South Eastern Trust backs regional pact to ensure families at the heart of children's services are heard

At its heart is the principle that children, young people and families have the right to be listened to and taken seriously.

Parent and Carer Group Members, Rosalind Gordon and Louise Firinne are highlighting the importance of being heard, supported and involved in decisions affecting their families.

Both Rosalind and Louise took part in workshops to share their experiences of the Children’s Services system, helping to inform the development of Our Pact and shape a more partnership approach to supporting families.

Rosalind said that having the opportunity to take part in the workshops and connect with other parents and carers, share experiences and feel listened to has made a significant difference.

“There was a lot of support and I felt as if I was being listened to,” she said.

"I was not going through everything alone. The experience helped me to better understand the process and it reassured me that other parents or carers were facing similar challenges, even if every family’s circumstances were different.

"When you are going through this, you do feel as if you are alone and the struggle you are going through feels as if there is no end to it.

“It is very important for families to have a voice. I believe Our Pact will make things a lot easier and answer questions for families when they find themselves in a difficult situation.”

Louise welcomed the opportunity to contribute towards Our Pact.

She said: “We really felt like it was giving us a voice.

"We are the people the service is meant to be supporting and serving.

"We are the foundations of what it is all about. We are the families.

“To be truly heard, your voice has to land somewhere. We need real-time, two-way conversation and we need to understand how we are being heard and understood.

“We do not just want philosophies and words written in documents. We want to see the impact. That is when we will have hope, when it becomes our lived experience.”

South Eastern Trust Director of Children’s Services and Executive Director of Social Work, Marie-Louise Sloan said: “Our Pact is a commitment to listen, work together and make sure every family in our community feels valued.

"Children, young people, parents and carers must have a meaningful voice in decisions that affect them.

"Their experiences and insights are vital in helping us understand what is working well and where we need to do better.”

South Eastern Trust ReSET Team Lead, Mandy Morrison, who represented the Trust on the group involved in developing Our Pact, said working directly with parents and carers had been one of the most valuable aspects of the process.

Mandy said: “The group brought together representatives from across the community and voluntary sector, alongside those delivering services, to gather the experiences and views of people who had direct contact with the children’s services system

"We met with a group of parents and carers of young people living in children’s homes, who were invited to contribute to the development of the agreement.

“It was a really important experience, because it gave us the opportunity to sit down with parents and carers and listen to what they wanted us to understand.

"What struck me was that people were not asking for a lot. They were asking for fairness, respect and honesty.

"They wanted their voices to be taken seriously and to feel that they were being heard.

“It was a powerful reminder of the responsibility we have as professionals to listen carefully and make sure families’ experiences are reflected in how we work.”

“I hope staff across the Trust embrace the challenge of Our Pact and recognise that it is about more than signing up to an agreement. It is about a shift in culture and making sure people’s voices genuinely influence the way we deliver services.”