When I was at school I found it very difficult to make new friends and fit in. This was due to being in foster care and moving schools a lot. When starting a new school I always had to make the teachers aware I was in foster care, just in case I had an appointment with my social worker during school time. Having these appointments during school time was the hardest; they made me different and no one else had to leave the class for an hour or so. Then there were always questions afterwards, “What’s so special about her that she gets to skip a lesson?”
Other issues include everyday life such as holidays (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas). I felt like no one understood why it was so hard for me to sit down and make a card “for the best mother in the world”.
This impacted on my life. I was getting bullied for getting special treatment from teachers and losing friends because they didn’t understand. Feeling isolated and alone is the worst feeling in the world; despite being in school with over 200 people I was still alone.
This pack is to help (not tell) teachers and pupils to understand, from a young person’s point of view, what it is like being in foster care and having an education. From this pack I hope teachers can take a step back and start thinking about the young person’s needs and feelings. I hope pupils will get a better understanding of something they might not fully understand. Overall, I would like my experiences to make a change within the schools, and to make people more aware about people in foster care.
Naina Thomas
Bath and North East Somerset In Care Council
October 2012
