This is my very first Jacqueline Wilson fan fiction work on her Tracy Beaker/Dumping Ground trilogy; this one is set in Ashdene Ridge like on the television drama serial of The Dumping Ground shown on the CBBC Channel, I hope you enjoy it!
Introducing two main original characters from me named Jason and Tia.
It is a case that tested even the most experienced children's care workers like Mike Milligan who had been in the occupation since 1985 when he at nearly 21 or 22 years of age first met Fiona who is now the big boss of Children Services across the North of England. There were two brand new children arriving today aged 4 and 7 but came as a package with various nieces and nephews who could only be described as feral which couldn't be anymore different as May Li thought she'd seen all of the challenges neglected children or young people presented with.
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However for the first time, Ashdene Ridge has to be childproofed as Jason and Tia will purposefully break toys, use them as weapons, tear up jigsaws and throw electronics. Most children in 'The Dumping Ground' will generally play nicely and whilst they will obviously squabble they have been taught to look after their toys or they go away or end up in the bin and not replaced (if broken on purpose).
When Mike and May Li had the email alert from Social Services; they have to gather anything of value and hide it away. The flaky male social worker who was of African ethnicity wearing a scruffy red t-shirt, untidy black hair and grubby jeans with dirty white trainers that had seen better days warns the two carers "We also can't leave them unsupervised so you or May Li have to be with them all the time as these children well known for destroying things because they're only kids. The parents with quite a history are happy to let those many little kids cause trouble as long as they're out of their nose." The social worker named James Cunningham just leaves the three to seven year olds to it; not bothering to stick around for the mayhem these neglected young children unleash for Mike and May Li.
Sasha comes downstairs with a cracked I-Pad unit, along with several other Ashdene Ridge residents obviously getting bored of having their things trashed by the load of new children who have left quite an impression for their extremely young ages on the older ones there; it is understandable that Ashdene Ridge's teenagers want the house back to themselves, they stand outside Mike Milligan and May Li's office knocking on the door frantically.
"Jason just screeched, jumped about and tore through the house." moaned Tyler Lewis who found the bunch of new young children including Jason and Tia tiring with others who needed to inform Mike Milligan who was super busy trying to chase up their lazy social workers, building a history up and typing new risk assessments up in the office. May Li meanwhile was catching up with unfinished admin "It also sounds like there are older children doing this which I would be much less impressed with." said the smart looking Chinese lady over the phone to their previous children's home Larkin Rise in Manchester. "These children sound awful and a child that is throwing punches at age 8 needs serious attention from a professional." snapped May Li who was sick of the children's ineffective but rather elderly previous foster parents sugar coating the truth of their background, any additional needs and developmental delays that were present "If these very young children aren't helped now; they will end up going to a Young Offenders Insitution and most likely prison!" she yelled at Mr. Trevor Sharp who was too jaded to care after more than forty years of fostering and thousands of children on his and his wife's books; they have been a short term placement for new children who have just entered the system since the 1960s/1970s.
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"Obviously we as responsible adults discourage/prevent it but for a 3-4 year old and maybe even 5 year old they will still have little impulse control. So I think it's verging on unreasonable to expect a younger child to behave perfectly especially if they've been through a lot." explained Mike Milligan during a house meeting with the older teens in the lounge room gathered around after clearing up the nasty mess of discarded toys and games on the carpet; it was quite clear these young children had no idea on how to play properly or use imaginations in an appropiate way. Jason and Tia were obviously the ringleaders of this wave of destruction; being told to have separate time outs in the Quiet Room with either May Li or Mike supervising to ensure these children couldn't put themselves in danger or inflict any more wild behaviour on the house.
"What kind of idiot social worker leaves them running wild and our house is trashed and things are broken?" asked Sasha Bellman with coloured Rastafarian hair colours in her hairstyle who has two younger siblings since before Ashton Ridge was expected to be the mum to her very young siblings even though at the time she was nothing more than a teenager herself; at 20 something this was a problem she knew all too well. "put up a stair gate and say upstairs is off limits, and enforce it?" wearing a David Bowie t-shirt in black with her favourite light blue jeans and white trainers "You guys shouldn't be too embarrassed/stressed to take them out, or have to spend the entire time removing these little ones from hazards, toys, other children; even though it would be part of your job description." Sasha was simply stating the reality as it was known; since she studied GCSE and then A-Level Art and was an aspiring blogger as well her passion for music especially from the 1990s.
One of the new children, Kelly becomes angry and naughtier when told off for running hot wheels cars across the front of the new TV. A little telling off, reminder of the house rules and 'the look' usually works for the others in Ashton Ridge. While May Li deals with six year old Kelly Bandell's behaviour using the current methods since her Chinese heritage taught her the value of patience playing the long game with these damaged small children; including the youngest set whom were still toddlers. Mike and May Li were prepared put up with some pain before you get to the easier fun times. "If the people that were supposed to support these poor little souls went mad at them (other adults) at being told off not to run a toy car across a TV then there is no hope I'm afraid." May Li reported to Mike Milligan in private surrounded by filing cabinets in their office after Kelly and Danny complete their respective three and five minute time outs.
