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AUGUST 2010

Have your say about improving children’s access to play, sport and culture in Portsmouth
The Portsmouth Children's Trust is developing the strategy to improve access and opportunities to play, take part in sport and experience a range of cultural opportunities and so consulting with children, young people, parents, carers and providers to help them develop a ‘Play, Sport and Culture Strategy’ for children and young people.  Tell them what you think.

JULY 2010

01.07.10 Launch of Children's Voice Publication- buy online or call 01279 428040 for your copy. Members and non members prices

JUNE 2010

28.06.10 See how the Grandparents' Association helped us... Launch of grandparentsvoices.org.uk microsite with vidoes sharing Grandparents stories

23.06.10  Group backs grandparents rights victory

A BRISTOL group has welcomed Government plans to give grandparents stronger rights to "step in" and help children when parents break up.

Members of the Bristol Grandparents Association Support Group, who work towards grandchildren's voices being heard, say they are pleased with the move.



17.06.10 Letter from Shirley Trundle Director of Families

Dear Colleagues

You may already have seen the coverage today of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's speech announcing a 'Childhood and Families Task Force'.  This is a small Ministerial group which will be chaired by the Prime Minister.  The role of the Task Force will be to identify, prioritise and drive forward a small number of specific policy proposals that will make the biggest difference to children and families in a cost-effective way.  Its work will be completed over the autumn, and the proposals will be developed in the context of the upcoming Spending Review.  The Minister for Children and Families, Sarah Teather, will sit on the Task Force and will represent the Department of Education's critical contribution to this work.

I hope you agree this is welcome news and shows that the commitment to children and families is at the heart of the Government.

As someone who also works closely with and for children and families, your contribution and support has been vital, and will continue to be so. We look forward to working with you in the future, and please do get in touch with your regular contact if you would like to know more about the Task Force work.

Shirley Trundle Director for Families

11.06.10
Radio Essex - 9 am - Lynn Chesterman on response to Grandparents Plus research

08.06.10
BBC Radio Northampton - Lunch time programme - Jan Fry for Grandparents' Association - response to Grandparents Plus research

08.06.10

UK is lagging behind other countries in recognising crucial role of grandparents.

Grandparents in the UK are undervalued compared with grandparents across the EU says a new report produced for Grandparents Plus by Kings College London.

Lynn Chesterman CE of The Grandparents' Association says:

"The Grandparents’ Association, the only national membership organisation for grandparents, supports the findings of Grandparents Plus. However grandchildren's voices are often ignored and Children's Voices, is to be launched by The Grandparents Association on 1 July which will add to these findings by listening to the children.”

If you would like to reserve a copy of the Childrens Voices publication or know more contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

MAY 2010

17.05.10
Let family members foster children - (appeared in The Independent 17.05.10 - letters)

That there is a shortage of over 10,000 foster carers in the UK is deeply concerning (report, 17 May). Children in care are likely to have experienced a very difficult childhood to date, and the absence of a suitable, stable foster placement adds further to their trauma, with potentially devastating consequences.

However, the solution doesn't solely lie in recruiting more unrelated foster carers. We know from our work that significantly more could be done to enable children to live safely within their families, for example with grandparents, aunts or uncles whom they already know and love. Too often we get calls to our advice lines from such relatives, who have been overlooked by children's services.

Then there are the cases of other relatives, who, despite being willing to make many sacrifices for the children, are just too impoverished or living in overcrowded accommodation, to be able to take on their upbringing without help from the local authority, which isn't forthcoming.

The child-welfare system in many parts of England is facing extraordinary pressures at the moment. Rather than paying tens of thousands of pounds keeping more children in care, we need to consider how the right help can be provided to give children love, security and stability within their families.

Cathy Ashley, Chief Executive, Family Rights Group

Lynn Chesterman, Chief Executive, The Grandparents' Association, Harlow, Essex

04.05.10
How do the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats measure up on children's rights?

APRIL 2010

26.04.10
Launch of 'Difficult Message Publication' - New guidance unveiled for Grandparents caring for their grandchildren

21.04.10
A Celebration of Grandparents - In memory of Peter Lee  - The Temple Church - 14.30pm

13.04.10 - Labour Manifesto [external link]

14.04.10 - Conservative manifesto [external link]

14.04.10 - Lib Dems manifesto [external link]

14.04.10
Political parties probed on commitment to children’s rights

13.04.10 - Labour Manifesto mentions grandparents

13.04.10 - Lib Dems - mentions grandparents association seminar

08.04.10 - Launch of Kinship Care Manifesto

08.04.10 - And they're off - Election time begins

01.04.10 - Launch of Family Life

MARCH 2010

30.03.10
Launch of Alliance on Family Contact Manifesto

24.03.10
Budget 2010 - SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP ORDERS AND RESIDENCE ORDERS

JANUARY 2010

27.01.10
Kids in Museums Family Ticket Watch Campaign

25.01.10
BeGrand.net launches its new 'destination' website BeGrand.net for grandparents.

25.01.10
Grandparents key to instilling traditional values in families - link to download below

20.01.10
The Government has at last regognised the important role that Grandparents play in family life - Liz Buckland Bromley Support Group

