Stage 1 Needing to volunteer for observation purposes

[Sooziq]

Hi all... We had our first social worker visit last Friday and seemed to go well. Just filling forms out, made appointments for medicals and frantically trying to find suitable places to volunteer for observation purposes as suggested by social worker. Has anyone else done this? Basically I'm mid 40's and all of my friends kids are teenagers and my partners nephews are almost 3hrs away so it's been suggested we do this so they can observe us... Only thing is the age range we are going for is 0-2 so it's proving a bit difficult... Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

people usually do stuff like church Sunday school/creche, or things like seeing if rainbows/scouts etc will take extra volunteers (I know that's the wrong age group but finding suitable things with very young children is understandably hard if you don't know anyone with small children). IME it's as much about seeing your commitment as seeing you with a specific age group, so may be easier to be flexible on the exact age?

I am now an assistant at Beavers, and DW helped out in the school (admittedly one that DD was at etc).

We haven't made a firm committment on age, and tbh it is a question of what you can find..

There are lots of these hoops along the way :)

oh, and all my friends kids have grown up too..

Try not to be too 'frantic' there is plenty time - nothing is quick in the world of adoption!

Thanks ladies... Sent a few emails to local fitness / activity places to ask about helping with football, swimming, general activities, also messaged a couple of nurseries on the off chance... Shall look into Beevers and Rainbows

I found I got more positive responses when I was upfront about why I wanted to volunteer, rather than just offering my services.

You might find a friendly Parent & Toddler group if you can be free in the daytime, they will have children of your age range, and harassed parents only too delighted to have you interacting with their child once they get to know you a bit.

I have said we're looking to do this as we start on the adoption process but also to see what's out there for our future family hopefully!
Unfortunately we both work full time Mon to Fri so tricky finding somewhere regular with baby / toddlers ... I am going to speak with boss about flexi time the odd day to hopefully help us on our way with this x

Have you got something like home start nearby? That would be a good one to volunteer for

Otherwise can the social worker suggest any schemes?

Would you be allowed to drop to 4.5 days per week regularly (or flexi work to achieve this?)
I found my experience volunteering invaluable when we were placed. I did it for around 2.5 years in total from the start of the process until we were about to go to matching panel. I'm not convinced we would have got matched without it to be honest.

Best too look at Clubs which have a large diverse age and gender group's such as athletics', tiny tumbler's, and such like.

Beavers, rainbows etc are of course in the evenings, which can make them more accessible to people who are working, rather than school type settings.

I remember a woman volunteering to run a gardening club in her local school in her lunch hour. That really impressed me.

With the age range of 0-2 the only real options are toddler groups or nursery schools, church or sports centre creche, or any group, like a parenting group that offers a creche.

I;d tell them the truth about why but say it is private so not to share it with others please (my opinion).

If you work full time and cannot alter your hours then religious groups that meet at the weekend might work. Or take an early lunch break once a week and find an activity close to your work.

Is the 'we' you and a male partner? If so, (don't need to say) is your partner or husband being asked about this?

www.wholetthedadsout.org.uk/

Might be worth a look. It's a Christian group.

Gardening club was me !

It was very helpful, the school was in a deprived area, all of 'my kids' had issues of one sort or another.

It was very opportunistic though, I happened to work in a portakabin in the school grounds.

But it does show that you can use a bit of imagination and create your own opportunities, if you can't go down the scouts/cubs etc routes

Ted wow that must have been a long time ago! It really stuck with me! It was ingenious.

Offering a skill rather than simply saying what can do.

Going for something close to work, rather than close to home, as most people who work full time get a free period over lunch and little free time before or after work (when kids are up and about).

Fabulous! Thank you.

What can I do...