Lucy Stevens

It’s a beautiful, sunny Wednesday morning. We’re suited and booted and on our way to panel to be approved as foster carers. We’re meeting Stef (our Form F assessor) at a café near to where the panel is taking place, to have a little run through the potential questions we can expect. As someone who has served on the panel, I have a view on the questions I might have asked us if the roles were reversed. And I have a plan.

If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know that my husband and I are going to panel to be approved as foster carers on 20th April (or not as the case may be).

It’s Friday evening. In the dining room there are four very noisy, very excited boys getting stuck into their sleepover fun. They are shrieking at each other, their mouths open to reveal half masticated hotdog as they discuss the merits of the caterpillar game (a pursuit involving sleeping bags and a staircase). I wonder whether it was such a great idea to suggest tonight as the night to sign off our Form F assessment with our assessor Stef. But anyway it’s too late; Stef arrives at the peak of the children’s excitement.

Safer caring is the means by which foster carers can ensure the safety and well-being of children and young people. Because the business of foster caring happens in the home of the carer, safer caring also aims to protect the well being of carers and their families. It covers a broad range of themes, such as forming healthy attachments, dealing with difficult behaviour appropriately, ensuring the protection of each member of the household and minimising the risk of allegations made against carers.

I get back from Calais absurdly happy to see my family and determined to see this fostering thing through to its conclusion, to its beginning.

This instalment of the blog should really come with a disclaimer. Somewhere here in bold text should be words to this effect: *The actions of this blogger in no way constitute a statutory requirement for the fostering of asylum seeking children* Check. The objective of this blog is to give a detailed account of the fostering application process and I promise that this is what I’ll do, but I’m taking a little detour this week, a voluntary detour, via Calais…