Learning & events for forums

This interactive session will explore:

• Planning effective annual and topic-specific surveys.
• Choosing the right survey platform, including SurveyMonkey, Microsoft Forms, Google Forms and other digital tools.
• Promoting surveys through social media, newsletters, events and partner organisations.
• Encouraging more parent carers to take part, including the use of incentives and prize draws.
• Understanding and tackling survey fatigue.
• Alternative ways to gather feedback beyond traditional surveys, such as focus groups, listening events, polls, conversations and engagement activities.
• Analysing your results and identifying key themes.
• Reporting back to families and demonstrating the impact of their feedback.
• Using survey findings to influence local services and strengthen co-production.

There will also be plenty of opportunity to ask questions, share your own experiences and learn from other Parent Carer Forums.

Whether you’re new to running surveys or looking for fresh ideas to improve response rates and engagement, this session will provide practical advice you can take away and use straight away.

Who should attend?

Parent Carer Forum staff, volunteers, steering group members and anyone involved in gathering parent carer feedback.

Book your place today and discover how to make every survey count!

Register in advance for this session: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/UbwiHRclTQGvsyTDeyV15A

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 shortly after the session on our Resource Pages.

Together for Change is a co-production panel led by West Sussex Parent Carer Forum, bringing parent carers and professionals together to work collaboratively and create positive change for children, young people and families.

During this session, West Sussex Parent Carer Forum will share their experience of developing and delivering the Together for Change panel. The session will explore how the panel was developed, how parent carers and professionals were involved, and what they have learned through working together.

The session will provide an opportunity to explore what meaningful co-production can look like in practice, including the importance of listening to different perspectives, building relationships and creating opportunities for parent carers and professionals to work together as equal partners.

The session will also look at some of the challenges and successes of the panel and consider what other Parent Carer Forums might be able to take from the West Sussex experience and apply to their own co-production work.

This will be an opportunity to hear directly from West Sussex Parent Carer Forum about their experience and to ask questions and share ideas.

This session will be led by West Sussex Parent Carer Forum, with support from Contact.

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.

To register for the session please see the registration details below:

When: Thursday 5th November 2026, 12:00 to 13:00

Register in advance for this session: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/bTusRzr0Qom7kUAfBCHQJQ

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

Please note, if you are unable to attend on the day, a recording of the session along with relevant documents will be available shortly after the session on our Resources Page, alongside many other recorded sessions.

Leading your Forum sessions

Wednesday 2nd December Qualities of good leaders

Exploring themes around leadership, leadership versus management, leadership styles, qualities of effective leaders, personality and self reflection.

Wednesday 9^th December Values and Motivation

This session will explore what values mean within your forum, differences between values and motivation and reflecting on your own leadership qualities.

Friday 8^th January Team Building

Discussing team dynamics, how teams develop, where your team is right now and how to support your team.

Friday 5th Feb Recognising and Understanding Effective Communication

Reflecting on key components of effective two way communication, exploring different communication styles, different ways to provide feedback, understanding the difference between influencing and negotiating.

Monday 1st March Managing Conflict

This session will explore themes including understanding 3 types of conflict, 5 ways of dealing with interpersonal conflict, assertiveness skills, solution focussed approach and ideas for planning to managing potential conflict situations in meetings.

Monday 22nd March Leading Cultural Change

Discussing key principles to effecting cultural change, being clear about the culture change we want to see, why the approach is vital to achieving change and understanding your key role in helping drive through cultural change and behaviour change.

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 or thinking about taking on a leadership role in the future

Each session 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

You don’t need to book all six sessions – you can choose as many sessions as you want to attend whether it’s one or all six. Sessions are limited to two parents per forum and up to 20 parent carers per session.

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 per session so Early booking is essential.

Please book your place by emailing [email protected] with your name, forum, forum role, details of the sessions you would like to attend and do include any specific needs you have so we can help you make the most of the sessions. The link will be sent to participants a few days before the training.

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

• Forums to have a wider and more diverse membership

• Forums to use their training to influence other organisations

• Forums to build supportive relationships with each other Intended outcomes

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

Book direct via the links shown below.

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 the other session if you can.

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.

Dates and times of sessions and joining links

• You are invited to a Zoom meeting.  When: Thursday 1st October 2026 10:00 am until 12:30. Now fully booked.
• You are invited to a Zoom meeting.  When: Friday 2nd October 2026 10:00 am until 12:30. Now fully booked.
• You are invited to a Zoom meeting.  When: Thursday 7th January 2027 10:00 am until 12:30. Register in advance for this meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/HYoDk1sMTt6fNsVwxvwlOA
• You are invited to a Zoom meeting.  When: Friday 8^th January 2027 10:00 am until 12:30. Register in advance for this meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/r3EEgqowSjKRysT-VyBK2g

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

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]