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

We are pleased that the date and booking information is now LIVE for the 2025-26 Contact & NNPCF Joint face-to-face Conference.  See our dedicated Conference page for further details.

Online learning sessions

Beyond the DfE Grant: Diversifying Income for Parent Carer Forums

Please join us for the upcoming online learning session Beyond the DfE Grant: Diversifying Income for Parent Carer Forums taking place on Wednesday January 21st 2026 from 12:00 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.

Description

This session will be presented by Lucy Smith from Inclusive Change.

A practical session to help Forums think more like sustainable social enterprises—without the jargon.

Overview

This interactive workshop introduces simple, ethical ways to broaden income while staying true to your mission. You don’t need a business background, just your Forum’s strengths and community insight. We’ll explore what “diversifying income” really means, where opportunities tend to be, and how to take the first small, realistic steps.

Who it’s for

Parent Carer Forum leaders, coordinators, reps and trustees who want fresh, doable ideas for bringing in funds, no prior business experience required. This workshop is for all forums whether you’re a constituted group, charity or CIC.

Outcome

Participants will feel more confident in approaching alternative sources of funding (ie pitching their forum to potential sponsors and other funders.)

You’ll walk away with

Style & format

Why attend?

Because resilience matters. When Forums have more than one way to bring in money, they can plan ahead, stay independent, and do more of what works for families.

To register for the session please see the registrations details below;

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.  When: Wednesday January 21st 2026 12:00 to 14:00. 

Register in advance for this meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/L5TIMKFbRCaHs7hDXGlksA

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 :

This training is suitable for:

This training will be presented by Lara Roberts and Fazilla Amide and will:

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.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion training sessions

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?

Contact is running four sessions of the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion workshop sessions again this year as part of our support offer for forums. We hope that all forums who haven’t already completed this will take some time to join this interactive, engaging and thought-provoking training. We know how busy forums are and adding to the pressure is something we’re keen to avoid. The workshops present an opportunity for some different learning on being inclusive by design, it’s not about death by PowerPoint or information overload – we want you all to enjoy the sessions and be able to take away tips and tools to your local areas that will increase your forum’s engagement with all communities!

Celebrate diversity and Inclusion with your peers – be part of this fresh approach to EDI training focusing on interactive discussion, space to engage, challenging our own biases, understanding who is around you, and finding your ‘blind spots’. Use these engaging sessions to complement your forum’s knowledge of the Equality Act 2010, protected characteristics, and Contact’s Diversity and Inclusion toolkit to enable you to push boundaries and effect real culture change by ensuring growth, increasing empathy, and developing as human beings.

We challenge you to keep an open mind. Set yourselves challenges and take your actions forward.

Join an engaging and fun session that is shaped by you, the participants – let this be the start of your journey to inclusion, of something bigger!

Aims of training

Attending will increase your confidence to reach out to underrepresented groups and communities and help you to develop an inclusive and diverse forum team.

Each 2 to 2 and a half hour session will be open to 25-30 participants, and we are running the session four times for forums who didn’t get to join us last year, each session will be different.

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.

Session capacity is limited to 30 per session for booking purposes, if you find your preferred session is already fully booked, please try registering for another session if you can. Book direct via the links shown below to register for your preferred session.

Dates and times of remaining sessions and joining links. Please note that all sessions are run via Zoom.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Workshops will not be recorded to encourage open discussion and a safe space to discuss challenges and barriers

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

discover more