On 23rd March, The Brilliant Club hosted the first ever Parent Power National Conference, which brought together parent and carer communities from across England and Wales to discuss the key challenges that are holding their families back.
Parent Power empowers parents and carers to combat educational inequality and make change in their children’s future. Now counting eleven chapters in Oldham, Fenland, Knowsley, Cardiff, East London, East Oxford, Peterborough, Mansfield, South London, Norwich, and a Spanish speaking chapter, Empoderando Familias, the parents themselves decide what activities will benefit their communities and children. Parent Power chapters across the UK have arranged tailored university trips, received training on student finance and secured bursary places at summer schools.
Following a day of discussion and exploration at the national conference, parents and carers identified a number of key issues:
Over the coming months, parent and carer leaders from our Parent Power Chapters will work to grow their relational power, build alliances and win campaigns that will begin to tackle elements of these issues.
Reflecting on the day, Jimmy Pickering, Director of Communities at The Brilliant Club said:
“It has been a privilege to be part of the growth of Parent Power over the past 7 years and fantastic to see the first National Parent Power conference in action today. Parents and carers from across the UK have come together to develop their educational knowledge and to work together to create change at a national level. I’m excited to see where parents and carers will lead emerging campaigns to improve mental health support and increase availability of work experience opportunities for young people”.
When considering the impact of Cardiff Parent Power’s campaign for access to university spaces on his son’s educational journey, Zekeria, a Parent Leader from Cardiff Parent Power, said:
“Up to a year ago, my son didn’t have that motivation or ambition for his education or his professional career. Whenever I asked him what he wanted to do in the future he would always respond, ‘I don’t know.’ We were lucky enough to visit Jesus College at the University of Oxford organised by Parent Power Cardiff. One thing that happened that day that was very important was hearing from students from the college who had a similar background to us and hearing about their experience. This opened my sons’ eyes to what he can do in the future and [showed him] that it might be possible for him to attend a prestigious university. My son’s perspective changed completely as a result and he’s now more motivated for his education and is now thinking about a career in finance.”
Zekeria’s experience highlights the power of parents and carers to create change in their children’s futures.
If you’d like to work with The Brilliant Club to make this happen then you can reach out to us at nationalparentpower@thebrilliantclub.org.
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