Exciting news from Blackpool Co-production team!
Welcome to the very first edition of our Blackpool Co-production Team newsletter! We're thrilled to have you with us as we kick things off and share some exciting updates. 💥
- First things first - Some of you may not know we have a brand new base at Penrose House which we share with our sister team Blackpool Researching Together. Having been in here a few months now we have truly made this home! Come and say hello if you're in the area 👋
- Secondly - we’ve got a brand-new official website! It’s your go-to place for updates, resources, and opportunities to get involved. Stay tuned!
If you were part of the HeadStart Blackpool journey, you’ll already know our commitment to making real, lasting change. Although the programme ended in July 2022, the Resilience Revolution is still very much alive—and so is our passion for co-production. 🙌
Our goal is simple but powerful: to work with you to strengthen co-production across Blackpool and make sure every voice is heard. Whether you’re new to this or have been with us from the start, there's a place for you here.
Keep an eye out for more updates, ways to get involved, and stories from across our brilliant community. The best is yet to come! |
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Behind Blackpool’s Co-production work is a passionate team dedicated to making a difference. We are here to support and champion co-production across the town. We’re looking forward to working with you! If you have any questions or ideas, feel free to reach out—we’d love to hear from you. 📩 Contact us at coproduction@blackpool.gov.uk |
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Co-production Writing Day – A Moment to Reflect & Reconnect
On the 17th of February, our Co-production Team gathered for our bi-annual writing day—a chance to celebrate achievements, reflect on our journey, and reconnect as a team. 💛
We shared proud moments, laughed over a few quirky team stories, and looked ahead to what we want to achieve next. A powerful reminder of why we do what we do together.
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Co-production Team - Engagement Highlights
It’s been a lively few months for the Team! We’ve been out in the community hosting Christmas events, joining the Fostering Forum, and preparing for our next Parents of the Revolution sessions.
We also had the pleasure of welcoming the Department for Education to our base Penrose House - a brilliant chance to share what we’ve been working on, explore new opportunities, and have informal conversations about co-production in practice.
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Looking for a relaxed and welcoming space to connect with other parents and carers? Parents of the Revolution is a friendly, informal coffee and chat group where you’ll find open conversations, plenty of teas, coffees, snacks—and even some fun activities too! We’re a group of parents and carers with real, lived experience of challenges affecting Blackpool families—like navigating Social Care, SEND services, mental health support, and education. Together, we aim to: ✅ Reduce isolation ✅ Build supportive networks ✅ Boost confidence and connections 📍 Upcoming Dates & Locations (9:30–11:30 AM) ✨ Penrose House📅 11th June 2025 📍 Penrose House, Penrose Avenue, Blackpool, FY4 4DJ Don’t miss this special spring get-together! More Penrose House Dates:
📍 Penrose House, Penrose Avenue, Blackpool FY4 4DJ
- 11th June 2025
- 9th July 2025
Salvation Army Blackpool Dates:📍 Raikes Parade, Blackpool FY1 4EL
- 25th June 2025
- 23rd July 2025
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BetterStart Blackpool - Born into Care
The MAP: Understanding Your Family’s Journey
As part of the Born into Care project, the Co-production Team has co-designed The MAP—a clear, supportive guide to help families navigate complex systems and understand what to expect on their journey.
Designed by families alongside practitioners, The MAP can be used at different stages to reduce confusion and encourage open conversations. 💛
Want a copy?
The MAP is now available to download on our new official website!
Stay tuned for ongoing developments.
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Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
The Co-production Team is proud to be leading positive change in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services—both within Blackpool Council and across our wider local partnership. Through our three advisory groups—parents (including the Parent Forum), young people (through the Empowerment Forum), and adults—we meet regularly with service representatives to explore key topics and ensure that lived experience remains at the heart of service development. 👏 Our Work Recognised in Recent InspectionWe’re excited that our approach to co-production was praised in the recent Area SEND Inspection Report (Blackpool Local Area Partnership, 20–24 May 2024): “Co-production with children, young people, and their families has successfully shaped new policy and practice. Children, young people, and their parents, alongside the parent carer forum, have been appropriately involved in co-production.”This is a powerful reflection of the commitment, collaboration, and care that’s gone into making co-production real—not just in words, but in action. 🌍 Sharing Success NationallyWe’re also excited to be working with Birmingham City Council to develop a national Community of Practice—an online space where people with lived experience, along with parent and youth forums, can share insights, ideas, and inspiration to help improve SEND services across the UK. Together, we’re not only shaping local services—we’re helping to create lasting, national change. |
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The Co-production Team has been actively involved in the Blackpool Family Rock Induction Training, supporting the development of more relational, family-focused practice across services.
We’ve co-developed a Family Feedback Form to capture honest reflections from children, young people and their families engaging with the service. This is now in the Test and Learn phase, helping us understand what works and how we can keep improving.
By listening to real voices, we’re shaping a more compassionate and responsive support system—with families, not just for them.
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Join Our Community of Practice
Share, Learn, and Grow Together!
We’re excited to launch Blackpool’s Co-production Community of Practice—a space for anyone working co-productively or looking to embed co-production into their work. In our last session in January, we had some brilliant conversations around setting up a Parent Advisory Group and explored ideas around recurrent care—important topics that will help shape future sessions. ✨ You're invited to our next COP event!📅 1st July 2025 📍 Salvation Army Blackpool, Raikes Parade, Blackpool FY1 4EL Why Join?
- Connect with others passionate about co-production
- Share challenges, successes, and best practices
- Help shape a shared vision for co-production in Blackpool
Get Involved!Email us at coproduction@blackpool.gov.uk to join the Community of Practice and be the first to hear about upcoming sessions. |
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Upcoming training and events
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Co-production Training
Our last Co-production Training session took place on Tuesday the 15th of April at Bickerstaffe House attended by a range of council staff, a majority of the room being from Adult Social Care! 📅 Our next open access Co-Production training will be:
- Tuesday 27th Jan 9:30am - 12:30pm - Bickerstaffe House, Conference Room 3A
Whether you're new to co-production or looking to deepen your understanding, this session is open to anyone interested in working with communities to create real change. Expect engaging discussions, real-life examples, and practical tools you can use in your own work. 📩 If you're interested in a bespoke session for your team or organisation please email: coproduction@blackpool.gov.uk
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Growth of the Co-production Team!
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💛 Exciting News! Our co-produced Parent Supporter role - shaped by families with lived experience of Children's Social Care, part of the new Waves team - will be going live soon! We have begun recruiting Parent Supporters and a Team Co-ordinator to offer 1:1 voluntary, consent-based guidance for parents navigating children’s social care. This unique role blends peer mentoring, support, and befriending to promote wellbeing and empowerment bringing the gap between families to vital services. 💬💛 Do you have live experience of Children's Social care at Child Protection level and interested in this role? We will be holding another recruitment round in the near future.
📩 For further information and to discuss this role, please contact Aviel.lowndes@blackpool.gov.uk or Michaela.goodridge@blackpool.gov.uk |
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