Mumsnet Talk

We are prospective adopters with a very large pond in our front garden but the back garden has no issues, would that be an issue?

If yu are planning to adopt children under 5 years old, SSmight want you to put a grid on it

That would be rather tricky as it is big as the ground floor of a small house with a small island in the middle and ducks living on it...we planned to adopt siblings over the age of three, so I guess we could make it 5 and over?!

Or you coudl just fill in the pond and dig it out again when they are older. Depends what matters to you more

Why don't you wait until you have one of the home visits and then ask? Fencing may be easier than filling in.

Not sure what stage you are at, but I imagine in home study they will want to hear that you will make all necessary adjustments to make your home safe, and that you will comply with their advice on that.

But you won't need to DO anything just yet.

You would definitely need to fence off the pond under the Health & Safety rules of the LA when assessing adoptors. I am slightly concerned that you don't feel the need to do so.....children can drown in a very small amount of water.

Personally I wouldn't trust a fence. Children can get over it quite easily . Why don't you just fill it in if necessary? I'm assuming you live in the country so it's not really a big deal . I'm a bit surprised that this seems to be such a difficulty for you and that you woudl consider adopting older children just so you could keep your pond for a few years. I'd be a teeny bit more worried about the issues affecting school aged sibling groups than about my garden.

...Im not overly bothered about the pond or garden but it's not my own property it's my partners and he just spent the better part of a decade building the house and pond and it would cost many thousands of pounds at least to fill in a beloved wildlife pond of that size, so just wanted to have an idea of what the SS would expect..wow...lot of people jumping to the conclusion that I'm may be more concerned about the pond. We arent at the stage of applying yet, as we're waiting for the right moment, so just thought Id check what rules there are. Yes Im aware that even an adult let alone a child can drown in a very small amount of water. As for the ages of potential children, we've always known we would be better suited to older children so we're flexible with ages as just want the right fit with us. As for issues of siblings that age, Im trying to be prepared and informed rather than concerned

Good luck with your plans

I wouldn't even worry about it - a social worker made a huge fuss about our greenhouse, then we were turned down anyway (not because we had a greenhouse!). Obviously I hope the process goes better for you but it might be a good idea not to get your hopes up too much, as I undertand about 75% of potential adopters are turned down.

I wouldn't even worry about it - a social worker made a huge fuss about our greenhouse, then we were turned down anyway (not because we had a greenhouse!). Obviously I hope the process goes better for you but it might be a good idea not to get your hopes up too much, as I undertand about 75% of potential adopters are turned down.

Sorry for posting twice

I think if you can keep the front door locked and show that the child/children can't get out you will be fine.

We had a few safety issues with our house when sw first looked around and tbh they never checked in them again.

Good luck with adoption journey and don't pay too much attention to negative messages!

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Think of plans to make it safer (fence, locking the door) and then see what your sw says during the home visit.
I can't imagine it being a deal breaker.

Good luck i hope it all goes well for you

Phineyj - i've never heard that % before. Can you link us some proof please?

Sorry I might be sounding a bit judgemental, but it just seemed to me something that you would recognise yourself as a potential hazard. I have carried out many assessments of potential foster carers and adoptors and it will be absolutely necessary to do something to the pond to ensure it is not presenting any risk to a child. Usually people cover them or fence then off in some way - but yours does sound a very big pond. Is your DH going to be resentful about having to make alterations to the pond, as if so this could be a problem.

Locoparentsis it certainly will be a deal breaker.

Anyway hope all goes well whatever you decide to do.

We have a large pond with an island and got a grid put on it. It wasn't that expensive and looks fine.

Apart from being at all these large ponds with islands and ducks, at this stage I think all you need to do is let SS know that you would take the appropriate steps to secure the pond depending on the age etc of any children you are matched with. If you are pre-application, you have got many months to work out what you need to do to make it safe, no need to hire the digger just yet.

But if they take steps to make it secure i.e. a fence around it then would it still be a deal breaker?

I wasn't suggesting they should leave it as it is and get the children a little dingy and let them play swallows and amazons on it

Families im with you the closest i've got to an island is the traffic island on the roundabout at the top of my street!

There wouldn't be a problem, so long as the pond was made safe so that it was no longer a health and safety risk. Looking at all aspects of H & S is part of the assessment for foster carers and adoptors.