Corporate Parenting Week 2025
By Emma Taylor
Chief Executive
The theme of this year’s Corporate Parenting Week was ‘It takes a community to raise a child’ and throughout the week we have seen the wider Sandwell family work together to host a full programme of activities to highlight what it means to be a good corporate parent.
The week started with a live virtual event, where around 500 people from across the partnership tuned in to hear from a range of speakers. Our Chair of the Forum for Independent Young Adults (FIYA) opened the event and it was a pleasure to share the virtual stage with him to mark a great start to the week.
A series of engagement sessions shone a spotlight on the role of Independent Reviewing Officers, the ST*R Practice Model and the work of Barnardo’s regarding the Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health of our children and young people.
Along with our partners, we attended a marketplace event on Wednesday morning in the Council Chamber. This provided a good opportunity to network and hear about the services and support available to the children and families we work with. We were well represented with The House Project and the Voice and Engagement Teams showcasing the work they do. We also had the opportunity to remind everyone of their role in promoting the recruitment of foster carers.
Wednesday evening was the highlight of the week for me. Our Trust Board Chair, Graham Archer and I joined children, young people, carers and partners at Coneygre for a fun evening of team activities. Our children told us last year that they valued the opportunity to get together with their corporate parents in a relaxed, informal session and the evening didn’t disappoint.
I really enjoyed spending time with my ‘team’ at the climbing wall and how proud I was of the 3 young people who were with us. One hadn’t climbed the wall before and stopped several times, saying he couldn’t do it. However, he kept going and made it to the top. At the end of the session, he did it again and practically ran up the wall! Another young person was nervous but gave it a go and managed to get halfway up. A third young person didn’t initially want to take part, but I’m pleased she did agree and she wasted no time climbing straight to the top!
Other sessions throughout the week included a visit to Midland Metropolitan Hospital, training for Cabinet Members, and an engaging event regarding education, skills and employment all held to promote the role of corporate parenting.
Well done to everyone who took part in the planning and delivery of sessions throughout the week.
