Learning & events for forums
Our upcoming learning and events for parent carer forums, from online learning sessions to the national Contact and NNPCF conference.
In this article
Upcoming events
Contact & NNPCF Joint in-person Conference 3rd February 2026
Booking is now closed for the 2025-26 Contact & NNPCF Joint face-to-face Conference. See our dedicated Conference page for further details.
Online learning sessions
Raising awareness of your Forum, driving engagement and amplifying the voices of local parent carers through effective communication.
Please join us for the upcoming online learning session Raising awareness of your Forum, driving engagement and amplifying the voices of local parent carers through effective communication. taking place on Wednesday February 18th 2026 from 12:30 until -14:00 via Zoom.
Please email [email protected] ASAP if you would like to make us aware of any accessibility issues, so that we can assist your access to the session.
A practical session to help Parent Carer Forums navigate tools and techniques for effective marketing, communications and engagement work. This session will be presented by Helen Davies and Lizz Shaw who are parent carers and qualified marketing practitioners.
Overview
This 90 minute online learning session will support Parent Carer Forums with ideas for effective communication and engagement techniques, to make sure they reach and capture the voices of local parent carers of disabled children and young people. We will also cover ways of raising awareness of the Forum’s work with local SEND stakeholders to ensure these voices are listened to in the context of local decision making.
Who is it for
PCF leaders, administrators and volunteers who want to make improvements to the way their forum reaches, communicates and engages with local parent carers and SEND partners.
Outcome
You will come away with an understanding of:
- General principles of marketing
- Different channels of communication
- Targeting different audiences – what works for different types of people
- Communications planning
- The use of AI – pros and cons
- Practical examples of communications
- Top tips from other forums
Style and format
- 90 minute online session via Zoom
- 75 minutes of guided content with interactive, practical sessions followed by 15 minutes question and answer session
Why attend?
Because effective communication and engagement with stakeholders is such an important deciding factor in whether a Forum succeeds in delivering against its objectives.
To register for the session please see the registrations details below;
You are invited to register for a Zoom meeting. When: Wednesday February 18th 2026 12:30 to 14:00.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/rZzGps9xSxy-Ts_sjQl4bQ
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Please note if you are unable to attend on the day, a recording of the session along with relevant documents will be available within a few days on our Resource Pages.
Leading your forum Training programme
We’re delighted to be running another Leading your forum Training programme. The training will start on the Monday 23rd February 2025 from 9:30 to 12:30 and will continue for 5 further sessions so 6 sessions in total.
Please book your place by emailing [email protected] and do include any accessibility issues so we can assist with accessing the sessions. The link will be sent to participants a few days before the training.
Please make sure you can attend all 6 sessions prior to booking. Places are limited to two parent carers per forum with a total of 20 places available. Please ask your forum chair to authorise your place before booking.
Each of the 6 sessions will all run on zoom on Monday mornings from 9.30am to 12.00 :
- 23rd Feb
- 2nd March
- 9th March
- 16th March
- 23rd March
- 30th March
This training is suitable for:
- New Chairs, Co-Chairs or Directors of Forums or those who are looking to refresh or develop their Leadership skills
- Forums who are looking at succession planning and want to develop someone from your team into a leadership role
- Anyone interested in understanding leadership in your area
This training will be presented by Lara Roberts and Fazilla Amide and will:
- increase your understanding of key principles and theories of effective leadership
- provide useful tools and strategies to take back to your steering group or management committee
- offer a unique opportunity to network with other Forum leaders, discuss challenges and opportunities
- share ideas and experiences of what works
Participants will need to commit to all 6 sessions although we understand if something crops up at the last minute that prevents you attending one.
Ideally, you will attend with your Vice-Chair, Deputy or whoever is ready to take the next step up. Please make sure you can attend all sessions prior to booking. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Places are limited to two people per parent carer forum and there are only 20 places so early booking is essential.
Please book your place by emailing [email protected] and do include any accessibility issues so we can assist with accessing the sessions. The link will be sent to participants a few days before the training.
How do you ensure your forum is welcoming, diverse and extends its reach? As a forum what challenges and barriers do you feel you face? What would further development or support look like?
Future online learning
Further upcoming online learning sessions are regularly updated here as they become available. Please note that further information and resources for forums along with recently recorded online learning sessions are available on our Resource Pages.
Please email [email protected] ASAP if you would like to make us aware of any accessibility issues, so that we can assist your access to a session.
After registering for a session, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting – as this is an automated email please check your ‘clutter’ or ‘spam’ folder where this email may be redirected.
Please note if you are unable to attend on the day, recordings of sessions along with relevant documents will be available shortly after the session on our Resource Pages.
2024-25 Conference
The Contact & NNPCF Joint in-person Conference took place on Tuesday 4th February 2025 at the Mercure Northampton. This event was really well attended. See the Highlights film from the day.
November 2024-25 Contact & NNPCF Joint Virtual Conference Recordings.
The Contact and NNPCF Joint Virtual Conference took place on Wednesday 20th November 2024. Recordings from sessions on the day are now available on our dedicated Conference page.
2023-24 Joint face to face Conference recordings now available
The 2023-24 Contact & NNPCF joint face to face Conference took place on 29th February 2024 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Recordings from sessions on the day and a highlights film are now available on our dedicated Conference page.
2023-24 Virtual Conference Recordings now available
We’re happy to share recordings from the November 2023 Contact & NNPCF Joint Virtual Conference, which took place across 14, 15, and 16 November. See our dedicated conference page.
Further upcoming online learning sessions will be updated here as they become available. Please note that further information and resources for forums along with recently recorded online learning sessions are available on our Resource Pages.
2022-23 Face-to-face conference recordings now available
The face-to-face conference took place on 28th February 2023 at the Double Tree by Hilton in Bristol City Centre. Many thanks to all of those who joined us in person and those who joined us via the live stream. The face-to-face conference included presentations from key partners including the Department for Education, Ofsted and NHS England. In addition, there was a Q&A panel and a workshop session to co-produce policy areas.
We are happy to share recordings of the conference sessions and relevant presentations. You can view these on our dedicated conference page.
New to online learning?
An online learning session is a presentation live on the internet. You will be able to hear presentations live, follow the slides and ask or submit questions for the presenters to answer.
You will need a home computer, laptop, tablet or smart phone. It’s possible to join via telephone, although you won’t be able to see the presentation or submit questions.
Past online learning
Visit out resources page to view past online learning sessions which cover a range of topics
