Rob:
Arriving at Whitstable, we met with Sarah to pick up the selfie stick so we could do some filming of our experiences. Then we were off, on our journey to the ‘Skills to Foster’ session in Seasalter.
Me and Tom got there with lots of time to spare, so we took the time to do some vlogs for the website. We had a massive laugh and a giggle while doing these so we were in a great mood for interviewing Foster Carers!
Tom:
After setting up our interview room how we wanted it, we were brought into a big room full of the prospective Foster Carers. It wasn’t that scary… for us, the Foster Carers were terrified until it was explained that we’re actually very nice!
Rob and I went on to explain about our responsibilities as VSK Apprentices. We listed off some things about our CiCC (Children in Care Councils) and how they have helped resolve some problems in the past and made things better for all Children in Care in Kent. We then went on to give a short talk about our activity days. We said a little about our recent October 2018 Art days and some more about the plethora of activities we held over the summer holidays, like Bewl Water, Betteshanger Park and Howletts Zoo. They all seemed very impressed! Hopefully, they’ll get involved when they become Foster Carers for real!
We had 3 couples to interview today. We wanted to find out about how they would welcome children into their homes and how they would support any young people who were experiencing challenges. They were all actually really great and answered the questions really well. Myself and Rob both think they’d all make great Foster Carers. Our feedback will be be used when the final decisions are made.
It’s really important that young people get a chance to have a say in who becomes Foster Carers. If you want to get involved in supporting a ‘Skills to Foster’ session, then why not contact us at VSK_Participation@kent.gov.uk. You can even take part in an accredited Level 2 Course that teaches you about interview skills and recruitment procedures!
posted by Mark Butcher