Adoption activity day

[Nel81]

Hi,
I have been invited to attend an activity day and was wondering if anybody has had any experience of these? I know I'll be meeting children who are up for adoption and their Foster carers/social workers but would be grateful if anybody could let me know what actually happens at an event like this and what's expected of me.
Thanks

I went to three. They were all slightly different and this was a good 6 years ago so I can't say for sure how things run now.

Some commonalities that are unlikely to have changed though :
-There will be a briefing at the start to set the ground rules and expectations.
-There will be quite a few social workers running the event and they will keep things running smoothly and make sure everyone's happy and doing what they should be. You can ask them questions. They are usually very friendly and approachable. There will be a dedicated room for prospective adopters to take a break in and there will probably be a sw who you can check in with there too.
-you'll be given a booklet of children's profiles. Ages are intentionally omitted. Don't ask the children's ages.
-There might be a dress up theme. Dressing up is not compulsory but you might feel a bit more involved if you at least give a nod to the theme (a tshirt or accessories for example)
-as the name suggests there are various activities you can do with the children. These will vary, but probably some crafts, sports etc. It feels like a children's party but with a disproportionate number of adults. There might be a children's entertainer.
-you will most likely be interested in a couple of children based on the profiles but you are asked to engage with all the children, by playing with /chatting with them.
-The organisers will likely move you on if you spend too long with one child, and will warn you of this in the briefing.
-you might meet your future child, you might not, but there is so much more you can get out of the day: networking with other adopters; coming into contact with looked after children and realising they are so much more than their profile - they are ordinary children with their own quirks and personalities; chatting to foster carers; networking with family finders (they might be family finding for a child that is perfect for you a couple of months later so it's always worth making a good impression) .
-if you decide you want to express an interest in a child, you do this by completing a form at the end of the session.

Thanks so much for this

Ive been to a few of these pre covid lockdowns and a few virtual. I agree with the last post except my agency didnt omit ages of children.
They were fun but time flies by and i found it difficult to interact with the children i was interested in due to them doing activities with other adopters.

The virtual ones, you see a profile and video so i found it less stressful as a single adopter. Hope that helps.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I did an online profiling event in the middle of August which was really nice, seeing the videos of the children, so much more informative than just the email sharing information about the children. Also a single adopter so am taking my sister with me to the activity day.