People not policies make the difference
During my time at secondary school (when I was about to be fostered for the second time) I remember being desperately unhappy. I remember sitting in lessons and while other children were worrying about having the latest trainers or getting the new Oasis album (yes I am that old!) I was worried about where I was going to sleep that night, or which one of my friends’ parents would give me some tea. When I finally did become a looked after child, seven miles away, one of my teachers realised what was happening and advocated for me to stay at the same school with the same friends, which gave me some sense of normality while the rest of my world was spinning around. His name was Mr Ward.
The most amazing people!
It was at this point that I met the foster carers I was going to stay with for one night until a placement could be found.
These foster carers are the most amazing people! They fostered me and treat me like one of the family and then a year later they fostered my brother when he came into care. They brought us up to be kind, caring and respectful. They allowed us to grow up to be whatever we wanted to be but most importantly always supported us. Their names are Odette and Trevor….but to my children they are nannie and grandad.
Although I had a few different social workers, some made more of an impression than others. But I didn’t want to buy into the label of being “in care” I just wanted to be normal like my friends were.
When I got to 16 I started seeing the Leaving Care Team. This team was brilliant and was managed by a man who cared about each and every child in his team. He would take time to talk to us, to get us together to support each other and to teach us valuable lessons in life like budgeting and cooking. His name is Howard.
The Leaving Care Team itself was made up of personal advisers who each taught me different things. One in particular was a role model who I aspired to be like. He had a nice car, was liked by everyone, was always happy to help and wasn’t scared to sit and talk to me when I had done something wrong. His name is Bryan.
I've never looked back
As I got older I needed to decide what I wanted to do in life. Howard asked me if I would work for the Leaving Care Team, helping advocate for care leavers and work with them. I jumped at the chance and have never looked back. After working there I became a family support worker in a child protection team. This was a very big learning curve and I learned such a lot from one of my old social workers who was my manager. He took the time to support me, guide me and teach me while shaping me into a very good family support worker. His name is Steve.
From here I decided that I wanted to be a social worker and so I went to university and qualified in 2014. I love my new job as a child protection social worker and my new manager is one of the personal advisers from the Leaving Care Team. She helps me progress and get better, she supports me in my work and she always reassures me that I am doing a good job. Her name is Heidi.
It sounds strange but I feel I have been truly blessed to have had the life I have had. Sure it’s been tough at times but I have met some of the most amazing and caring people, I have a job that I love and I am happy.
The most important lesson I have learned is that it is people, not policies, which make the biggest difference.
The Fostering Network brings together everyone who is involved in the lives of fostered children and young people to lead, inspire, motivate and support them to make foster care better. To support our work visit www.fostering.net/donate or to donate £10 text FOST37 £10 to 7007
