In Your Shoes - Chelsey Muir

Monday – Looking ahead to summer

Today I was planning our summer events. We have scheduled two summer activities this year for our children and young people. We are planning a game of outdoor laser tag in rural Perthshire, and for the second event, a beach day full of fun and games.

Our young people are involved in everything we do. We always ask them for ideas for activities and try to accommodate everyone’s needs. After each event, we ask for feedback from the young people who attended.

Our young people have been telling us for some time that they are keen to have a group water fight, so off to the beach we go!

Thanks to brilliant foster carers, the children and young people we support tend to be with us for a long time. We keep refreshing our events to keep them relevant to the changing interests of our young people.

Tuesday – Preparing for play

One of the training sessions we offer for our foster carers is Practical Methods of Therapeutic Play. This session helps foster carers understand the therapeutic benefits of playing and how it can be a tool to nurture connection, promote regulation and build self-esteem in young people. Carers have a chance to play and get messy.

We are preparing to adapt this and offer it as an event in the upcoming Dundee Play Festival – Messy Play for All Ages. We are taking this event out to Fairfield Community Hub on Thursday

11th June, so the families who use this facility can access the opportunity and we can make new connections.

Wednesday – Taking children's voices from pool table to Fostering Panel

It is Panel Day at Head Office, which means our Independent Panel will review the performance of our foster families. Foster carers each meet with the Panel annually to discuss what has been happening, review their skills and assess their learning and development. I help young people evaluate their own wellbeing and share their thoughts about how their foster carers support them. We do this in advance of the Panel and do not need to attend the meeting.

This afternoon, I am supporting a young person who is primary school-aged.I am still in the early stages of building rapport with this young person, but I am hoping to help him manage his emotions. His carers will attend Panel next month, so today I will collect him from school and return to our Resource Room to play pool and talk about his wellbeing in a child-centred way.

Thursday - Birthday treats in Fife

This morning, my colleague is delivering Loss & Change training for staff and foster carers. Care-experienced young people feel the impact of loss and change. Understanding developmental theory informs us how we can best support young people who experience this.

This afternoon I am meeting a young person in Fife. We support foster families across East and Central Scotland. It’s a busy day for this young man, he is attending a college interview to continue in full-time education and it is also his birthday. It’s a pleasure to treat him to lunch and celebrate. Robert recently facilitated a cookery lesson for younger members of our community and it was a great success. We are delighted he is continuing with a bakery course this year.

Friday – Records and reports

Our team works in a hybrid model, which provides flexibility. Today I am working from home. My tasks today include writing case notes. We record our meetings with children and young people in our case management system. Record keeping is very important for a social care organisation. We have a responsibility to record fair and accurate information, but also to record notes that are helpful to a young person if they wish to read them when they are older.

I am also working on the young people’s newsletter. We celebrate achievements, and with consent, we will share with the community when a young person has a feel-good moment. We show we are proud of them, promote a growth mindset and help nurture their confidence. We also share photos from past events and reminders about our future plans. Our young people are busy with activities. We need to book them early!