Childcare experience

[mightwantto]

Hi everyone.
I am a single woman in her mid forties.
I have been looking for adoption for about 4 years and have spent those years getting my finances and career sorted.

An LA SW had interviewed me in my home to see if I could progress to stage 1 about 2 years ago.
She recommended I get childcare experience ages 2-4 particularly.

It took time, but organised my job/life so I could afford drop hours/days so I could volunteer in a nursery.

Covid then hit and I wasn't confident going into nursery's during lockdown as I wanted to help reduce infection rates by reducing my social contact. I live with lodgers (to help save up for the adoption) and I work outside of the home too so my social circle was already quite large.

I've been double vaccinated now and so are most of the people I am in contact with in work and socially.
I am keen to start the adoption process as soon as possible, and gain the childcare experience at the same time (I was thinking of volunteering 2 mornings a week) - I currently work 3 days a week so have the time to do both at the same time I feel? Plus I have over 2 months holiday saved up for the training days etc (no point using up my holiday in lockdown!)

To put in context I have a reasonable amount of childcare within my own family - I have had sole charge of my nieces/nephews for days/nights several times a year for over 20 years and in previous jobs/careers was a secondary school teacher and I also have worked in social care - occasionally with children (disabled).
I'm very confident with babies (I doubt I will have a baby adoption match though) and I'm very confident with my own families children.
But the SW wanted me to connect with children who are not part of my family and not as MC (her words).

How flexible are agencies in regard to this?
I'm happy to do the experience and I understand how valuable it could be, I just would like not to waste any more time as I feel time is passing too quickly and I want start the process to become a parent as soon as I can.

I have contacted the agencies in my area this morning via email to ask but I haven't spoken to anyone directly to ask their policy on this so I thought I would ask on here.

I don't think I have any other issues like health/housing/support network etc as they are all good (as confirmed by the SW 2 years ago and nothing has changed).

We've got our approval panel next week and we don't have much childcare experience at all. Our social worker has out in our PAR that she doesn't see it as an issue as very few cases of experience will prepare you for your own adopted child.

I've heard from various people now that sw's say to get experience when they don't have a sw for you, sort of to delay things.

Is this with a LA / RAA or an independent? We're with an RAA and we only started the process in December

Thanks Claire.

That was with an LA.

Can I ask what a RAA is?

Regional adoption agency, groups of LA club together into one 'super' agency

To add our sw is actually from our LA but we could have been assigned one from any of the 5 LA within our RAA. When we start our search for children we can look at all 5 of the LA within the RAA too, we aren't just limited to our own LA

It must be a fine line. I’m mid stage 2, and if anything I’m being vindicated for having too much childcare… and for forming a remarkable bond, and proving I am more than capable of loving a child not biologically mine.
A lot of this process is there to test your reserve and perseverance.

Get on with the process and do childcare experience in tandem. I did a couple of mornings a week at a local nursery and I started this in stage 1. I learnt a lot and connected with lots of different children in lots of ways.

When you get to matching your profile may be ‘competing’ against other adopters, including couples. I know that my nursery experience really helped to build my profile.

(A couple of mornings a week for six months)