20.01.10
Green Paper launch - Natalie Henningham from Grandparents' Association interview - "I gave up my job to look after my grandson"

20.01.10 
ED BALLS: ‘New package of measures to recognise grandparents’

DECEMBER 2009

15.12.09
Lynn Chesterman CE of Grandparents Association' met with the Policy Unit at 10 Downing St

07.12.09
Grandparents' Association are guests of three ministers at Lancaster House for the Celebration of the role of Grandparents

NOVEMBER 2009

13.11.09
Grandparent' Association seeks Policy and Resources Manager

OCTOBER 2009

28 October 2009
Grandparents' Association is part of a newly-formed consortium to building an online service focused on helping and supporting Grandparents.

SEPTEMBER 2009

September 2009
The Kinship Care Alliance - A Policy Briefing on Family and Friends Care: raising children within the wider family as an alternative to care

FULL STORIES BELOW - FOLLOW LINKS FROM ABOVE

20.05.10 - Better deal for no contact grandparents promised - New coalition government promises review of family law

Today (Wednesday 20th May) the new government announced its programme under the banner Freedom, Fairness and Responsibility.  As part of a review of families and children's services, the government is setting up a comprehensive review of family law to include looking at ways to improve better access to children for non-resident parents and grandparents when couples split up.

Chief Executive of the Grandparent's Association, Lynn Chesterman commented

'We welcome any development which will improve the lives of families where contact between child and grandparent becomes a major issue.  We plan to gather the views of grandparents who have no contact with their grandchildren to influence the promised review'.

full details of the coalition's plans can be found at:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/409088/pfg_coalition.pdf

04.05.10 - How do the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats measure up on children's rights? SEE PDF FOR FULL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

On the day the General Election was called, the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) wrote to the children’s spokespeople of each of the three main political parties to ask how they would protect the human rights of children, were they to form the next Government.

CRAE is today releasing the results from this unique exercise. In their responses to six broad children’s rights questions, Ed Balls (Labour) and David Laws (Liberal Democrats) indicate how their Parties would approach the Government's legal obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Michael Gove (Conservatives) declined to respond to the questions and directed CRAE to his Party's Election manifesto.

The attached short briefing paper explains the reasons behind the six key questions and presents the politicians’ answers in an easy-to-read table.

Carolyne Willow, CRAE’s national co-ordinator, says:

“England’s 11 million children have no vote, yet whoever forms the next Government takes on legal obligations to these children under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child . The UN has repeatedly criticised the UK’s children’s rights record, from the early 1990s onwards. CRAE’s questions were designed to show adult voters how the three main parties measure up on children’s rights. Whoever holds the keys to Downing Street after 6 May, these human rights commitments must be followed."

26.04.10 - Launch of 'Difficult Message Publication' - New guidance unveiled for Grandparents caring for their grandchildren

Grandparents caring for young children are being offered much needed advice on how to break difficult news and information to their grandchildren.
The Grandparents’ Association will next week launch a guidance booklet called ‘Giving Difficult Messages to Children’.
The document is the result of an in-depth discussion with health and social workers and grandparents who have had to communicate sensitive messages to their grandchildren.
One couple who say they could have benefited from the publication is Ron and Val Little.
Mr Little, 70, and his wife had the unenviable task of telling their seven-year-old granddaughter Molly and later on her two-year-old brother Mitch that their father had murdered their mother Tammy.
“It came as a complete shock but there was no question over whether we’d take care of our grandchildren,” said Mr Little. “We tried to make it as easy as possible, but nothing was easy. We were fortunate enough to have a very good police liaison officer, with whom we are still friends, but some people don’t have that support.
“I hope this will help other people in similar situations”
Areas covered by the publication include what to say, when to say it and how much detail to go in to. The 16-page booklet covers a range of areas including bereavement, ill health and neglect and abuse within the family.
It draws upon a number of studies, including one which shows that older children can appreciate more information than younger children.
The official launch takes place at Charles Russell Solicitors in London at 1.30pm on Monday (April 26) and will be attended by The Grandparents’ Association Chief Executive Lynn Chesterman.
‘Giving Difficult Messages to Children’ is the third in a series of Relative Values publications produced by The Grandparent’s Association. The first was called ‘The Best Interests of the Child’, the second ‘Missing Out On Contact’.

Baroness Butler-Sloss GBE, President of The Grandparents’ Association, who will also be at Monday’s launch, said:
“There is a great deal of grief at the loss of a beloved parent without any knowledge or understanding as to what has happened, why it has happened and what might happen in the future.
“We know that many grandparents contact the Grandparents’ Association and ask: ‘How do we cope with this?’ By producing this publication the Grandparents’ Association is taking another step, a vital step, to providing the necessary support to grandparents and other carers, to professionals, to everyone involved with the child, to empower them to help the child through these traumatic situations in the best possible way.
“There is much work to be done in this area but this publication will guide many in the right direction.”

