The air was crisp and cold and the virgin snow crackled underfoot as I crossed the patio. Birds’ footprints were visible in the snow along the top of the fence. ‘Make me a snow angel!’ Melody cried into the otherwise still air.
‘Yes, but quietly.’ I glanced up at our neighbour’s windows. ‘People are still in bed.’
Melody lay on her back and I showed her how to move her limbs up and down to create the pattern. I helped her up so she wouldn’t disturb the image, and there was the outline of an angel, complete with a halo from the hat she was wearing. ‘It’s an angel, just like my mummy said!’ she cried, pleased.
‘It is. Perfect.’
We stood side by side, gazing at the snow angel, and as we did the sun rose, causing the snow to sparkle.
‘Isn’t she pretty?’ Melody said.
‘Yes. Very.’
‘I think Mummy is here watching us.’
I smiled. ‘Yes, indeed.’ For if ever a child needed to feel their mother’s presence, Melody did.
Chapter Eleven
Review
We made the most of the snow while it lasted: after breakfast on Saturday we all went tobogganing in a nearby park, then in the afternoon we made a snowman in the garden and had a snowball fight. But as often happens in England after a snowfall, the thaw quickly set in. On Sunday the garden began to reappear, revealing a few brave crocus flowers that had survived the impact of the snow. By Monday there was just a slushy mess, although Melody’s snow angel was the last to melt. This wasn’t wholly surprising, as the snow had been compacted by Melody lying on it, and it was in a shaded part of the garden. But for Melody it was a sign her mother was close by and thinking of her; I agreed she was.
I took Melody to school as normal on Monday morning, but my day was very short, as I had to return to the school for 2.30 for her first review. Dressed smartly in what my children refer to as my office outfit – navy skirt, blouse and jacket – I arrived for the review in plenty of time and signed the Visitors’ Book. One of the secretaries showed me to the Headmistress’s room where I’d gone when I’d first brought Melody into school, and it was now being used for the meeting. Jill and a man I hadn’t met before were already seated in the two armchairs. Extra chairs had been brought in and placed either side of the sofa and armchairs to form a circle. Jill smiled, said hello and introduced the man as the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO), who would chair and minute the meeting. IROs are qualified social workers with extra training, but they are not connected with the social services. Having said hello, I gave him the review forms Melody and I had completed and sat next to Jill.
Almost immediately the door opened and Miss May and Mrs Farnham, the Deputy Head, came in. They said a general hello and sat down, Miss May in the chair to my left. ‘Melody is with her class now,’ she said to me. ‘I’ll bring her up later.’
‘Is that all right with you?’ Mrs Farnham asked the IRO, checking procedure.
‘Yes. I think at her age she can come into her review towards the end when we’ve finished talking.’
The door opened again and Nina, the Guardian, came in. She said, ‘Good afternoon,’ then crossed to the two-seater sofa that had remained empty. ‘Am I all right to sit here? You’re not saving it for anyone?’
‘No, not at all,’ the IRO said.
Neave now entered with a young man I guessed to be in his mid-twenties. She said hello and he smiled a little self-consciously – I wondered if he was a trainee. She sat next to Nina, while he took a free chair on the other side of the circle. Everyone had a folder or notepad with them, including me. It was now 2.30 p.m. and the IRO asked if we were expecting anyone else.
‘I don’t think so,’ Neave said. ‘Amanda, Melody’s mother, won’t be coming. She’s still in hospital.’
‘Let’s begin then,’ the IRO said, and he opened the meeting by thanking us for coming. ‘This is Melody’s first review,’ he said. ‘Can we start by introducing ourselves?’ He gave his name and role, and we then went round the circle giving our names and roles. I learned that the young man who’d come in with Neave, Gareth, was a student social worker on his final work placement. There were eight of us, so it was a medium-sized review. The number attending a review varies depending on factors including the complexity of the case. As is usual at reviews, the foster carer – with up-to-date information on the child – was asked to speak first. I drew myself more upright in my chair and glanced at the sheet of paper I held on my lap. I began by saying that Melody had settled in and was eating and sleeping well, and had reasonably good self-care skills, although she needed reminding to wash and brush her teeth sometimes. I said she’d arrived quite dirty and with head lice, but I’d treated those straight away, and that I’d seen none of the aggression mentioned in the referral.
