The fact that their sibling had gone home was still resonating with the three we had with us. They really didn’t think it was fair and I actually agree with them. They didn’t understand that the eldest was only wanted, by Mum, to help with child care for their two half brothers. We didn’t tell the children that the Social Worker had thought that that was the case as we thought it would sound like us trying to paint Mum in a bad light. So we tried not to mention Mum or the older sibling during conversations and if the children brought them up then we tried to change the subject quickly and discreetly. So the weeks carried on with no obvious issues or problems with any of the placed children. Both my wife and I attended a training course which was very interesting and very enjoyable. The difference between the courses that Independent Fostering Agencies (IFA), such as Fostering UK, and the courses provided by Local Authorities (LA). The IFA courses tend to be a lot better organised and run by people who are a lot more enthusiastic about what they are teaching. Personally I enjoy training and have been involved, in the past, in assisting giving training courses as a kind of ‘talking head’ able to answer questions from new Foster Carers about how the particular training course was relevant to the work they would be doing. Some Foster Carers seem to be blasé about training and some do everything they can do to avoid it. However I find it fun plus it is a chance to touch base with other carers and to share experiences. Unfortunately a lot of courses are now moving online and I think that’s a shame although understandable. Back at home it’s good to see the three children beginning to appreciate their schooling after years of their Mum telling them that it was a waste of time.
The eldest had found an interest in science the middle child loved history and the youngest enjoyed reading and stories. I was asked, at various times, to help with homework and was always happy to help. Although some of my knowledge was a little ‘rusty’ it was always reassuring to see that the young people were really focussing on their studies. Mum was only being discussed during review meetings when the children would enquire about her and other family members, which is only to be expected. There had been no more mentions of contact and no more talk about their older sister who had run away from her placement. But we never took anything for granted as Mum had proved before that she would do anything to disrupt the placement to serve her own purpose. So it came as no surprise when, a couple of weeks later, we were told that Mum had kicked the eldest child out of the house. We had no idea as to why this had happened and we had no idea where she had gone. The Social Worker, who had told us about what had happened, said that the younger children shouldn’t be told and we respected this decision. We were wondering if she would try to get in touch but we heard nothing; neither did her Foster Carer, who had also been made aware of what had happened. We were on edge for a couple of weeks afterwards, in case something happened but it went very quiet, again, and we soon forgot the whole situation and moved on.
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