Foster carers stories

My partner and I have been foster carers with the City of Edinburgh Council for the past 5 years.  We offer interim foster care to children under five years of age. Lucy is the fourth child we have looked after since we became foster carers.

We collected Lucy from Hospital and brought her to our home the day after she was born. We cared for her until she was two-and-three-quarter years old. She was an absolute joy to care for and became an important member of our family.  During this period, she had family time with her birth mother; in the earlier part of her time with us this took place several times per week. Bit by bit this was reduced to twice monthly. When Lucy turned two years old, she started attending a local Nursery on a part-time basis.  She is a very friendly, loving, and sociable child and loved her days at Nursery.

Six months after her second birthday Lucy was matched with her adoptive family and the transition period began. This involved several ‘getting to know you’ meetings, the first one of which was just us as foster carers and the adoptive parents. It was really great to meet them in a relaxed, neutral environment (a coffee shop). Following that, an intensive 2-week plan was produced by the coordinator which set out every step of the transition. Everyone involved had an input into the making of the plan and we were encouraged to follow the plan as closely as possible. The plan was continually reviewed to ensure the best outcome was achieved for Lucy. Whilst the transition period is incredibly intensive this was made easier by the good relationship between both families.

4 post-placement (‘keeping in touch’) visits were arranged after the move date. It was lovely to see Lucy again, but it was difficult when she became slightly confused and a bit upset. By the last visit she was much more settled. We have an excellent relationship with the adoptive family, and they send regular updates and videos, and we plan to continue to keep in touch and meet up. We miss Lucy terribly but are happy she is now with her lovely growing-up family.