‘So you wouldn’t describe Melody’s behaviour as challenging?’ the IRO asked.
‘No. She was obviously upset at being parted from her mother, but generally she’s settled in well.’ He nodded and made a note. I then spoke a little about Melody’s routine and what she liked to do in her spare time.
‘Does she attend any clubs outside school?’ the IRO asked, looking up from the notes he was taking.
‘Not yet, but I’m hoping she will do soon. I’m trying to find out what she’s interested in.’ Children in care are expected to have the same opportunities as the average child; sometimes they have many more.
‘I’ll put that as a target then,’ he said. Reviews like targets.
‘On that subject,’ I said, ‘Melody has swimming lessons at school and I would like to take her swimming sometimes at the weekends and during the school holidays. I understand from Melody that her mother is very anxious about her drowning and wouldn’t be happy if I took her, so I haven’t yet. Can I have permission to do so?’
The IRO looked at Neave as he spoke. ‘I think that’s reasonable, don’t you? We can give permission. Melody is on a care order and her mother has been sectioned.’
‘Yes,’ Neave said. ‘I agree.’
‘You’ll obviously supervise her,’ the IRO said to me.
‘Yes, and she’ll be wearing armbands as she does at school.’
‘Good.’ He made a note.
‘I took her for the medical,’ I continued. ‘All was well. A copy of the paediatrician’s report has gone to the social services. I also took her to the dentist and optician.’ I gave the results.
‘Has she had the fillings now?’ the IRO asked.
‘Not yet,’ I said and hesitated. This was awkward. ‘I’m waiting for the permission slip to be returned.’ I looked at Neave.
‘Sorry, it’s on my desk,’ she said. ‘I’ll let you have it back ASAP.’ It’s usually parents who sign their children’s permission slips, but children in care proceedings generally need them to be signed by their social worker.
The IRO nodded, made a note and looked to me to continue. I glanced at my notes. ‘Melody had missed a lot of school before coming into care and is a long way behind. I’m working closely with Miss May, her TA, to try to help her catch up. We do a bit of extra work each evening.’
‘And Melody is happy to do schoolwork in the evening, rather than playing or watching television?’ the IRO asked.
‘Yes, a little,’ I said. ‘Her mother told her she needs to do well at school and pass her exams to get a good job. She’s remembered it.’
‘Good,’ the IRO said. ‘That’s positive. And what about contact with her mother? I understand it’s been suspended. How does Melody feel about that?’
‘She misses her mother a lot. They were very close. Melody helped her mother and now worries about her. My feeling is she needs to see her mother soon. I understand we are waiting for a report from the hospital.’
‘Yes, I’ll be covering that,’ Neave said.
I glanced at my notes again. ‘I think that’s everything,’ I said.
‘And you’re aware of the care plan?’ the IRO asked me.
‘Yes.’
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He now turned to Neave. She opened the file on her lap and began by giving the background to the case and the reasons for bringing Melody into care – neglect, non-attendance at school and being left home alone. As I already knew, this had been building for years, and despite support being put in the situation at home had deteriorated. Neave gave the date Melody had been brought into care and also when Amanda had been sectioned. She confirmed that Melody was in care under an Interim Care Order and that the social services were applying for a Full Care Order with a final court hearing date in November.
‘And the mother’s medical condition?’ the IRO asked.
