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Assuming all three are being placed together then adoption leave would have to encompass all three. All three are going to need time at home with you when they arrive - and what’s currently working in fc, Ie nursery, may not be ideal as soon as they come home. And it may be that SS won’t want the 3 year old in nursery straight away. That first 12 months at home with you will be very hard - particularly if they’re 3 and under - but theyll all need that time to settle.

3 is hard - I have three and childcare costs will be prohibitive for a long time. And they may not manage childcare anyway. Mine never did. What happens at the end of your adoption leave? Are you planning on full time work? Be prepared to have a plan B if that’s the case!

Good luck - hopefully you’ll be getting an AA?

Thanks for your reply

AA? What's that?

We're not focusing on anything too much yet, as appreciate with 3 there's alot to consider.

SS have already recommend in the profiles we've seen that the eldest remains in some form of childcare, so planning that we'll have these costs at some point whilst I'm still off on adoption leave even if it's not straight away

Adoption allowance.

Hi. Basically if you are on adoption leave two year olds are entitled to 15 hours a week and three and four year olds to 15 hours a week (rather than 30 hours). After your adoption leave, two year olds will continue to be entitled to 15 hours and three and four year olds to 30 hours. It is not possible to stipulate which child your adoption leave is for.

We adopted a two and three year old. Basically what I did during my adoption leave was to take them to nursery 3 mornings each week (5 hours each day totalling 15 hours), so that we didn’t have to spend money on childcare during my leave. The rest of the week they spent time with me at home. Luckily when I finished my adoption leave our eldest was ready to start reception at school which is free (however, the issue we then encountered is that reception finishes at 3:30pm in our area, so instead of hiring someone to get him from school, I’ve negotiated to reduce my working hours with my employer, from 9am to 2pm each day, so that I can pick him up from school and our two year old from nursery at 3pm - by working and earning a bit less, we are actually better of each month since we’re paying less nursery costs and don’t have to spend money on someone getting our eldest from school).

Another thing to keep in mind regarding nursery costs is Tax Free Childcare. In addition to the 15/30 hours you’re entitled to, the government will also pay £2 (or a maximum of £2000 per year) for every £8 you pay to the nursery.

https://www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare

Hope this helps!

https://fabparents.co.uk/2017/10/18/sibling-group-together/

Your post worries me - you are considering taking a sibling group of three and say that one of the key factors is finance - I think you need to do a lot more research....

Finances are a very small part - and for sibling groups of three plus you will usually be entitled to Adoption Allowances.

Do read up on all the threads you can find on larger sibling groups (on here and the old site in Archives).

My advice is don't do it - trauma bonds, additional needs, parent:child ratios all mean its a really bad idea - fine for the first 8-10 years, but absolutely not fine during adolescence.... There are far better options for the children and for you - keeping them together is rarely the best option - do read the article Donatella posted above

As has been mentioned, children who have experienced trauma, and for many (if not all) the adoption itself is traumatic, full time education isn't always an option. Even if they can manage a full school day, breakfast and after-school club could be too much. Then there's school holidays where many can't attend clubs.

Also don't underestimate the physical and mental exhaustion. A year in is really nothing and many don't manage to return to work at all, with one child, let alone three. There are huge numbers of appointments for most. Paediatrician, Camhs, Ed Psych, OT, SaLT, school meetings, social workers, therapy...on top of normal appointments like doctor, dentist, optician. Times that by 3!