• Research Methods Training

    At CASCADE we have a commitment to involving people with lived experience of children’s social services in our research. We believe this is a vital part of producing relevant and impactful research. However, it can be difficult for adults and young people to contribute and understand what we do in research. Bridging that gap is… Read More
  • Film premiere: Harmful relationships and crime 

    On Tuesday 11th July five inspiring young people visited SPARK to share the premiere of their two co-produced films exploring the impact of Child Criminal Exploitation. The event was hosted by CASCADE and attended by a small group of invited guests from across a range of related organisations. These included: Violence Prevention Unit, South Wales Police, Swansea… Read More
  • ECSWR 2023 – Milan trip

    Even though summer is approaching, the memories of Easter are still fresh in my mind. In April, I attended the ECSWR (European Conference for Social Work Research) 2023 in Milan with a group of researchers from CASCADE, including Donald, Jonathan, Alyson, Clive, Sophie, Melissa, and myself. We all actively participated in the conference, with Donald… Read More
  • Working with Children who have Experienced Neglect

    Neglect is the most common reason for a child to be on a child protection plan in the UK – in 2021 this amounted to over 27,000 children (NSPCC, 2022). Neglect has been found to be prevalent in three-quarters of child case reviews concerning the death or serious harm of children, and is experienced by… Read More
  • 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
  • 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.