Learning & events for forums

Our upcoming learning and events for parent carer forums, from online learning sessions to the national Contact and NNPCF conference.

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Upcoming events/Online learning sessions

Future online learning

Local Government Re-organisation: PCF online drop in

When: Tuesday 22 September at 12:00 to 13:00

Is your local area likely to be affected by changes to the way local government is organised?

This is the second of a series of drop-in sessions supported by Contact to hear from areas impacted by plans for local government re-organisation.

More information and registration link

We know that plans are at different stages across the country and that not all the answers are available yet. This will be an informal space to compare experiences, identify common issues and discuss what forums can begin considering while further information is awaited.

For those of you who attended the previous drop-in session or have contributed questions, we appreciate your input so far and your patience while we progress this. We want to make sure we hear from everyone who is affected.

This session will be hosted by Mary Mulvey-Oates, who will be joined by Sussex parent carers leading their reorganisation planning. The session will provide an opportunity to:

  • Ask questions about the proposed changes and what they could mean for forums
  • Share what is happening in your local area, including any discussions already under way
  • Identify issues forums may need help with
  • Help shape the questions that Contact raises with DfE

A message from our new Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution Lead, Mary Mulvey-Oates:

Hello, I’ve recently taken on a new role at Contact, leading our work on devolution and local government reorganisation.

I’ll be working with parent carer forums to understand what the changes could mean locally, engaging with forums in areas where change is expected to explore the options available, and ensuring forums’ experiences and concerns inform our discussions with DfE. I’ll also be offering further drop-in sessions and sharing updates as more information becomes available.

I’ve worked at Contact for several years, most recently leading our Early Years SEND Partnership programme. My background spans policy, participation and programme management, including working with parent carer forums, local authorities and family hubs to strengthen co-production, bring families’ experiences into national policy discussions and support improvements to local SEND services.

I’m looking forward to meeting forums potentially affected by local reorganisation and hearing from you to understand what’s happening in different parts of the country.

You are invited to a Zoom meeting on Tuesday 22 September 12 to 13pm.

Register here in advance for this session: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/1AH7v-yNSEyvc58xr_2K-Q

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

Please note that this session will not be recorded. However recordings of past online learning sessions can be found on our Resources page.

‘Padlet Training’ Online Learning Session

When: Thursday 17th September 2026 – 11:00am to12:00.

This session will be presented by Kim Stephenson – West Northants Voices in Partnership.

Looking for an easy way to engage with parent carers, gather feedback, share information, and collaborate with your steering group? Join us for this practical introduction to Padlet, an interactive online platform that can help forums communicate and work more effectively. During this session, we will explore how Padlet can be used to:

More information and registration link

Whether you are completely new to Padlet or looking for fresh ideas on how to use it within your forum, this session will provide practical demonstrations, examples, and tips to help you get started.

You can join us live or catch up via the recording at a time that’s convenient for you.

This session will be led by Kim Stephenson from West Northants Voices in Partnership.

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 registrations details below;

When: Thursday 17th September 2026 11:00am-12:00

Register in advance for this session: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/nwd2244gT1qWM-sFJOwdnA

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 Resource Pages.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion workshop 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!

Description and registration links

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

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]

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.

Past Contact & NNPCF joint Conferences

Information on past Contact & NNPCF joint Conferences can be found on our dedicated Conference page and our Contact’s YouTube channel for PCFs which are saved in to YouTube playlists.

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.

A group of people sit around a table in a modern, well-lit room, engaged in discussion. Papers, drinks, and notepads are on the table, with handwritten notes visible in the foreground.

Past online learning

Visit out resources page to view past online learning sessions which cover a range of topics

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