Family advisory board

The Family Advisory Board (FAB) aims to support families with social care involvement and close the gap between families and professionals.

They aim to do this through the roles of Family Advocate and Experts by Experience Panel consultants. Parents and family members who have their own ‘lived experience’ of social care involvement can be involved with both these groups.

Why is this work so important?

The aim is to offer families support, at a really tough time, from others who have already experienced similar challenges. Everyone’s voices are heard and families understand what is happening and why.

FAB is currently working on a project with Annie, the founder of Surviving Safeguarding: A parent’s guide to the child protection process.

Annie is a mum who has been through the experience of children’s social care involvement both as a child and as a parent. She now trains social workers on how to work in partnership with families and she helps local authorities to use the expertise of families in service design and delivery and to set up their own Family Advisory Boards.

Who can join the FAB?

To join FAB you:

• should have a lived experience of Social Care involvement
• should be willing to share your experiences and ideas with us to improve the work we do

How to get involved?

There are two ways you can get involved:

Family Advocates

Family Advocates will support and empower families throughout their time with Children’s Social Care and can attend meetings and conferences alongside family members.

A peer advocate is someone with their own lived experience who can provide support to others.

Family Advocates receive a free accredited qualification as part of their role and lots of support and encouragement.

Experts by Experience Panel consultants

Experts by Experience Panel consultants will contribute to improving and developing services by offering feedback on reports and supporting training and recruitment. The panel helps to support professionals to work better with families.

Parents and family members with a lived experience of working with Swindon’s Children’s Social Care are encouraged to get involved. 

This is a voluntary role though expenses will be paid.

Further information

If you are interested in joining FAB, know of a parent or family member who would be interested in joining or would like any further information, email challengeandparticipation@swindon.gov.uk.