Webinar: Transforming parent-professional relationships: Understanding parental advocacy in practice

Summary

Many parents involved with children’s services report feeling marginalised and disempowered in their interactions with social workers. But what if there was a way to change this dynamic?

Join this one-hour webinar exploring the emerging field of parental advocacy, which presents research with the potential to transform how families engage with children’s services and experience care proceedings.

In response to recommendations from England’s recent Care Review, parental advocacy services are now being piloted in local authorities. Inspired by successful models in the USA — where such services have contributed to reductions in the number of children entering care — these approaches aim to give parents a stronger voice in decision-making and foster more constructive relationships with professionals.

The webinar will present key findings from Swansea University’s Realist Informed Evaluation, which examined parental advocacy services across multiple local authority sites in England. Participants will learn what makes these services effective, how they support parents’ involvement in crucial decisions, and the perceived impact on outcomes, based on the experiences of parents, advocates and other stakeholders.

This session is particularly valuable for those working in local authorities, family courts or the wider family justice system, providing evidence-based insights into:

• How parental advocacy is transforming parent-professional relationships.

• Real experiences and outcomes for families involved in the study.

• Implications for the development and evaluation of future services.