Would you say it's affected you in any way?
My childhood in general has deffinetly played a big part in who I am now, my life before being in care had a big impact on me in a negative way. I think if I hadn't been in care I wouldn't be the person I am today (in a good way) although I had both negative and positive experiences.
did you have your own room? If you needed clothes, toiletries, school uniform etc, would someone take you shopping or would you get money to buy it yourself? If you needed help with homework, was there someone to help?
Yes I had my own room. We were given pocket money/an allowance every week which included toiletries, clothes and so on as I got older I would take myself to get these things. We were also given money for schopl uniform, I would usually go with someone to get that. Staff were usually around to help with homework, sometimes they'd be busy but all you and to do was ask
Was there ongoing support available to you after the age of 18?
I was given some financial support but did honestly feel a bit like I'd been left on my own to fend for myself
Does anybody (member of care staff, foster carer, teacher etc) stand out to you as being somebody who made a difference in your life (in a good way) and if so, how can I be that person to somebody else? Thanks
I had a lovely english teacher at school who I often opened up to and she was just nice to have a chat with. I suppose because she was always very understanding of why I behaved in certain ways but also taught me why and how not to behave like that, she never gave up on me. Some of the staff at the home also made a big difference to my life, just knowing they were there and I could talk to them without any judgement.
Were the staff kind, was there one particular member of staff you had a rapport with? Was it the same home the whole time?
It was the same home, I don't think I had any particular problems with any of the staff, some I liked more than others but I knew deep down they were being responsible and simply doing their jobs whether I liked it or not.
How did you do at school, I believe kids in homes often do poorly due to lack of support, etc.
I didn't do terribly but I know I could have done a lot better, I missed a lot of school and didn't try as hard as I could have.
Did the children's home feel like a home, somewhere you could feel safe and relax?
Did you prefer it to the foster placements?
I settled in well to the children's home, I much preferred it to the foster home's I had been in, it felt like more like my own space than the foster placements that felt a bit like I was trying slot myself into someone else's home sometimes IYSWIM.
How did you end up in the care system? Don't worry about answering if it's too sensitive a subject for you
I'll be quite vague about this but there was abuse going on and it wasn't a safe or suitable home for me to be in