room) and, taking the booklet, I sat beside her and explained about the review and the questions. She was interested and grabbed the booklet from my hand. I knew she couldn’t read the questions or write her responses, so I said, ‘I’ll read the questions to you and then you tell me what you want to say and I’ll write it.’ This was what I usually did. She nodded, which was a first.
‘Great.’ I picked up my pen, slid the booklet so it was between us and I could see the words, and read out the first question. ‘Do you know why you are in care?’
‘Yes,’ she said.
‘Can you tell me why,’ I encouraged, ‘so I can write it down?’
She thought for a moment. ‘Because I’ve been very bad at home.’
I looked at her, taken aback. ‘No, love, that’s not the reason. You’re not bad. Your mother was finding it difficult without your dad and needed time alone.’ No child should ever believe themselves to be bad, and it wasn’t Anna that was causing the problems but her behaviour.
‘Mummy needed to be alone because of me,’ Anna said quietly and without emotion.
‘Who told you that?’ I asked.
‘No one. I just know.’ I continued to look at her. ‘Write it,’ she said, nudging my arm. ‘Why aren’t you writing? You have to write because I have been bad at home.’
‘You really want me to put that?’
‘Yes.’
So I wrote it.
The next question asked if the child knew who their social worker was and Anna shook her head. I told her it was Lori and then I wrote Anna didn’t know her name so I reminded her. I said the words out loud as I wrote them so Anna knew exactly what I was writing.
The next question asked: Would you like to see more of your social worker? Anna shook her head so I wrote No.
The next question asked what she liked about living with her foster carer.
‘Nothing,’ she said without any need to think.
‘Nothing at all?’ I asked, feeling a little hurt. She shook her head. ‘What about the milkshakes and puddings I make you? You like those.’
‘No, I don’t.’
‘Well, you eat them.’
She shrugged. ‘Write nothing,’ she said, nudging my arm again.
So I wrote Nothing and wondered what the review would make of this.
The next question asked what she didn’t like about living with her foster family and Anna had plenty to say. ‘I don’t like you, I don’t like Adrian and Paula, I don’t like your cat, I don’t like your house and I don’t like having to stay in my bed.’ There was so much it barely fitted in the space provided.
‘Anything else?’ I asked.
‘Yes. I don’t like you,’ she said again.
‘I think we’ve already covered that,’ I said, pointing to the first line. I then turned the page and read out the next question. ‘What has gone well for you since your last review? I’ll write N/A, which stands for not applicable,’ I said, ‘as this is your first review.’
She eyed me suspiciously. Likewise the next question was: What has gone badly since your last review? I read it out and told her I was writing N/A again.
Who are your friends? was the next question. Anna said, ‘Don’t know.’ Which was very sad. Most children of Anna’s age can name a few good friends.
‘Who do you play with at school?’ I asked.
‘Anyone.’ She shrugged despondently but I could see the pain in her eyes. I didn’t push it further as I knew from Mrs Taylor that Anna was struggling to make friends because she was very bossy and controlling. I wrote Anna doesn’t know who her friends are. The next question asked if the child would like to see more of their friends and Anna shrugged, so I wrote Anna wasn’t sure. The following question was If you have a problem, who do you talk to? She looked puzzled, so I rephrased it.
‘If you have something worrying you, who would you tell?’
‘Mrs Taylor,’ she said.
I wrote Mrs Taylor, Anna’s teacher. Interesting, as most children would have said Mummy. ‘You know you can always talk to me and tell me your worries?’ I said. Anna ignored me, so I moved to the final question. ‘Is there anything you want to ask?’
She shrugged, then said, ‘Will I go home?’ A question asked by most children in care and I wrote it down, but Anna was looking at me for a reply.
‘I don’t know, love,’ I said, ‘but for now I will look after you. You won’t have to move again until everything is sorted out.’
‘Will I have to go on a plane again?’
‘Not unless we all go on holiday.’
‘When can I see my mummy?’
‘Your adoptive mother?’ I clarified.
Anna nodded.
‘I’m not sure yet. Would you like to?’
‘Yes,’ she said quietly.
My heart clenched. ‘I’ll write that down too then: Anna would like to know when she can see her mummy,’ I said as I wrote.
But would her mother want to see her? I had no idea, but I sincerely hoped so.
Chapter Twenty-One
On Wednesday I met Jill in the reception of the council offices ten minutes before Anna’s review was due to start. We signed in the Visitors’ Book and then made our way up to the first floor. ‘Hopefully we’ll meet Anna’s parents,’ Jill said, voicing my thoughts.
‘Yes, indeed.’ Although I felt a familiar surge of nervousness at meeting the child’s parents for the first time.
Lori was already in the meeting room, seated at the large oak table next to a man she introduced as the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO). LAC reviews are chaired and minuted by an IRO who is a qualified social worker with extra training, and unconnected with the social services. Jill and I gave him our names and roles – supervising social worker and foster carer – as we sat and he noted these. I handed him the review forms Anna and I had completed and he thanked me.
The door opened and Miss Rich came in carrying a folder. The child’s teacher or TA are usually invited to the review. Lori introduced her to the IRO and she sat on the other side of the table