Neave nodded. ‘She has been diagnosed with clinical depression, acute anxiety and dementia. The former is largely a result of the dementia. Alzheimer’s has been mentioned and I’m waiting to speak to the consultant. When she was first admitted it was thought that her confusion and aggression could be a result of still using drugs, but that’s been ruled out now. She hasn’t had access to drugs or alcohol since she’s been in hospital and her condition hasn’t improved. The most likely diagnosis is dementia brought on by years of substance misuse. Apparently, those using for prolonged periods are three times more likely to suffer brain damage than those who don’t use drugs.’ She paused to let the message sink in.
‘So is there likely to be any improvement in her condition?’ the IRO asked, looking up from writing.
Neave shook her head. ‘I’ll have a better idea of the prognosis once I’ve met with the consultant, but Amanda is likely to need long-term care. They are already looking for a care home that can manage her dementia. She will have to leave the hospital where she is, now the assessment is complete.’
There was another moment’s silence as the full impact of what Neave had said hit us.
‘So there is no chance of Amanda ever going home?’ Nina, the Guardian, asked.
‘No. The assessment has shown she needs help with even the basics, like washing and dressing herself. Her mood swings and aggression have to be managed too. She could only be discharged home if there was a relative willing and able to look after her, and there isn’t.’
‘I hadn’t realized she was that bad,’ I said, shocked.
‘I suppose Melody has been helping her a lot,’ Jill added.
‘Has Melody given you any indication of how much she has been helping her mother?’ Neave now asked me. ‘The support worker we put in noted that Amanda relied on Melody. The contact supervisor said the same and that Amanda appeared confused sometimes, but those were the only indications we had.’
‘Melody was worried about her mother getting lost and she’s told me she helped her with the shopping and cooking, but she’s never mentioned she needed to wash and dress her.’
‘She probably didn’t realize that it wasn’t normal,’ Jill offered. ‘I mean, what comparison did she have?’
‘True,’ Nina said, and the IRO nodded thoughtfully.
‘Have you referred Melody to CAMHS?’ he now asked Neave.
‘Yes, she’s on the waiting list, as it’s considered non-urgent.’ While Melody should have the therapeutic help she needed, NHS resources were scarce. More and more children were being referred for counselling, so a young person who was suicidal or self-harming, for example, would take priority over someone like Melody.
Neave finished by saying that contact would restart once she’d met with the clinician, and that she’d also be visiting Melody later this week, which was news to me.
‘So contact will be restarted this week?’ the IRO asked.
‘Or early next week.’
He finished writing and then asked Nina to speak. Nina didn’t have a lot to say as she was still ‘familiarizing’ herself with the case and had yet to meet Amanda, which she would do shortly. She said that when she’d visited Melody at my house Melody had asked to see her mother, and Nina agreed that contact should be re-established as soon as possible, and added that she wasn’t sure why it had stopped. ‘Children visit parents in hospital, even in prison,’ she said.
‘Contact stopped because Amanda was sectioned. She wasn’t well enough,’ Neave said a little curtly, apparently taking Nina’s remarks as criticism.
‘But she is stable enough now?’ the IRO said. ‘The child must have seen her mother like it when she was living at home.’
‘I will know more when I’ve met with the psychiatrist responsible for her care,’ Neave said.
The IRO finished writing, thanked Neave, and then looked to Mrs Farnham and Miss May. ‘Would you like to tell us how Melody is doing at school?’
Mrs Farnham spoke first and began by pointing out that Melody had only joined the school last September, and prior to that had received very little schooling so was a long way behind. She read out some test results, explained what the school was doing to help her catch up, then she passed to Miss May to speak. She flushed up a little as she spoke, gave some examples of the type of work she set for Melody and said she was an enthusiastic learner and had no behavioural problems, unlike one of the boys on her table. She said Melody did talk about her mother a lot, and that she updated me in the playground at the end of school on most days.
‘Has Melody ever talked to you about her life at home before coming into care?’ the IRO asked.
‘Not really. She tells me she misses her mother and often talks about what she is doing now with Cathy, but not much before then.’
