Involvement Blog May 23

Our Involvement Board is CASCADE’s strategic lived experience governance board. The boards’ main function is to hold us accountable, provide scrutiny, identify areas for improvement, and strengthen our relationships with our public, professional, and funding stakeholders. The board was originally set up to provide strategic governance for our ‘Public Involvement team’ only, but we are… Read More

Parents Influencing Policy 

Previously, a parent from our group had also given evidence with Dr Louise Roberts on their journey as a care experienced parent at a Petitions Committee review meeting.   So, on Wednesday 12th July, everyone who had contributed to the reviews were invited to attend the plenary debate for the reports in the Senedd building in… Read More

Welcome Elaine

My name is Elaine and I started at CASCADE right at the end of March. My role is to support the involvement of people with experience of accessing social care services in research. I will do this through working with young people and parents. The groups advise on different stages of research, to make sure… Read More

The 4C’s

Young people felt that carers should know what a young person has been dealing with along with their likes and dislikes and how to care and communicate with young people. They felt that carers should be kind, happy and motivational. When it came to what carers should do, there were a wide range of thoughts… Read More

Key messages

We’ve made lots of progress sharing the charter across Wales and wider, some of the highlights include: Key Messages Project   In this new part of the project, started in January 2022, we have partnered with Voices From Care Cymru, NYAS Project Unity and Ohana group from Hertfordshire LA. We set out to create some illustrated… Read More

CASCADE researchers published in academic journal.

Two CASCADE researchers have recently been featured in the International Journal of Educational and Life Transitions. Leaving a Pupil Referral Unit in Wales: Care Experienced Young People and their Post-16 Transitions is a project led by Dr Phil Smith. Care experienced young people are more likely to leave compulsory schooling, with fewer qualifications, than their… Read More

Talk to Someone Now

qwerty This is a place to start if you are currently experiencing a difficult situation and need someone to talk to. Several services are available to assist you, but it is important to note that they operate on different schedules. Before reaching out, please check their availability to ensure you can receive the support you… Read More

Pioneer Panel Discussion​

’You are a true Pioneer,’ is a compliment received by a foster carer during a recent panel discussion that took place at SPARK.  At this event, a research team from Cardiff University’s CASCADE partnered with The Fostering Network to launch the evaluation of The Fostering Wellbeing Programme. To reflect on the position of the Pioneer, eight experienced foster carers formed a panel to share their views on their pioneering roles.  Read More

Making sense of increasing young carer prevalence – cause for concern or finding the hidden population? 

Wednesday March 15th is Young Carers Action Day 2023, an annual event that draws attention to the lives of children who care for a family member due to an illness or disability. Research has a key role in investigating the impacts of caring and informing what support could look like, but the issue of increasing prevalence estimates is challenging our understanding. Read More

Conversation Analysis and Social Work Conference 2023 – registration open

The Universities of Cardiff, Bristol, Edinburgh, Loughborough and Universitet Uppsala invite you to attend the third annual Conversation Analysis and Social Work Conference on 1st June 2023 (online), 9.45am – 4.15pm. The conference provides a venue for the exchange of research findings from different institutional, national, and cultural settings, and a meeting place for academics, researchers, and doctoral… Read More