Amaze is routinely approached to contribute the parent perspective, canvass parents' views on new proposals, or join ongoing planning groups and cross-agency partnerships. Our involvement is sought for lots of reasons, including:

• our knowledge of parents' needs
• our expertise in delivering information, advice and support to parents
• our ability to reach parents who are socially excluded or are distrusting of traditional public sector agencies
• our experience in working flexibly and innovatively to address complex and changing needs
• our determination to be parent led and prioritise support that matters most to parents.

We are pleased to see that parent involvement is fast becoming the norm and is being embedded into the cultures of health, social care and voluntary organisations alike.

But parent involvement is complex and can mean different things to different people. It seems that sometimes it's about commenting on decisions already made and sometimes it's about raising new concerns that others haven't yet prioritised. It can also be about starting from scratch and drafting new ideas or pushing to manage a service and control a budget. What matters is knowing, at the outset, exactly what sort of involvement is either being offered or you want to provide.

• What matters most?
• Parents in action
• How can you get involved?

What matters most?

We want to use parent's time well. And we are careful not to collude with requests that are simply about 'ticking the consultation box'. Not thinking carefully about what is wanted from parents can lead to negative experiences and consultation fatigue.

To help us decide where to place our time and energy most effectively, we have put together a checklist of questions Amaze asks before deciding whether to get involved. And we have reflected on our experience over the years and come up with a Top Ten Tips – for mutually effective partnership that helps us to keep on track when taking part in groups that are reviewing and planning services.

We are planning to develop a training course called 'Having A Voice'. Currently being designed, this is a four session course to train and support parents who wish to actively participate in consultations and represent other parents views.

While we would like to do more, we do not have the resources or time to respond to all requests. For this reason, we make it explicit in our negotiations that properly supporting parents' involvement in consultation, development and training initiatives requires funding.

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Parents in action

Sitting around a table, often with people who have been involved in providing your family with a service, or being only one of two parents at a table full of professionals, can be nerve-racking and unsettling. Parents have told us that it can be scary starting out. But, within a short time, they really value the chance to develop skills and put their hard-earned experience back into the system so things can change for the better. They say they gain lots from getting involved, such as learning more about the way things work, gaining new skills and meeting professionals and other parents.

Amaze tries to take good care of its workers and parents who participate in planning groups by:

• Requiring that at least two parents are involved in any one group
• Providing on-going support before and after meetings
• Pushing for a budget to reimburse parent expenses
• Seeking funding to pay parents a fee for their time

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How can you get involved?

Delivering the message is probably the hardest part of the task, but it is the most vital. It's hard, because finding ways for parents and professionals to work together and value each others' contribution, takes time and requires commitment. It's vital because, often without even realising it, parents gather enormous skill and knowledge about what helps through the daily routine of caring for their children. You can help us to capture this unique expertise.

You can choose just how much you want to get involved. Here are a few examples:

• Read the newsletter to keep up to date with new events
• Give us your views about specific issues when we need them, so we can feed them back to the council or government
• Come along to our events
• Tell us what you think about services
• Join the Compass
• Become a parent representative and help get parents' views across at meetings
• Train to be a volunteer and help other parents with education issues
• Train to help other parents fill in DLA forms
• Learn to deliver parent workshops with us
• Contribute your experience to service reviews or re-designs
• Become a trustee of our organisation
• Tell us what you think about our services.

Find out more about Amaze's recent parent consultation work.

Contact us if you would like to get involved.