Visits to the last prospective school and to his current school

On Friday we went to visit the fourth and last of the prospective schools we identified for Boy H. This one is quite local to us (about a 15-20 minute walk or short bike ride) and it’s a big school, with over 400 students. It’s quite similar in numbers and location to the one we visited on Thursday, but we were much more impressed with it. The kids seemed to really be happy there and the person we spoke to asked all the right questions and took an interest in Boy H and his educational and personal development so far. So we’ve narrowed down our list to the first school we visited (Glen’s favourite) and the last one (my favourite as it’s local and the kids who attend it live on our street and surrounding area).

In the afternoon we drove to where Boy H currently lives to visit his current school. The drive took a bit less than we anticipated and we ended up getting there just as the kids were leaving school (we were supposed to arrive after all the kids had gone to avoid seeing Boy H or him seeing us). We did a quick u-turn and drove off quickly to a nearby cafe we found and waited for the right time to come. It was really weird seeing all these kids pouring out of the school in the uniform we’ve seen H wearing in the photos we were shown. I was desperately trying not to look (and not to be seen) but at the same time hoping to catch a glimpse!

At the right time we returned to the school and met with the head, Boy H’s foster carer, and his social worker. We talked to them about the two schools we’ve shortlisted and they could see positive points about both. Boy H’s social worker took notes and will get in touch with one of the LACESS (Looked After Children Education Support Service) people in our local authority to ask for their advice, which will be very helpful, but the final decision will be ours.

The headteacher was really nice. She apologised on behalf of his class teacher, who really wanted to be there but couldn’t. We heard about his behaviour when he first joined and how this has changed thanks to all the work the foster carer and the school have put in. They told us the strategies they used to deal with some of the more disruptive behaviours. He doesn’t behave like that anymore, but the possibility of regressing when (if) he joins us is very likely, so it would help us to use the same strategies that they did. They gave us copies of his latest school and support reports and the foster carer also gave us some more pictures, which are great.

We walked around the school and went into his classroom. It was really strange to be in a space where he is every week and to see his name on the board. Then they actually showed us his literacy and maths workbooks, so we got to see his handwriting. It was quite a special moment. It’s was touching and special to see something like that from a child you are hoping to adopt soon but have never met.

I thought the meeting would last 45 minutes or so but we were there over two hours, which was brilliant. We thought it was really useful and we learnt so much about him that we feel better prepared for when we eventually meet him should everything go OK at matching panel on Wednesday.

To finish off a rather full day, we went to dinner to our friends G&S’s house. After a long wait, things are finally moving for them and on Thursday they had a meeting with the social worker who looks after the three children they are hoping to adopt. They got up-to-date information and got to see a DVD of the kids. Everything is now taking shape and they should be going to panel and do introductions a couple of weeks after we do. Exciting times for our adoption journeys!