Key partners from across statutory, voluntary and community sectors gathered at Ulster University’s Derry~Londonderry campus in June to recognise the achievements of parents and community workers who have completed the Knowledge and Skills for Parent Advocacy training programme.
The lunch and launch event marked an important step in the development of Peer Parent Advocacy in Northern Ireland. It celebrated those who successfully completed the 20-credit Level 4 programme, which forms part of the University’s flexible learning offer, while also launching a new pilot service in the Western Health and Social Care Trust area. The pilot will support families across the Trust area, which includes Derry~Londonderry, Strabane, Omagh and Fermanagh.
Peer Parent Advocacy is about support from people who understand the children’s social care system, whether through lived experience, community-based work, or both. Advocates can help parents understand processes, prepare for meetings, ask questions and participate more fully in decisions affecting their families.
Parents with lived experience helped shape the programme from the beginning, working alongside Ulster University colleagues from Social Work, Law and Flexible Education and Widening Participation.
Funded by the Department of Health, it is the first programme of its kind across the UK and Ireland. Following completion of the programme, seven advocates will now begin supporting parents involved with children’s social care, working in collaboration with the Western Health and Social Care Trust and community partners.
From lived experience to advocacy
Over the past two years, colleagues in the School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences and the School of Law have been working closely with a group of parents with lived experience of the children’s social care system.
That collaboration led to the development of the Knowledge and Skills for Parent Advocacy programme which ran in semester one of the 2025/26 academic year at the Derry~Londonderry campus.
The programme brought together 10 parents with lived experience and five workers from the community and voluntary sector. They explored how lived experience, professional knowledge and community support can help parents better understand and navigate children’s social care processes.
For several of those involved, the next step is now putting that advocacy into practice through the new Peer Parent Advocacy service pilot.
Kerri Bowen, Peer Parent Advocate, said her own experiences drive her to support others:
“This is the kind of support that would have made a big difference to my journey if I had it years ago, so now I want to be it for others.”
Sarah McNally, Peer Parent Advocate, said recognising lived experience as expertise is central to changing how families are supported:
“When lived experience is respected and parents are treated as equal partners, it creates opportunities to improve services not just for our own children, but for families across Northern Ireland.”
Celebrating achievement and partnership
The recognition event brought together those who completed the programme alongside key partners from health, social care, government, academia, and the voluntary and community sector.
Attendees included representatives from the Western Health and Social Care Trust, the Department of Health’s Office of Social Services, Voices of Young People in Care (VOYPIC), the Public Health Agency, MAS Project Belfast, University of Oxford, and Ulster University colleagues from Social Work and Law.
The event opened with a welcome from Professor Malachy Ó Néill, Director of Regional Engagement at Ulster University, followed by reflections on the journey to date from Parent Advocates and Ulster University partners.
The programme also included a session on collaboration to support participation, led by Professor Sean Holland, Visiting Professor and former Chief Social Worker for Northern Ireland, before Peer Parent Advocates shared how they are beginning to put their learning into practice. Certificates were presented to those who successfully completed the programme by Professor Malachy Ó Néill.
Professor Sean Holland said:
“This is a groundbreaking development. Peer parent advocacy has an important place in supporting families.”
Making a difference in practice
The impact of the programme is already being felt beyond the classroom. One participant, who now uses the learning in their role as an addiction support worker, said:
“It is already working. I now use the knowledge and skills I gained from the programme in my job as an addiction support worker. I can give accurate advice as well as having lived experience. That’s a game changing combination.”
For community partners, the programme has also strengthened support available locally.
Conchúr McCauley, Manager of Shantallow Community Centre, said:
“What began as a course has transformed me, strengthened our community centre, and created new opportunities for the wider community we serve. The Parent Advocate Support Network has shown what is possible when people with lived experience, passion and expertise come together to drive change.”
Find out more:
For more information about the Peer Parent Advocacy programme or pilot service, contact Emma McGinnis by email at e.mcginnis@ulster.ac.uk
