Parent Champions Conference 2023

On 16 and 17 May we held our annual Parent Champions Conference and Awards. Our annual conference is a chance to come together as a network to reflect, connect and look ahead to the future.

We kicked things off with a lively presentation from Peter Dowse, Chloe Bradbury, Loren Jacobs and Ophir Yaron from the fabulous Chickenshed, an interactive theatre company probably best-known for earning a golden buzzer on Britain’s Got Talent. Chickenshed’s Tales from the Shed team have delivered child-centred projects at a regional, national and international level for over 25 years. We got to experience their tried and tested play model for ourselves as the team had us stretching, singing and signing.

Next we heard from Phil Dawkins from the Department of Health and Social Care, who provided an update on Family Hubs. Family Hubs are currently launching all over the country with the aim of offering advice in a range of areas including mental health support, health visits and parenting classes. This is part of the department’s project to make sure all children get the best possible start in life. Phil told us more about the current stage of Family Hubs and new developments in this area.

Following our guest presentations, we offered attendees a choice of six different workshops covering relevant research and practice.

Our Head, Megan Jarvie, teamed up with Hameeda Saeed, Coordinator of Parent Champions Redbridge, to deliver a workshop on coproduction. Megan and Hameeda discussed the importance of parent voice in designing services that meet families’ needs, as well as thinking about how to make coproduction work for both staff and parents.

Maria Sciara and Beth Matthewson from the Department for Education ran a workshop about the take-up of early years entitlements, sharing insights from their recent research into how parents use these services, along with ideas for boosting take-up.

Hollie Bell from Buckinghamshire Council delivered a workshop on the SEND Young Inspectors programme, explaining the main drivers behind the project and how they have overcome key challenges.

Max Stanford, Head of Impact and Evaluation at Coram, hosted a session on the importance of early intervention. Max shared key evidence and discussed how early intervention links to local services.

Jade from Parent Champions Barnet ran a workshop on the crucial role of parent voice in the Barnet scheme. Jade told us about the experience of volunteers in Barnet and their role on advisory boards.

Jane van Zyl from Working Families provided an overview of rights and advice for parents and carers. Jane discussed topics such as the right to flexible working, and advice for parents and carers of dependents with a disability.

On Day 2, we began with a heartfelt presentation from Carol Bennett, coordinator of Parent Champions Wandsworth, who described the scheme’s incredible rise from starting in 2021 to winning Scheme of the Year in 2022. Carol said the pressure to succeed had been high but – due to the passion and hard work of the volunteers – the scheme outperformed what anyone could have hoped for.

And then there was the awards ceremony! Read about this year’s nominees and winners here.