• Meet Josie: Our Newest Engagement Team Member at CASCADE

    By Josie Keam This blog is an introduction to the Engagement team’s new starter, Josie and her time so far in her new role.  My name is Josie and I recently started as Child, Young Person, and Family Involvement Worker, joining Rachael, Elaine, and Phil in the Engagement Team. Although I’m not new to CASCADE… Read More
  • Crafting Connections: A Day of Pottery with CASCADE Parents

    By Phil Lambert In December our CASCADE Parents Research Advisory Group gathered on an industrial estate on the outskirts of Cardiff to try our hands at pottery.   We were hosted by Cardiff Pottery Workshop who expertly guided us through a hand building exercise and introduced us to the electric wheel! The aim of the day… Read More
  • Kinship Carer Research and Policy Advisory Group

    CASCADE is committed to involving the voice of lived experience across its research work. The Public Involvement team at CASCADE is always looking for ways to involve wider voices. We are thrilled to announce this exciting new partnership with AFKA Cymru and Kinship Cymru to establish a ‘Kinship Carer Research and Policy Advisory Group’. Researcher… Read More
  • 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
  • Modern building against the skyline
    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