke detectors work
* had the fire service round to advise on fire escapes
* bought a fire blanket
* bought a fire extinguisher
* bought and installed a carbon monoxide detector
* ensured cleaning products, medicines and alcohol are kept in a locked cupboard
There is a lot more in the checklist that I could mention too, but a lot of it is down to common sense, and different areas probably do things differently anyway. But hopefully this will give some ideas as to what an agency will be looking for :)
Sunday, 23 September 2007
Almost there...
Ok, first of all I must apologise for not posting for so long. August proved to be a very sad month. After many years of fighting cancer, my mum passed away. It's taken a while to feel 'normal' again but I've finally started to get back into the swing of things, and with my panel date fast approaching, fostering has once again become a main focus.
August also seemed to be holiday time for everyone concerned with my application, and very little progress was made, but September has brought lots of action! All three of my referees (all friends, two of whom were teaching colleagues) have been interviewed, and from what I can gather, it went very well and the agency have a very positive impression of me.
My link worker also came to see me last week. I had expected the visit to have been the one where I get to read through my Form F (homestudy) but with the loss of my mother, she wanted to see how I was coping and take further notes to put in the report. She also carried out a health and safety check on my home, and I now have a whole list of things to buy and put in place before my approval!
On top of all of this, my baby girl broke her leg three weeks ago, and has had to have regular hospital visits. She's been an absolute angel with it all, and hardly seems to notice her leg is in plaster. We have an appointment tomorrow when the plaster will be removed and *hopefully* her bone will be fully mended. Unfortunately, that won't be the end of it all as the accident has also gone into my report and I need to supply a written account, hospital notes and confirmation from my health visitor that there are no concerns over my daughter's health etc. I understand that this is good practice; I'm happy to supply the information, and glad that they haven't just accepted it and moved on as it shows that they take such issues seriously. I just hope it doesn't look bad on me, and affect my chances of being approved.
Well, that's all for now but I know I'll have more to post soon, as my report has to be submitted by the beginning of October, and I'm pretty sure I'll be meeting with the agency in the week to read it through and make any final adjustments. Wish me luck!!!
August also seemed to be holiday time for everyone concerned with my application, and very little progress was made, but September has brought lots of action! All three of my referees (all friends, two of whom were teaching colleagues) have been interviewed, and from what I can gather, it went very well and the agency have a very positive impression of me.
My link worker also came to see me last week. I had expected the visit to have been the one where I get to read through my Form F (homestudy) but with the loss of my mother, she wanted to see how I was coping and take further notes to put in the report. She also carried out a health and safety check on my home, and I now have a whole list of things to buy and put in place before my approval!
On top of all of this, my baby girl broke her leg three weeks ago, and has had to have regular hospital visits. She's been an absolute angel with it all, and hardly seems to notice her leg is in plaster. We have an appointment tomorrow when the plaster will be removed and *hopefully* her bone will be fully mended. Unfortunately, that won't be the end of it all as the accident has also gone into my report and I need to supply a written account, hospital notes and confirmation from my health visitor that there are no concerns over my daughter's health etc. I understand that this is good practice; I'm happy to supply the information, and glad that they haven't just accepted it and moved on as it shows that they take such issues seriously. I just hope it doesn't look bad on me, and affect my chances of being approved.
Well, that's all for now but I know I'll have more to post soon, as my report has to be submitted by the beginning of October, and I'm pretty sure I'll be meeting with the agency in the week to read it through and make any final adjustments. Wish me luck!!!
Saturday, 18 August 2007
Books, books and more books!
As I haven't got any more meetings with the agency or paperwork to complete, I've been filling my spare time with lots of reading relating to foster care. I love reading anyway, and I'm finding that I'm learning so much. It's even got me reflecting on my teaching experiences; a lot of what I now know would have been very useful back then. I won't go into details, but there seems to be a lot of issues mentioned in the literature that relate to some of the children at school, and it's made me wonder about their home lives.
I thought I'd use this post to list the books I've read so far:
'Damaged: The Heartbreaking True Story of a Forgotten Child' by Cathy Glass (a book written by a foster carer about her experiences with a very abused young girl.)
'Wednesday's Child' by Shane Dunphy (a childcare worker and his experiences with three families.)
'If you don't stick with me, who will?: The challenges and rewards of foster care' edited by Henrietta Bond (a collection of first-person accounts from foster carers giving a very real insight into what it's like to care for children - a very interesting book!)
'Providing a secure base in long-term foster care' by Mary Beek and Gillian Schofield (currently reading this one - this text uses case studies to show how children with backgrounds of loss and adversity need the experience of sensitive parenting and a secure base to contain their anxieties, heal their sense of hurt, build self-esteem and make them confident and competent - all based around attachment theory.)
I thought I'd use this post to list the books I've read so far:
'Damaged: The Heartbreaking True Story of a Forgotten Child' by Cathy Glass (a book written by a foster carer about her experiences with a very abused young girl.)
'Wednesday's Child' by Shane Dunphy (a childcare worker and his experiences with three families.)
'If you don't stick with me, who will?: The challenges and rewards of foster care' edited by Henrietta Bond (a collection of first-person accounts from foster carers giving a very real insight into what it's like to care for children - a very interesting book!)
'Providing a secure base in long-term foster care' by Mary Beek and Gillian Schofield (currently reading this one - this text uses case studies to show how children with backgrounds of loss and adversity need the experience of sensitive parenting and a secure base to contain their anxieties, heal their sense of hurt, build self-esteem and make them confident and competent - all based around attachment theory.)
Wednesday, 8 August 2007
Assessment complete!!
Ooops, I never did get back to write about the second assessment meeting. Since then I've had two more (one on Monday 30th July and one yesterday). The second and third meeting were lengthy and as in-depth as before (I've forgotten exactly what we talked about now, but it was more of my history and parenting style, plus some questions on fostering, some of which I found quite difficult). But the final one yesterday was less than an hour and was really to gather any last bits of information and sort out some future dates...
My assessment is finished (I can't believe how quickly it has happened!!). My link worker has to go away and write up my report, wait for the medical to be recieved, interview my 3 referees, and bring the completed Form F report for me to review before it is submitted around mid-September. The next time she visits she will carry out a health and safety inspection of my home so we can ensure it's safe for children to be placed with me.
So now it's back to waiting... my panel date is set for mid-October (and the agency are confident I will be approved on that day.) Wow, I'm almost a foster carer!!
In the meantime, I will be keeping busy reading as many books as I can find on foster care, and I will have preparation group training to attend in September or October.
My assessment is finished (I can't believe how quickly it has happened!!). My link worker has to go away and write up my report, wait for the medical to be recieved, interview my 3 referees, and bring the completed Form F report for me to review before it is submitted around mid-September. The next time she visits she will carry out a health and safety inspection of my home so we can ensure it's safe for children to be placed with me.
So now it's back to waiting... my panel date is set for mid-October (and the agency are confident I will be approved on that day.) Wow, I'm almost a foster carer!!
In the meantime, I will be keeping busy reading as many books as I can find on foster care, and I will have preparation group training to attend in September or October.
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
Assessment meeting #2
I had my second Form F assessment meeting today, which went well. I'll post more about it asap!
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