Bristol Fostering

Knock, knock. The door opens and a smiling young woman says ‘hello’ and welcomes you inside. Well, at least you think she does. You don’t speak her language but the lady that picked you up earlier today and brought you here by car is gesturing that you come inside. So you do, but you’re not really sure why. You come into the front room. ‘It seems weird in here’ you think to yourself. It is nothing like the home you once knew or the places you have slept at, run from or travelled through it the past year either. There’s pets. Or least they seem to be pets. Where you come from cats are feral and rarely seen in the house. You’re hungry and thirsty but you don’t know how to tell the two ladies with you. One hands the other some paperwork as you all sit in the living room together. You wonder what this document is. Am I in trouble? Am I going to be taken away again? Don’t they believe me when I say I’m 16. After some chat that you don’t understand one of the wo...

Hello! For those of you unfamiliar, I offer respite foster carer and cover emergencies. Respite is where you give either another foster carer or a child's family a break by having their child for usually 1-7 nights, quite often just one or two nights. Emergency placements are where Social Services phone you and ask you to take a child that night for at least one night. I've done this a few times and least notice I've had is 30mins and most 5hrs. Some  of these kids have stayed just one night; longest was five nights. I've decided to start twice a month keeping a diary of my fostering experiences as such a carer. Monday - no kids Today I get back from work and I've got no kids due to come stay, but you never know. I do have support group though at, for it you work nights, a very inconvenient time (midday to 2) but for everyone else, probably a really convenient time. About 15 carers were there. Some of whom I've met before. All lovely and som...

Whilst in an ideal world no child would ever need to come into care, the fact is they do. There are kids all over Britain that have been neglected or abused. Who have seen things even adults should never witness, or who live with a parent unable to look after them for health reasons. In Bristol at any one time there are around 700 children in care out of the 85,000 young people aged 16 or under in the city. When you’re a foster carer unless your social worker knows you’re unavailable, generally if you have a spare room you will be asked to take on a child. You can say no of course. Perhaps the child doesn’t fit your current situation, or they want you to look after the child longer than you know you can. There are many that you will say yes to, especially if you’re a respite or emergency carer, and, oddly, many of these children will never make it to your home and yet you wonder about them. You’ve said ‘yes’ to the question ‘can you take a child tonight?’ You’ve read their pa...

Hello! For those of you unfamiliar, I offer respite foster carer and cover emergencies. Respite is where you give either another foster carer or a child's family a break by having their child for usually 1-7 nights, quite often just one or two nights. Emergency placements are where Social Services phone you and ask you to take a child that night for at least one night. I've done this a few times and least notice I've had is 30mins and most 5hrs. A couple of these kids have stayed just one night; longest was five nights. I've decided to start twice a month keeping a diary of my fostering experiences as such a carer. Monday - kids - in theory So late last week - last thing Friday - I got asked to take on a boy Monday to Monday. I said yes even though it meant I would have little sleep on Monday gone due to needing to sort his room out and having a general tidy up and some much needed sleep. I was all sorted, ready for him to come at the agreed time, t...