Warwickshire News Mine

The groundbreaking conference from 17-18 September was organised by national charity Family Rights Group in partnership with local authorities, including Warwickshire County Council. 

It focused upon ways of working effectively with families to improve the lives of the most vulnerable children, including those on the brink of the care system. 

The event kicked off with children and parents from Warwickshire describing what family means to them, followed by a rap song written and performed by StreetzRWatchin otherwise known as Kaz Gill and Ryan Leahy, two young people from Warwickshire. 

The two-day conference also featured a variety of workshops and speeches focusing on matters of child welfare. 

One workshop focused on Family Group Conferences which are facilitated child centred meetings with families, getting them together to make joint decisions about the best support for children in their care. 

Warwickshire County Council and Coventry City Council Family Group Conferencing Services lent support to the ‘Family Voices’ session which was led by families from the region and young people from Wales and Stockport who had accessed the service. 

The whole session was filmed with the intention of using the footage to produce DVD to advise families and practitioners service principles, taking learning opportunities beyond the conference.
Conference speakers included judges, directors of children’s services and professors from the UK as well as family members with experience of children’s social care services. 

There were also international experts including the head of social work in New Zealand as well as speakers from as far a field as Canada, South Africa, the USA, Norway and Germany. 

Warwickshire County Councillor Izzi Seccombe, Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Families said: “Warwickshire is passionate about and dedicated to providing the best possible care for our children and young people and I feel privileged that we were able to host this trailblazing conference. 

“The excellent work of Warwickshire’s Family and Community Division has been ranked alongside examples of national and international good practice and I am proud of what we have been able to achieve to raise awareness of child protection issues.”

Cathy Ashley, Chief Executive of Family Rights Group said "Warwickshire young people and families provided a wonderful start to the event.  The children’s speeches were very moving and the young men gave a fantastic performance that participants continued to talk about throughout the 2 day event."

Link to WCC