Be Empowered Workshops

About Us

Introducing BEW

The Be Empowered Workshops (BEWs) are a fantastic opportunity for parent-carers to meet with others, get up-to-date information, build and increase their confidence, skill set and resilience. Each workshop runs during the school term and is made up of 6 weekly informative, reflective and transformative sessions lasting 3 to 4 hours each. Although each session can stand alone, they also build on each other and follow the journey of a Parent-carer at their point of need.

The BEWs are a series of 6 workshops delivered over 6 weeks. Written by parent carers for parent carers, delivered by parent carers alongside a professional from the LA. With the focus being on the SEND journey and providing relevant up-to-date information in a logical manner, the aim is to help parents not only to navigate the system but also to work on the relationships around them to help improve the outcomes not just for their child/young person but the whole family.

Parents are provided with a safe space to be open and to provide peer-to-peer support, not just for the period of the workshops but ongoing afterwards. The feedback that is provided at week 6 is then presented to the heads of health, education and social care, to help inform changes that are needed, as well as to celebrate the wins of those who are providing an outstanding service.

We are constantly humbled by how much our parents trust the process of the workshops, and transform, but then also continue to transform and grow after they finish.

For the first time, last academic year, we offered two sets of BEWs per term. During this academic year, there will be a choice of online daytime, online evening, face-to-face daytime, Saturday afternoon and our very popular community languages. The community languages set of workshops, where parent-carers with English as an additional language have the workshops translated into their mother tongue, is longer as it includes a lunch break to enable deeper connections to be forged, as well as extra time to allow for translations and discussions.

All who attend feel better equipped to support and advocate for their Children/ Young people as a result. The BEWs are open to all Parent-carers, no matter the rarity of the Child or Young Person’s conditions, before, during, after or even without a diagnosis…

Everyone is welcome, biological parents, foster parents, adoptive parents, guardians, grandparents, etc.  Anyone who is involved in raising/caring for a child/young person with identified additional needs will find peer support that will carry on beyond the 6 sessions with a lively WhatsApp community group, a Facebook group, online coffee mornings and many more projects to come.

To conclude an amazing 2024/2025 academic year, we organised a “get together” on Saturday, 12th July at Oasis Academy Hobmoor, where professionals, senior Birmingham

City Council SEND team members, Parent Carers Forum representatives, Parent-carers and their families joined to celebrate, share thoughts, feedback, food and laughter. It was all about connecting and empowering Parent-carers, as well as providing a safe space where they could just “be”. We had fantastic feedback, with attendees enthusiastically asking for more similar events. Look out for the flyers with the dates, times and locations for the upcoming workshops.

For Professionals

The Be Empowered Workshops (BEWs) were written by parent carers for parent carers in response to their needs.

BEWs aim is to equip parent carers with the skills to work in an equal partnership with professionals from education, health and social care to get the best outcomes for their child/children.

The course equips parent carers with up-to-date information and essential skills to help them engage fully with a range of professionals that they will meet with along their child’s journey.

Parents/carers who have been on the BEWs course have told us that they feel more confident and resilient and able to work together equally with professionals to ensure their child/children has the right support, at the right time, in the right place.

The course is made up of six sessions and follow parent carer’s journeys and the challenges that come with having a child or children with special educational needs and/or disability. BEWs fit at a ‘point of need’ for parent carers. The sessions are relevant before, during or after a diagnosis is received, or even in cases where there isn’t a diagnosis, but where a need has been identified. It is a relevant support for parent carers when they need it and are ready to engage in this programme.

FAQs

No, this is not a parenting course. The workshops are led by parent carers, assisted by professionals. The purpose of the workshops is to help you understand the SEND system in Birmingham, give you up-to-date information, and help you to strengthen skills to work efficiently with professionals across education, health and social care systems.

BEWs is not about telling you how to raise your child, but rather to champion you and provide you with a safe space to share your experiences and feelings with peer parent carers.

The course is for parent carers to attend. They are held during school hours, evening online and weekends. We understand what it takes to be a parent carer and try our best to be as flexible as possible. Should you have any questions, please contact us.

No diagnosis is required. The workshops are there for you to join when you feel ready to.

The Workshops are not diagnosis-specific. We have had families facing some extremely rare conditions and others some more common ones. Every parent carer is welcome when they feel ready to start this journey.

Not at all. We welcome every Parent carer wherever they are in their journey. So, you do not need any paperwork from school or from the doctor to join.

No, the workshops are free to join for all parent carers.

No minimum age or age limit, we have welcomed parents with young babies up to young adults aged 22 years old.