Kinship Knowledge Exchange: Navigating the kinship local offer

Join this in-person event to learn about how policy and practice changes are affecting the kinship care landscape. Watch keynote talks, take part in conversations and learn about what makes an effective and trusted kinship local offer.

Book your place

Key information

Date: Monday 16 June 2025
Time: 10am to 3pm
Venue: The Abbey Centre, 34 Great Smith Street, Westminster, London, SW1P 3BU
Ticket price: £120 per person

More details about this event are available below. If you have any questions, please get in touch by emailing us at commissions@kinship.org.uk.

  • District line and Circle line stop at St. James’s Park underground station, a 5-minute walk
  • District line, Circle line and Jubilee line stop at Westminster underground station, a 7-minute walk
  • District line, Circle line and Victoria line stop at Victoria underground station, a 15-minute walk

Visit the First Bus website to plan your journey.

The closest train stations are:

  • London Victoria, an 18-minute walk
  • Charing Cross, a 21-minute walk
  • London Waterloo, a 25-minute walk

To plan your journey and buy train tickets, visit National Rail or Trainline.

For more details about the train stations and their locations, visit:

Accessibility

The Abbey Centre is fully accessible with step-free access. If you have any additional accessibility needs, you can tell us on our booking form. Please let us know so we can make this event as comfortable as possible for you.

Janet Kay OBE, Chair 

The event will be chaired by Janet Kay OBE, Kinship trustee, local support group leader and longstanding advocate for kinship carers. 

Facilitation throughout the day will be provided by Tim Fisher, National Practice Lead at Kinship. 

A powerful short film capturing what belonging and identity mean to children in kinship care. 

Lucy Peake, CEO, Kinship

Emma Davies, Deputy Director, Adoption, Family Justice and Alternatives to Care, Department for Education

Co-production, Identity, and Inclusion

Louise Spragg, Principal Social Worker, Telford & Wrekin Council; Chair of the Principal Social Worker Network 

Michelle Hall, kinship carer and doctoral researcher
Michelle’s PhD research focuses on contact between kinship carers and birth parents. As a lived experience expert and academic, she bridges theory, policy and practice with rare insight.

Dr Paul Shuttleworth, social worker, researcher and lecturer
Paul’s work highlights the perspectives of children in kinship care, especially around what matters to them in everyday practice. His research foregrounds voice, narrative, and ethical listening. 

Al Coates MBE, social worker and Churchill Fellow
On trauma, early adversity, and systemic response – Al draws on his practice expertise and recent Churchill Fellowship to share insights on peer support and helping systems work more relationally with families. 

 

             11:25am to 11:40am – Break

Sharon McPherson, Co-Founder, Families in Harmony 

Anam Raja, Research Manager, Kinship 

Reflecting on the morning’s themes.

Janet Kay OBE and Tim Fisher

             12:40pm to 1:20pm – Lunch

Building on the national picture

Jahnine Davis, National Kinship Care Ambassador

Financial support, local authority structure and practice

Becky Driscoll, research associate, Centre for Care, University of Sheffield

Claire Robinson, Service Manager, Sheffield City Council 

Inputs from local authorities sharing how they are building and delivering their Kinship Local Offers—what’s working, what’s evolving, and what support is needed. 

Nicola Hope, Head of Kinship Care, Staffordshire County Council 

Jenny Williams, Children’s Service Manager, and Lucy Collier, Team Manager Nottinghamshire County Council 

Mandy Wilkins, Team Manager, London Borough of Ealing 

Elizabeth Souter, Service Manager, London Borough of Wandsworth 

Gemma Abrey, Team Manager, Torbay Council 

Reflections on the afternoon’s themes.

Janet Kay OBE and Lucy Peake