What is the Parent & Carer Panel? 

The Parent Carer Panel Kernow is part of a bigger programme, Start for Life. At the 2021 budget, the government announced a package of around £300 million to transform services for parents, carers, babies and children in 75 local authorities in England. This will provide thousands of families access to support when they need it, ensuring that babies have the best start in life.  

Parent Carer Panel 

The Early Years Healthy Development Review – the best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days  sets out a vision to transform how we support families to ensure babies get the best possible start in life. One clear theme that emerged from parents and carers was that they wanted the opportunity to work collaboratively with those designing services for babies and their families – in other words, the opportunity to co-design those services, where appropriate. Therefore, the review recommended that local areas establish a parent and carer panel for the Start for Life period to include the voice of families in service design and delivery 

Why co-design is important for parents and carers from conception to their baby’s second birthday  

During the Early Years Healthy Development Review, we heard that current services were often not designed and delivered in collaboration with families to ensure babies’ needs were met. We know that the 1,001 critical days is a time of rapid development. Babies’ experiences during this time lay the foundations for lifelong emotional and physical health. This is why it is important to engage with parents and carers at the start of their journey to provide the best possible outcomes for their babies. 

The importance of co-design as part of your Start for Life offer  

People with lived experience can bring valuable insights and perspectives to the design of services. Our vision for parent and carer panels is for the Start for Life offer to be co-designed and for panellists to share feedback based on their experiences to support the continuous improvement of these services. 

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