4.2 Explain how carers can be engaged in the strategic planning of services

This guide will help you answer 4.2 Explain how carers can be engaged in the strategic planning of services.

Engaging carers in strategic planning means involving them in decisions about how services are developed and improved. Carers are often family members or friends who look after children or young people. They have knowledge and experience that can help shape services to meet real needs. Strategic planning involves long-term thinking and making decisions about priorities, resources, and goals. When carers are actively included, services become more relevant and more effective.

Why Carer Engagement Matters

Carers understand the day-to-day challenges faced by those they support. Their insights can highlight gaps in services or barriers to access. Professionals may have expertise in policies and procedures, but carers bring practical knowledge based on lived experience. This can help create services that are not only compliant with regulations but also practical and user-friendly.

Involving carers can:

• Make services more responsive to actual needs
• Improve trust between service providers and families
• Increase the likelihood that the service will be used effectively
• Identify problems before they grow larger

Methods of Involving Carers

There are many ways to engage carers in strategic planning. The choice will depend on the service, its size, and the community it serves.

Regular Consultation Meetings

Holding meetings where carers can speak directly to managers or planners is an effective approach. These may be formal, such as scheduled quarterly sessions, or informal, such as open coffee mornings where concerns can be raised. Meetings give carers the chance to share feedback in person, ask questions, and hear about updates or changes to services.

Surveys and Questionnaires

Written surveys allow carers to share their thoughts anonymously and in their own time. Questions can focus on service quality, accessibility, staff attitudes, and suggestions for improvement. Surveys can be useful for collecting feedback from a wide group of carers, including those who might not speak up in public meetings.

Focus Groups

A focus group is a small meeting with selected carers to discuss specific topics in more depth. These sessions enable planners to gather detailed insight and explore issues from different angles. They can be particularly useful when developing new services or making significant changes.

Advisory Panels

Some services set up formal panels that include carers alongside professionals and other stakeholders. These panels meet regularly to review progress, discuss upcoming projects, and provide oversight. This gives carers a continuing role rather than a one-off involvement.

Digital Engagement

Online platforms allow carers to share feedback without needing to travel. This can include email responses, online forums, or video calls. Digital engagement can be useful for carers who have limited time or mobility.

Removing Barriers to Participation

Carers often have busy lives and may face challenges that affect their ability to take part in planning. Good engagement means recognising these barriers and finding ways to remove them.

Common barriers include:

• Lack of time because of caring duties
• Transport difficulties
• Language or literacy issues
• Lack of confidence in dealing with professionals

Possible solutions:

• Offer flexible meeting times, including evenings
• Provide transport or arrange meetings in local venues
• Provide translation services or plain language documents
• Create a welcoming atmosphere where all opinions are valued

Building Trust Between Carers and Services

Trust is essential for meaningful engagement. If carers feel their input is ignored or undervalued, they are less likely to take part in planning. Building trust requires openness, respect, and clear communication.

Ways to build trust:

• Give regular feedback on how carer views have influenced decisions
• Be transparent about what changes can and cannot be made
• Treat all contributions respectfully, even if they cannot be acted upon
• Keep promises and follow through on agreed actions

Making Feedback Count

Gathering carer input is only useful if it leads to change. Organisations must have clear processes for reviewing feedback, deciding on actions, and communicating results. Carers need to see that their ideas have had an impact. This reinforces their value in the planning process and encourages continued engagement.

Good practice includes:

• Documenting all feedback
• Comparing carer suggestions with service goals and regulations
• Acting on feasible ideas
• Keeping carers informed of progress

Training and Support for Carers

Some carers may feel unsure about contributing to strategic discussions. Offering basic training can help them understand how decisions are made and what their role can be. Training might cover:

• How strategic plans are developed
• How services are funded and managed
• How policies influence decision making
• Communication skills for meetings

Support can also include pairing new carer representatives with more experienced ones, or assigning a staff contact to guide them through the process.

Working with Different Types of Carers

Carers are not all the same. Some care for a child with complex medical needs, others for a young person with behavioural difficulties. Levels of experience and available time vary greatly. Good planning recognises these differences and finds methods that work for each group.

Examples:

• For carers of children with disabilities, consider specialist consultation sessions focused on accessibility needs
• For foster carers, include sessions on how placement processes can be improved
• For informal kinship carers, provide simpler meeting formats and avoid jargon language

Linking Carer Involvement to Outcomes

When carers help shape strategic plans, the results can be measured through service improvements. These might include:

• Shorter waiting times for referrals
• More appropriate and individualised care plans
• Increased satisfaction rates among families
• Better retention of staff through improved relationships with families

Tracking these outcomes can show the value of carer engagement and encourage continued involvement.

Legal and Policy Context

In England, there are legal duties to involve carers in various aspects of service planning. Policies such as the Children Act 1989 and the Care Act 2014 stress the importance of carer participation. Funding bodies may also require evidence of engagement before approving budgets. Knowing the legal background helps services to design engagement processes that meet these obligations.

Cultural Sensitivity in Engagement

Carers may come from different cultural backgrounds. Planners should respect these differences and design engagement activities that are inclusive.

Examples:

• Use interpreters where necessary
• Be aware of different cultural attitudes towards caring
• Provide food or refreshments that take account of dietary restrictions
• Avoid scheduling meetings during important cultural or religious events

Continuous Engagement Instead of One-Off Input

Carer involvement works best when it is ongoing. Strategic planning should be viewed as a continuing process, not a single event. This keeps services connected to real needs and allows quick responses to changes in the community.

Approaches to continuous engagement include:

• Standing carer committees
• Regular review of plans with carer input
• Informal drop-in sessions every few months

Recording Engagement Activities

Recording how carers have been engaged is important for transparency and evaluation. This can mean keeping minutes of meetings, storing copies of surveys, and noting any actions taken. Good record-keeping shows that services take their engagement seriously.

Benefits of recording:

• Demonstrates compliance with policies
• Helps track progress
• Allows review of past feedback to guide future planning

Encouraging New Voices

Some carers may have been involved for years, while others are new. Encouraging fresh voices prevents the process from becoming stale and ensures a wide range of perspectives. Recruitment could focus on carers who have recently used the service, those from underrepresented groups, or those caring for children with rare conditions.

Making Engagement Meaningful

If engagement feels tokenistic, carers will disengage. Meaningful involvement means listening deeply, acting on what is possible, and explaining the reasons when changes cannot be made. Carers should be partners in shaping services, not just attendees at meetings.

Practical Examples of Carer Engagement

• A local authority setting up family forums to shape the design of respite services
• A school working with parents to develop a long-term plan for special educational needs provision
• A health service inviting parents of children with chronic conditions to sit on advisory boards for paediatric departments

Final Thoughts

Engaging carers in strategic planning improves the relevance, quality, and effectiveness of services for children and young people. Their lived experience offers practical insights that professional knowledge alone cannot provide. Carers are more likely to participate when they feel respected, heard, and valued. This requires thoughtful design of engagement processes, removal of barriers, and clear communication about outcomes.

The key idea is partnership. By treating carers as equal contributors in planning, services can better meet the needs of those they support. Strategic plans built on such collaboration are more likely to make a real difference in the lives of children, young people, and their families.