Coming up to panel

[Laura25o6]

Hi all, so we have our Panel date for April. Feeling so nervous and excited at the same time. How did you all feel on the day that changed your lives.

Hi Laura is it approval panel or matching panel you're going to?

Thought there was only 1. 😞 approval then I'm guessing

As far as I'm aware there's this panel in April then we will be in stage 2, then matching, bridging etc

Hi Laura, when you have been matched you go back to panel for it to be approved. We were nervous but found it to be okay on the day.

We haven't been matched yet. As far as we are aware this panel is to be approved but I only thought there was one but seems there's more lol

For approval panel we were very nervous. The SWs said, that having had a review, they wouldn't take us to panel unless they thought we'd go through okay but there was still an element of doubt (especially as we'd had to stop our application for a few years due to work troubles). It was utter relief when we got the phone call later on to say they were 100% recommending us. Good luck for yours.

We were cacking ourselves before our panel, but they were all really kind at it ended up being a rather pleasant experience. Our social worker told us that's quite typical. They weren't particularly nice to her though. they overrode some of her more restrictive recommendations on the PAR (such as race). Our SW was the one put on the spot, and I felt a bit for her tbh. There were a couple of things that they wanted to clear up, but they weren't surprises. Remember, no adopter is perfect. But the main thing is, to answer your question OP, they were lovely to us. So don't dread it! And we found out that we were approved, there and then.

OP what does this mean?

OP = Original Post(er)

I found the approval panel nerve-wracking and the matching panel was a breeze. Good luck

Very nervous but it was also an enjoyable experience. The panel were lovely and it was a good feeling when they invited us back into the room and said yes.

We weren't elated though, just relieved that we'd overcome that hurdle, but knowing that this was really only the first in our quest to adopt a child. I remember feeling a bit flat on the journey home.

The matching panel was a much more emotional occasion, I cried and so did two of the panel!

Good luck!

I was so relieved I cried all the way home.

If this is your approval panel, assuming they say yes, then your agency will do whatever they do to match you with a child. Once you all agree a match there'll be another panel so that they can approve the match. That's matching panel. (And once you're there you can expect your LO home imminently.)

Im confused, you say you will be in stage 2 after this panel, then it can't be approval panel. Maybe you should ask your social worker to go through the stages with you.

Hi as far as we are aware this approval panel is the end of stage one. We get t given like a flow chart of where you in at every part of the stages. And we are currently in stage 1. Have been for sometime due to being forgotten until November 2016.

Ah ok. It's not a panel. It's just a decision made by your SW and their manager as to whether they will progress you to Stage 2.

Just to clarify

• are you in England or elsewhere?
• have all the checks been done for you yet, such as references, previously lived locations, DBS etc?
• have you done the homestudy bit where the SW comes to talk to you about all aspect of your lives for an hour or 3 every week or fortnight
• have you seen the PAR yet / do you know it is being worked on by the SW

Hi yes all the above has been completed. We have our last meeting tomorrow evening and that's a friends and family one. We had 8 weeks worth of Thursday meetings in total. All check etc came back months ago. Last we heard they was still waiting on our NSPCA one to come back.

Sorry to sound thick but rim not up to terms with these shorthand words. What is PAR please?

SW has said it is approval panel. After that we are doing matching bridging etc. Approval to become parents

Wishing you all the luck with starting stage 2. I'm just about to start stage 1

Par= Prospective adopters report

I think its called a PAR these days (Parental/Potential Adoption/Adopter Report?). When we did it it was the Form E or F.

It is basically the report the SW presents to panel with everything they've found out about you during the homestudy that is used as a basis for approval (or not). It is also then used by children's SWs to decide whether you could go on the short list of potential adopters for the child they are responsible for.

After Approval Panel you can then be considered for children awaiting placement. This waiting period is horrible because you can't really actively do anything. (We waited about 15 months). But hopefully you are top of the list for a particular child/children, the SW visits you, you meet FC, Medical person etc. Then if all good you go to Matching Panel after which you can meet your new child/ren, introductions then moving in.

Thank you for that. That is exactly what our date in April is for. The medical adviser will be there plus others. Been told we'll be there an hour max , they'll give us an answer then wait a further 10 days for someone else to confirm.