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Hi and welcome!The various LAs and VAs do things slightly differently but ours went like this:1. info evening 2. visit from sw in the evening3. prep course was over 4 x Fridays - daytimes - we had to take time off (and cancel a holiday!)4. 10 x home study sessions - these were mainly during the day because my OH could take the time but I think we could have done some of them in the evening... beware that they can be very draining and emotional so if you can take time off work and put a day aside for at least the first few sessions that is helpful5. second opinion visit - evening6. panel - always daytimes in normal working hours!Most agencies only run a few prep courses each year so they should be able to give you dates well in advance - having said that there can be quite a queue for places so you may have to wait a few months to get on to one. Once you have a social worker it would be worth talking to them about how flexible they can be re. home study sessions and maybe do a mixture of days / eves.Hope that helps? Good luck with your journey

also meant to say that if D---- is your actual name then perhaps you should choose a username which is less identifying - then when you want to post on here you can do so without anyone knowing it's you!

Hi thank you for that, sounds all very complicated lol, just about to start a new job so maybe need to arrange these in advance, also my husband is a contractor so he would need to put holiday days in or lose pay. will try and speak to a social worker about this, as i am concerned about it, ie due to starting a new job and fitting it all in.also how do i change my username

I am not sure if you can change it - you may have to re-register?Don't worry too much about your new job / taking time off at this stage... if you've not yet been to an information evening you will probably still have a few months before you will need to take time off for meetings etc and your agency may do things a bit differently - some prep courses run over one week so I would wait and see what they say on your initial sw visit...

thank u so nervous, finding reasons why they wouldnt accept me lol.

deep breaths! Just take it as it comes - even though the process is meant to be getting faster it can still take months and months (for us it was 15 months from info eve to approval) ... there is a lot to cover and it is knackering and stressful just getting to approval so be kind to yourselves and deal with each stage as it comes

i will try but i can be my own worst enemy, and this kind of journey will be quite hard on me, as i always look on negative side lol, plus i have a dog so worry about that too as he is a little grumpy and growls at people, although he is getting better. but like you say have to take it as it comes, hopee it doesnt take that long lol, i am from the northwest

Unfortunately 15 months isn't even that long on planet adoption! I went a year from my initial enquiry before they even had space on a prep course!It's highly unlikely you will be in a position to book time off yet, your agency won't have a clue when anything will happen until you start the process and have a social worker allocated. Some SWs are more agreeable t evening sessions than others.

Relax and stay calm....... you will need plenty of "calm" in reserve for later on!!We found the SW's were usually very flexible, but the course dates are fixed as its not just you attending.We have 2 dogs too, went through approval no problems. They are looking for how behaved they are, and how they are around others and how well you control them.The dogs will have to be "assessed" too, (don't laugh..... I did and got a frown!), and they will ask the awful question, "if a placed child and the dogs don't mix, what is your back up plan for the dogs",...... ie, you have to think about what if you have to part with them.We considered this, told them our back up plan, but we knew it would be fine and we have no issues at all. 2 kids, 2 dogs...... life is good!!Keep the faith, it WILL happen but you are at the start of a long and interesting journey. There will be ups and downs, you will cry, shout, rant, rave and everything inbetween. Just keep the end goal in sight and you will come out the other side a stronger person, and with a little one (or two, or even three!) to cuddle and love.Enjoy,........... we're all here to help, just ask!!Best of luck!

HiYou are obviously going to be put through the new process which started at the beginning of July so different to the process others are describing.The best thing is to have a look at this website which describes the process simply but in detail. http://www.first4adoption.org.uk/We are on the new process and so far have had:Information sessionInitial MeetingReferencesMedicalsApparently the new courses are going to be later in the stage so that they dont put people on the course whom they think might not get through the process.Please do let me know if you need any more advice. Oh and you should ask your sw for the process sheet which has a diagram on it showing what the new process involves.All the best