We talk to a lot of people who for one reason or another start of their conversation with, “I would like to foster but I don’t think I can because…..”. Many people, perhaps through fear of rejection do not come forward because they have already decided they would not be suitable. This at best is…
It’s April and it’s 2018 and you’d be forgiven for wondering what was going wrong in UK Society. The media all of a sudden appear to be picking up on stabbings and murders in London. 80% the population are disturbed with this seemingly ‘new’ trend and 20% are wondering why, all of a sudden, we…
I admit I have been critical of IRO’s in the past but only because I know how important they are. I can, for example, refer to the time when I asked an IRO what she thought about a local authority policy that was clearly not in the best interests of the child and contrary to…
I stood on the edge of Delamere Forest in Cheshire on Saturday waiting for a Den building group of foster families and children to join me and the park ranger to learn what to do should you ever get stranded in a forest with no tent. Although my team is responsible for the placing of…
I remember a time when I was told that politics should be understood by the young because the young would one day be the current and the current are the ones that vote and make a difference to the world. I have on many occasions suggested to young people and my peers that have not…
Over the years I’ve often had to turn off the BBC news in the morning when I’m ironing my shirt and my daughter is eating breakfast whilst naturally directed towards the TV. So often it appears the news in the UK focuses on negative stories as a bulk part of its broadcast. At times, I…
I’ve now watched all 3 episodes of the BBC 1 documentary 3 girls. I think ‘emotional journey’ sums up the experience quite well. I’ve also spent over 14 years reading referrals of children ‘prostituting’ themselves and of children being at risk of grooming and sexual exploitation from a system that didn’t seem to think it…
Another year passes and another Mother’s Day sneaks upon me in which I have to ponder who’s going to get my attention first. Is it my Mother or is it my wife for whom her 10-year-old daughter will need some help from Daddy to go out and get something to show her affection? I am…
I had not done anything wrong. I was a normal teenager but my parents couldn’t deal with that. My mother had mental health problems which she still struggles with and she would constantly lie to my father about things I had said or done. I had two younger brothers, one of which was severely disabled.…
8.45: It’s a Monday morning and the first thing I do is send an email to all the social workers as a last check for any movements in placements which have happened over the weekend or in the last week. 8.50: I complete the compiling of our accounting form for the last week. This means…