Corrie and the Care System

Social Services have popped up countless times on Coronation Street over the years. Whether over a misbehaving child, abusive or wayward parents, mental health intervention, support for the elderly or even victims of abuse, the care system has been called upon to step in on a pretty regular basis since 1960 and it has made for some of the most emotive storytelling on the show.

In the present day, health and social care professionals play more of a key role than ever on Coronation Street and with the fostering and adoption stories playing out at the moment, it got me thinking about my own experience of the care system and how it kind of led to my love of Corrie. 

Heartbreak

With Abi and Seb stressing over the imminent departure of the twins to Australia, and Toyah and Imran toying with the idea of fostering, the show has really caught my attention again recently. I’m keen to see if Abi gets closure from the trauma of seeing her kids adopted and moving on with their lives. Abi’s such a great character and I certainly think it’s time for her to settle properly so that the  character can develop and mature a bit.

And I’m eager to see if Toyah and Imran pursue fostering, how it plays out and if they can show the importance of the fostering process, the good it can do for kids and if they can portray all this without going too crazy and opting for the obviously direction of the “problem” child. It would be great if they allowed a bit more nuance with the issue and showed some of the positives for once. This is of course wishful thinking, but like I said, I have a particular interest in these kind of stories being received well. Here’s why.

In the early 1990s my mother finally agreed, after much to-ing and fro-ing, to allow social services to take me and my sister into care. She needed help and nobody in our family was willing to take us on. As a result, my sister moved in with a foster family just outside Manchester and I moved in with a lady called Jean and her mother Florrie in Oldham. Jean, looking back, was a bit like Hattie Jacques and Florrie, who I found quite scary, was very much like Corrie’s Maud. Like, a LOT, like her. She always seemed grumpy and she used to put tomato ketchup on salad which really confused me as a kid.

On the whole I had a great couple of years in care. Jean would sing me to sleep when I was upset and couldn't settle, we had an amazing holiday in the US with her wider family, we’d go to church and Sunday school. And of course, several times a week the words “Mother, the Street’s on!” would bellow through the house and Maud…I mean Florrie, would come rattling in, frowning, and sit down to watch Corrie. I was only around 5 or 6 years old but I remember it all so well. I've actually mentioned this period of my life on the Blog a few times, it was such a special time and for some reason, I can't think of Jean without thinking of Corrie and vice versa. Jean prepared me for life in a way my own parents couldn't. I'm so grateful to her. 

My sister on the other hand, had a much different experience in foster care. It was bad enough we were separated, but her fostering experience compared to mine was awful. And I think, in fact I’m certain it shaped the people we became. It’s her story to tell so I won’t share any more about my sister’s experience but it highlights how the care system experience varies for everyone, and it can be very very good for some, and terrible for others. You hear stories all the time about kids going from home to home, some being stuck in care in to adulthood. And the thing that stuck in my head about my experience is how difficult it is for a mother to give up their child, even for a short time, and how scary it was for me going into care. I screamed the place down when Jean took me from my mum's arms that first time, and again, I remember it so vividly. Little did I know at the time I’d look back at those couple of years as some of the happiest of my childhood.

Potential foster parents?

Looking to the future with these fostering and adoption storylines on Coronation Street, I’d love to see some of the love and affection Roy and Hayley offered Wayne all those years ago. It would be great to see Toyah and Imran, if they do end up fostering, go on a journey with their foster child or teen and learn things about themselves in the process.

And when it comes to Abi, of course the trauma of giving her kids to another family is never going to completely go away, but it would be nice to acknowledge she did the right thing at the time and she, and her kids can go on and live amazing lives.

Modern Family

Of course there will be drama, it’s a soap, but as Corrie has a reputation for working with advisers and experts in whichever field they are talking about in their stories, this would be a great opportunity to highlight the importance of fostering in society, and some of the positives of it. Foster carers are urgently needed around the UK, it would be nice if potential parents and carers weren't put off by the goings on in Weatherfield!

Fiz has had her run-ins with the social recently

Corrie is a bit of a mixed bag at the moment. In between the tragedy of Oliver’s condition, which is an important issue but a bit hard going, Yasmeen’s frustrating refusal or inability to blame Geoff for her being behind bars, and the mysterious Scott loitering in the Rovers, there’s a lot of serious stuff going on. For a bit of light relief on Wednesday viewers witnessed Kirk ask if Paul wanted to play with his balls. I mean, I’m all for a bit of innuendo but if Kirk had burst out of the tv and cupped me in the balls just to ram the joke home I wouldn’t have been surprised. Corrie can do much better than that kind of “comedy”.

That being said, however, the Corrie team have done an amazing job of keeping the show on during the past few months. I’m looking forward to some great autumn storylines. 

I'm on Twitter @StevieDawson

You can find information about fostering, adoption and surrogacy in England HERE or do a Google search to get information for your own region.

WASH YOUR HANDS.

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