Note of the Children and Families PSW Network event on 30 April 2024

Welcome from the chairs

PCFSW Network co-chairs welcomed everyone to a face-to-face event held in London. Despite quite low attendance this was a valuable and rare opportunity for PSWs to meet in person and share experiences. We highlighted our shared network achievements over the last two years and emphasised the importance of succession planning for future chairing of the network.

Fatima's UK Campaign

Fatima Whitbread was the first speaker and proved inspirational whilst relating her life story, saying that ‘Self-belief is the key to success. You can do it!’. Fatima has recently launched Fatima's UK Campaign aimed at helping children in care and care leavers and discussed her motivations behind this – we have agreed to promote this campaign and to directly contribute to her Summit for Children in Care in April 2025.

An update from the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families

Isabelle Trowler, Chief Social Worker, Department for Education provided an update on current progress with the Reforms and next steps. This also included a brief discussion on the funding decisions regarding the Pathways Programme and the implication of this for consistent leadership training opportunities.

Learning from lived experience with Angela Frazer-Wicks

Angela Frazer-Wicks MBE, from the Family Rights Group (FRG), recounted her lived experience as a birth mother, whose eldest two children were adopted after a very long and fraught involvement with her Local Authority. Angela is Chair of Trustees of FRG and founding member of FRG’s parents panel. she is now a renowned advocate, trainer and expert on parents’ lived experience and has contributed a parent perspective to multiple high-profile debates on child protection and adoption, and to policy design and implementation. In 2023, Angela was awarded an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List for services to children and families. This was a moving and challenging presentation, creating lots of thoughtful feedback and impetus to support further conversations and activity across PSW regions.

Permanence and kinship care with CoramBAAF

Ann Horne and Clare Seth of CoramBAAF spoke about their principals which linked clearly to the themes and ambitions of the day and prompted good discussions about permanence and kinship care.

Closing session

The PCFSW co-chairs closed, reflecting on the day and their time as co-chairs.

We look forward to seeing colleagues again at the hybrid Joint PSW Network meeting on 10 July. Contact the PSW inbox to book your place in-person in Birmingham or online.