how many hours do other cms stay open for

[maggi]

Read another thread mentioning "long hours" which didn't seem atypical to me.

I do 4-6 nights a week on a rolling rota (so including some weekends. My day people start arriving at 8am and come and go until my last after schooler leaves at 7pm. Sometimes I'm working continuosly for several days in a row. It is a way of life like having an extended family. (Used to foster teenagers as well but I just ran out of time in my days - also have 2 sons and a husband who thinks housework happens by magic).

So tell me am I being a martyr to the profession or are there lots more busy people out there.

I do 5 days a week with fulltimers and after schoolies, 7.30 - 5.30, plus paperwork hours.

i do 7am-7pm monday to friday, plus paperwork hours etc. i've also had an enquiry for 2 nights a week till 9.30pm. i didnt think hours like theese were unusual.

i do 7am to 6.15pm, plus the usual after hours stuff. i also had request for 9pm but there is no ways i could do that in my small house with a 4 year old who turns into a werewolf at 7.30 if he is not in bed by then.

I currently work 8-6 m-f plus paperwork, planning and training.

I used to work 6/6.30am - 9/8.30pm and some overnights.

I much prefer my 'day' mindees who I have now, but just take whatever hours come along at the time TBH.

I am looking into fostering maggi did you enjoy it?

Oh well SammyK, Did I enjoy it...hmmmm.
I fostered teenagers and here's a list of what we experienced:
drug addition (canabis)
stealing from us (money, watches, cameras)
running away (incredibly upsetting for us on the first occassion)
learning difficulties
sexual behaviour (masterbating infront of me)
lesbian relationships
broken window, cooker, water jug
drinking problems
balemia and anorexia
huge crowd of teenage friends taking up residence outside our garden and annoying neighbours
self harming (cutting, over medicating)
prejudice by my own family against asylum seeker
English as a second language
and more......

So we didn't so much enjoy it as get satisfaction from surviving it and getting them to survive it.

But I tell you what we didn't enjoy - the fostering services lack of support. At times we didn't get a supervising social worker. We still haven't been paid for sports clubs and equipment we purchased 2 years ago for one child.

Im glad we did it.

Blimey!

We will be fostering cared for children of primary school aged if all goes through, which I have experience of already as I have done CM for SS.

Doesn't sound like your LA is very good in terms of support!