We always want to hear from people who are interested in the Feltham Convening Partnership (FCP) and share our passion to collectively improve outcomes for children and young people. 

Please get in touch with a member of the Planning Team if you would like to find out more about how to get involved or just to share your story - we are here to listen and learn!

Roles & forms of participation for different local stakeholders

If it is to be as effective, the convening project needs to engage with a wide variety of different local stakeholders, providing a range of different ways for people to feed into decisions, based on their capacity, interests, professional remits, and preferences. 

Here are just a few of the ways people can choose to actively participate in meaningful decision-making through the project and have their voices heard: 

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The young person keen to represent their generation and push for change through the steering group

We’re going to have at least two young people aged between 16 and 25 on the steering group for the partnership. We’ll support them to feel comfortable and confident putting forward their views on an equal footing with others, providing training and mentoring as needed. The young people on the steering group may get involved with peer research, finding out more about other local young people’s views in order to feed into the group’s decision-making. 

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The busy parent making themselves heard through community meetings

There may well be local parents who don’t have the time or inclination to join a working group or a steering group, but want to ensure their voices are heard on issues they’re passionate about, and are keen to hold senior decision-makers to account. Through the community meetings we will hold, they will be able to find out more about decisions being made, and there will be a clear process through which they can have a say on them. Some may choose to get more heavily involved via a working group or steering group, but they don’t have to.

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The senior decision-maker helping guide the project through the steering group

The steering group will include senior decision-makers from a range of local services, agencies and institutions that work with babies, children, young people and families. These decision-makers will work with the local residents on the steering group to guide the overall direction of the partnership – deciding priority areas, directing their staff to attend working groups, analysing relevant data and research, commissioning additional insight gathering, and liaising with working groups to help craft the project’s activities.

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The local professional helping push forward innovative new approaches through a working group

The working groups will contain a mix of operational staff from relevant local organisations, services, and agencies, and local residents who are working on or interested in the particular issues that are focused on in the groups. A senior social worker, for instance, could be part of a working group, and could help to shape the initiatives that the working group agrees to instigate. This could involve them going back to their team and trying out new approaches, or new partnerships, and then reporting back to the working group on progress. 

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The local parent helping drive and shape the project through the steering group

The steering group will include parents as key stakeholders, who will work with senior decision-makers and young people to steer the overall direction of the partnership. The planning team will support and mentor the parents for these roles, as needed, and will ensure they feel comfortable putting across their views. Parents on the steering group may well speak openly and frankly about their own experiences bringing up children in the local area, as well as contributing to strategic decision-making. They may be involved in leading community research.

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The local young person passionate about one specific issue, helping guide the initiatives being developed to address that issue through a working group

There may be young people who are really keen to contribute to one specific aspect of the project, due to their personal insights and experiences, or the things they’re passionate about. They may not wish to commit to the steering group, but could be incredibly valuable participants in a working group, helping to remind everyone of what’s at stake, and enriching the conversation and decision-making with their lived experience.