Children in Wales would like to provide you with a further update since we announced that both our offices have been temporarily closed, and that all of our staff have safely transferred to working remotely from home. These are indeed uncertain and unprecedented times, with Children in Wales and the wider sector quickly responding and adapting to the currently reality by seeking to deliver valued services in a different way in line with Government and NHS guidance.

We are making adaptions to enable as much of our work as possible to continue, and are implementing new and exciting ways in which to deliver our core work over the coming weeks, including our policy and practitioner network meetings, training courses and events, and our bespoke projects which we know are of great value and benefit for our members. The pandemic means that Children in Wales' core organisational qualities of representation, promoting the human rights of children, and speaking with one voice are even more important now than ever before. We want to continue to stress the importance and benefits of working together and staying connected by listening to what our members have to say; advocate for the best possible outcomes for children and share the best possible solutions and resources to support our members and the children, young people and families you work with and support throughout Wales.

Membership
If your membership is due for renewal in the coming months, please keep an eye out for an email which will be sent to you directly. If you would like to become a member of Children in Wales, or would like to let us know how we can continue to make your experience of membership as positive as possible, please contact our Membership & Marketing Co-ordinator at louise.oneill@childreninwales.org.uk

Communication & Information
We remain totally committed to strengthening the skills in the sector to improve childhoods and to support families, and communication is key to supporting you at the current time. We have:

  • Doubled the number of members e-briefings we produce each week, and tailored the content to ensure that you get more frequent information from trustworthy and credible sources to support your work. The e-briefings will also continue to showcase the work Children in Wales are producing as well as the resources and news from our members. If you haven't already seen them, look out for these on a Tuesday and Thursday every week in your inbox to keep abreast with everything you need to know. Please keep in touch and share your news and resources with Sarah & Alice in the Communication & Information Team by sending information to info@childreninwales.org.uk and we will endeavour to include it
  • To ensure that our e-briefings reach as wide an audiences as possible, we are now making them universally available via our website and our social media channels, https://www.childreninwales.org.uk/news/ & @childreninwales
  • Our next quarterly Children in Wales magazine will be with you electronically as usual, as will our End Child Poverty Network Cymru and Young Wales monthly newsletters

Training & events
We are already making adaptions to deliver some of our training courses remotely to help ensure that our members and wider sector continue to have access to our extensive knowledge and learning programme remotely. More details will be forthcoming in the coming weeks, so watch this space.

Policy and Practitioner Networks It is now more important than ever that the issues of most importance to children, young people and the organisations which work with and for them continue to be heard by decision makers, and that the collective voice from the childrenäó»s sector in Wales is maintained. Our policy and development team are continuing to support and work alongside our members as we transition towards remote working, and have been advocating and campaigning to ensure that those most vulnerable are not at any greater risk or disadvantaged during this period. It is essential that the rights of children and young people remain paramount during this period of change.

Our projects
The way we deliver our projects will temporarily change. For example The Price of Pupil Poverty project in schools across Wales is continuing, and we are now exploring with our schools new ways of working which we'll adopt over the coming weeks. Promotion of the Guides will also continue more generally. The Getting Ready project which is working with care experienced young people and local authorities is adapting its work. A new Well-being resource has just been published, and further work in this area is already being planned. The Getting More Involved in Social Care project has produced a series of resources for young people which will be of great value during this period. Further resources from the 4 year project will be released very soon. The Young Wales team are using this time to plan for the future, including the Young Wales conference, Make your Mark and our work with Public Health Wales. We look forward to catching up with everyone, when all this is over Keeping in touch Our website and social media platforms will be vital for you over the coming months, so please don't forget to follow us on Twitter (@ChildreninWales) and Facebook (childreninwales) to get updates on our news, and hear how our wider network is responding. Also, make sure you're signed up to receive all of our updates by following this link.

We are looking forward to our new Chief Executive, Owen Evans, joining our team next month and guiding our work during this challenging time for us all. Finally, we'd like to take this opportunity of thanking everyone for your resounding commitment and continued support in prioritising improving the lives of children and young people in Wales at this critical moment. Keep in touch, share, and stay safe everyone!