Global Gathering: How to engage families with lived experience in shaping children’s social care policies, practices and services

Family Rights Group’s parents’ and kinship carers’ panels are made up of people from across England with lived experience of the children’s social care system. Over the last 12 years, Family Rights Group’s panels have transformed the charity – including its governance, priorities and ways of working. The charity’s mission is to ensure that the child welfare and family justice system supports children to live safely and thrive within their family, while strengthening the family and community ties of those children who cannot live at home. One of Family Rights Group’s key goals is that children and families with experience of the system help shape it at local and national level.

In this workshop members of the charity’s parents’ and kinship carers’ panels will describe their motivation for being involved, how the panels work and how they are supported, different ways that their voices are heard and how they have influenced local and national government thinking. They will describe some of their successes. And they will talk about steps the charity has now taken to set up a young people’s advisory group comprising care experienced young people. They will consider how their insights and learning can be applied by other organisations in other countries.

Presenters:

• Angela Frazer-Wicks – Family Rights Group parents’ panel member and the charity’s Ambassador (lead presenter)
• Azariah Hope – Family Rights Group parents’ panel member
• Kristy Holt – Family Rights Group parents’ panel member
• Shirley Hayman – Family Rights Group kinship carers’ panel member
• Stefan Spargo – Family Rights Group kinship carers’ panel member
• Beverley Campbell – Family Rights Group Family Participation Officer

Date:

• Thursday 8th October 7.00 PM (GMT)

Find out more and register at the Global Gathering website.