The IRO asked her if she had anything else to say and then, thanking her, turned to Jill. ‘Would you like to add anything? Then we’ll ask Melody to join us.’ Gareth wouldn’t be asked to speak; as a student social worker he was there to observe and learn how reviews were conducted.
‘My role as Cathy’s supervising social worker is to monitor and support her in all aspects of her fostering,’ Jill began. ‘We are in regular contact and I visit her every month when we discuss the child she is fostering. Cathy is an experienced and dedicated foster carer and I know she will ask for help and advice if necessary. Melody has settled in well and I am satisfied that Cathy is providing a high level of care. I have no concerns and shall be seeing her and Melody again later this week.’ Which, like Neave’s proposed visit, was news to me.
The IRO thanked Jill and then asked if Melody could be brought into the meeting. Miss May left to fetch her. The bell rang, signalling the end of school, and Mrs Farnham asked if she could go as the Head wasn’t in school and she really needed to be in the playground as the children left.
‘Yes, you go,’ the IRO said. ‘Thank you for attending.’
She said goodbye and left. While we waited, the IRO looked through the booklets that Melody and I had filled in and Jill took out her diary and asked if she could visit on Thursday after school.
‘We’ll be back around four,’ I said. I made a note of the visit as Jill entered it in her diary.
‘I’ll come at the same time then on Friday,’ Neave said. I wrote this down too.
‘You’re popular,’ Nina quipped with a smile.
The door opened and Miss May came in with Melody, who looked shyly at me. ‘Hello, love, come and have a seat,’ I said. It must have taken a lot for her to come into the Head’s office and be faced with all those adults. She sat next to Miss May on the chair Mrs Farnham had vacated.
‘Thank you for joining us, Melody,’ the IRO said. ‘How are you?’
‘OK,’ she replied quietly.
‘What do you like doing at school?’ he asked.
‘Work that Miss May sets,’ she said in the same small voice.
‘What sort of work is that?’ he asked. Melody didn’t know. ‘Maths? Reading? Art?’ he prompted.
‘Yes,’ she said.
‘This meeting is about you,’ he continued, ‘to make sure you are receiving all the help you need at home and school. Can you think of anything you need here or at Cathy’s?’
Melody thought for a moment and shook her head.
‘So you’re happy at school and being well looked
after at home with Cathy,’ he said as he wrote. ‘That’s good. I see from the review form you completed that you like having your own bedroom and playing with Cathy’s children.’
‘Yes,’ she said quietly.
‘Good. I’ve also read that you are sad because you are not seeing your mother at present. Your social worker, Neave, will arrange for you to see her in hospital shortly.’
‘When?’ Melody asked, suddenly losing her shyness and speaking out.
‘I should be able to tell you when I visit you on Friday,’ Neave said.
‘Is that OK?’ the IRO asked.
Melody nodded.
‘You also ask on your review form when your mother will come out of hospital. We’re not sure yet but Neave will talk to you about that too when she sees you. Is there anything else you’d like to ask the review?’
I thought Melody was going to shake her head shyly or say a small no as she had been doing, but, looking directly at the IRO, she said firmly, ‘I really do want to see my mummy. I know she’s being looked after in hospital, but I still want to see her very soon.’
The IRO smiled kindly. ‘Yes, I understand, and your social worker is going to arrange that. All right?’
She nodded.
The IRO then wound up the meeting by setting the date for the next review – in three months’ time – and thanked us all for coming. Having said goodbye, I left with Melody and Miss May to go down to the classroom to collect Melody’s school bag and coat.
‘So is my social worker going to tell me when I can see my mummy?’ Melody asked as we went.
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘when she visits us on Friday after school.’
‘That’s good then, isn’t it?’ Miss May said brightly. ‘No need for you to worry about that any more.’
Once we’d collected Melody’s belongings from the now-empty classroom, I took the opportunity to thank Miss May for all she was doing for Melody, then we said goodbye and Melody and I left the school. As I drove us home I casually asked Melody if she’d ever had to help her mother wash and dress when she was living with her.