Mike Milligan complained in a furious and fuming tone of voice over the black uniform looking Simens landline telephone to Greater Manchester Social Services "because they're so destructive with no boundaries set! God forbid we tell them off in our own children's home or tell them no you're not going upstairs to play or no you can't play with that ornament/candle/whatever... pisses me off something rotten!" in the space of a few hours with the Bandell children at Ashdene Ridge "The previous adults whom had the Bandell family children are useless and will not tell them off or teach them respect. I actually dread them visiting other foster parents homes for respite because they're so destructively wild!" annoyed at the case not being taken seriously by the community team for Greater Manchester County Council Social Services "I'm making it quite clear that I will no longer have my young people's possessions ruined and bad behaviour allowed and ignored and until it stops they are not welcome in any foster parents home for respite in this area." Larkin Rise children's home in Manchester didn't bother to implement new regimes in the best interests for the Bandell children, were given respite on many occasions and thanks to this; Ashdene Ridge were paying the price "I bet the Sharps spent most of the time wanting to hide under the table in case anyone thought they were their great grand kids." the experienced children's carer slammed the phone down on a whiny young sounding head of Looked After Children and Vulnerable Adults, preferring to get on with the job in hand and preparing some safe boundaries for the Bandell children that should have been done years ago when the eldest ones were toddlers.
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A statement is printed from one respite carer Teressa Wise: The last time the Bandell children came to my house; the children trashed the place, squirted body lotion over the walls, broke a door handle, pulled pictures off walls, screamed in my newborn's face, flicked their fingers in her face, then smacked newborn on the bum when I put her in the sling to get her away from them. Wrestled all over my living room. Just generally yelled and screamed. Threw food on the floor because they wanted biscuits. I was three weeks post csection. It was horrific. Children in question were under and over the age of 5 and had SN. We have long suspected an ASD and ADHD profile and I'm pretty sure these children has a degree of spectrum problems and or maybe ADHD but biological mum will have none if it. The 50th incident over the Christmas period with family's DC (aged 2 and 5). Running all over the house screaming (including upstairs and in and out of bedrooms which I had shut the doors on purposefully), messing with electricals/switches, breaking door handles, throwing items into the blinds, bashing the TV, climbing on and launching themselves off my furniture... the list unfortunately goes on. Dad eventually stepped in and told them off, which prompted a huge argument regarding his 'tone' and cue them social workers packing up and storming off because apparently 'we just don't understand what it is like to be around young children especially ones that are autistic and hyperactive'. Whenever more than three are together they're feral.
My husband Philip Wise explained that I couldn't afford to replace any more toys/doors/random items in our family home to their quite lazy female social worker who frankly couldn't care less; a Miss. Sally Robinson was furious but she already hated us so for implementing some Supernanny based regimes for these children and doing what most normal parents would do with their dear child; with a tone of "oh you're so grumpy your always telling the kids off!" No shit Sherlock it's called parenting. Luckily for us we had a massive fall out and don't have to put up with it.
After the incidents logged I lock away the good and expensive toys - especially if I'm expecting the more, ahem, spirited of children particularly nieces and nephews on my husband's side of family; its exhausting and feeble parenting of "Harry, no. Harry stop." for example. Rather than taking stuff off them; is the reason we seldom have them over or take long term respite placements with a history of SEND and/or challenging behaviour.
I have to no avail tried the following techniques - 1. No one goes upstairs unsupervised by responsible adults (we have a baby gate)
2. Put away the toys that are breakable
3. Turn on Netflix or game console
I kept the 'Star Wars' light sabres in my wardrobe where they were hidden to keep them away from particularly spirited children.
Sadly there is a problem of our own in the Wise family; relations with Sister In Law is very shaky, her and my Dear Brother are having a lot of marital problems over her refusal to discipline. I witnessed my niece kicking both her parents in the stomach this last week whilst having a tantrum, they just carried on their conversation and said ow. She's 8 years of age.
My strategies for Social Services short term respite placements are to mostly host in the summer when kids can be kept outside to play. Meet up halfway with key workers at a pool, play centre, park etc. Go to theirs when we can. Find a way to deal with it if you want to spend time with them. We do reduce or have no visits to our house (depends on who the key worker is and whether they can be trusted to keep the children under control/supervision) with any excuse that they can't stay long for introduction visits.
We in the Wise family couldn't watch our son's things being willfully trashed & chocolate cake being ground into our cream carpets for a single second longer!
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The Bandell children including Jason and Tia were still climbing over stair rails, jumping on furniture like goats and breaking toys in the Ashdene Ridge house generally being an nuisance by hiding things, breaking things, trashing neighbours belongings, and generally nightmares whenever they were allowed to play in the garden with the other children whenever footballs, toy die cast cars, bikes and outdoor games are involved; Mike Milligan and May Li needed to do something fast!
This is the cliffhanger, chapter two will reveal more on Mike Milligan and May Li's newest toughest case in the Ashdene Ridge house!