• 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.

  • How Parental Advocacy can help improve relationships between parents and social workers

    A new way of working together could prove transformational according to The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, which recommended that all families involved with child protection should be offered Peer Parental Advocacy (PPA)
  • TRIUMPH Fest

    ‘TRIUMPH Fest’ in Edinburgh was designed as an opportunity to bring together young people, policymakers and researchers to share learning about young people’s mental health. It was a two-day event designed and led by the TRIUMPH Youth Advisory Group. It involved presentations and stalls highlighting the work that young people have been doing, opportunities for lively discussions and workshops to develop young people’s research and skills in activism. 
  • Reach for the stars: Care experienced role models

    As part of our CASCADE Parents group and network we have offered the opportunity for members to contribute to blogs if they would like to. These will be stories, messages, or priorities for research from their perspective. We hope this will be a regular blog feature at CASCADE and another way for us to amplify the voices of those with lived experience of children’s social care.
  • The Journey so far as a peer researcher – participation

    I am one of the founding members of the Family Advisory Board (FAB group), in Camden in 2014 and became the coordinator for the FAB group recently, a lay member of the Camden Safeguarding Children Partnership, and a trained Parent Advocate for Child Protection Conference. I am also a Relational Activist and actively promote Family Group Conferences, Parent Advocacy, Parent Participation, and use my experience through relationship and working collectively with others to achieve social change.
  • Returning to CASCADE

    After a long 7-year ‘leave of absence’ as Children’s Commissioner for Wales, I have recently returned to Cardiff University and the CASCADE Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre to resume academic life.
  • Coproduction Workshops Family Voice

    The Family Voice project has been busy arranging coproduction workshops both in Camden and in North Wales. My name is Delyth, and I am the Peer Researcher based in North Wales, supported by Y Bont. I have been inviting families from North Wales who have had experience of attending a Family Group Conference onto the… Read More
  • Lights Camera Action…Digitally Enabling Public Involvement Participants

    Last month, our incredible team of Public Involvement Parents at CASCADE Parents Research Advisory Group were offered the opportunity to develop digital skills that could be used to support their involvement in the whole research cycle at CASCADE. We hope these skills might ultimately enable the group to contribute and disseminate their own research and experience. We also hope that these skills will be useful in developing their interests, careers, and confidence.
  • A shared aim to make the world a better place

    As part of Dr Nina Maxwell’s CASCADE research project, seven peer researchers from Peer Action Collective (PAC) based in Media Academy Cymru (MAC) were invited to ‘sbarc|spark’. The aim of the day was to learn more about their youth violence prevention research and explore ways to that we can work together.