‘Giving Difficult Messages to Children’ is available from Monday April 26 priced £5.99 (or £4.99 for members of The Grandparents’ Association). To order a copy please call 01279 428040 or visit www.grandparent-sassociation.org.uk

Notes for Editors

•    Please find a copy of the publication attached along with a photograph of Baroness Butler-Sloss. Mr Little is available for further interviews. For more information please call Laura Williams on 07538 651 203 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
•    The Grandparents’ Association (Reg. Charity No. 1105977) was set up to help support grandparents who care for their grandchildren. It offers a helpline and welfare benefits advice, produces publications, and organises local support groups.
•    Its head office is in Harlow, Essex, with satellite offices in London, Leeds and Portsmouth.
•    There are 14 million Grandparents in the UK, the youngest being just 28 years old.
•    The Grandparents’ Association helpline (Tel: 0845 434 9585) receives over 8500 calls a year, each lasting an average of 15 minutes.
•    The charity’s website: www.grandparents-association.org.uk receives more than two million hits every year.

14.04.10 - The Children’s Rights Alliance for England has today (6 April 2010) written to the children’s leads of the three main political parties asking them to set out their general approach to children’s rights should they form the next Government.

The letters to Ed Balls, Michael Gove and David Laws ask the parties’ views on: ministerial responsibility for children’s rights; action on the UN recommendations on children’s rights; whether children’s rights will be considered when drafting laws and policy affecting children; listening to and taking account of children’s views; training on children’s rights for the children’s workforce and teaching children’s rights in schools; and Ministers’ roles in promoting positive images of children and childhood.

CRAE plans to publish the responses in the week of the General Election. Carolyne Willow, CRAE’s national co-ordinator, says:

‘There are 11 million children in England. While under 18s have no vote, these children are surrounded by parents, grandparents, neighbours and other adult voters that want to know politicians’ plans for protecting children’s rights. We could have asked hundreds of questions about children’s lives in England today, from plans to end child poverty, to protection from violence, to making sure children involved in crime get the right support, to laws promoting fair treatment of children and families when using public transport and community facilities. Instead, we have focused on six broad areas which we think will give voters a clear picture of the main political parties’ general approach to children’s rights.’  

Notes
1.    CRAE seeks the full implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was ratified by the UK in 1991. We are one of the largest children's rights coalitions in the world and our membership includes all the main children's charities in England.

2.    The children’s leads have been asked identical questions. For each question they have been asked to respond “yes / no / not yet decided” and to give a comment of no more than 30 words. The responses will be made available in full, including where no answer has been given.

More details

Carolyne Willow, CRAE national co-ordinator, 07949 434 787.

13.04.10 - Lib Dems - One of our members has had a call from  Paul Harods office, Lib Dem prospective MP for Bristol North west, telling us that there is a Grandparents Association Seminar taking place on Thursday (15.04.10) - This seminar has since been cancelled.

13.04.10 - Labour Manifesto states that:

“Parents who are able to call on grandparents to help with childcare, or during emergencies, know how essential their support is to a strong family life. Grandparents who give up work to help care for their grandchildren must not lose out, so they will receive National Insurance Credits towards their state pension. We will remove the requirement on grandparents to apply for the court’s permission before making an application for contact with their grandchildren and we will ensure that grandparents and other family members are always given first consideration for adoption or fostering.”

The opening paragraph of the chapter on Families from which the excerpt above comes says:

“Strong families are the bedrock of our society. Secure and stable relationships between parents, their children, grandparents and other family members are the foundation on which strong communities are built.”

08.04.10 - Launch of Kinship Care Manifesto

Currently many grandparents and other family and friends carers raising children on the brink of care receive little or any support from the local authority.  Yet many of these carers are impoverished, living in overcrowded accommodation and raising extremely disturbed children. 

The Grandparents' Association is a represenattive of the Kinship Care Alliance and supports the Family Rights Group  to end the current postcode lottery and improve financial and other support services available to family and friends carers.

Read the Kinship Care Alliance manifesto
Read the Kinship Care Alliance's recommendations

The Kinship Care Alliance welcomes endorsements from organisations and individuals to the policy paper and recommendations - please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

08.04.10 - And they're off - Election time begins

And they're off...on the run up to the election on May 6th
What will the major parties will do for grandparents.

Below are the links to their Family Policy Briefings and manifestos.

Labour - Family Policy
[links to pdf document called - Support for All - The Families and Relationships Green Paper]

Conservatives - Family Policy
[links to webpage - Where we stand - Family]

Liberal Democrats - Family Policy
[links to pdf document called - Policy briefing Families

1.04.10 - Launch of Family Life

The Grandparents' Association as one of the members of the advisory board working on Family Life (a granny guide - to support crucial roles of grandparents) is delighted to be associated with this publication launched today by Grandparents Plus.

The new guide launched to support crucial roles of grandparents covers balancing work and care, to resolving family conflict.

The new handbook offers tips for the nation’s grandparents and Children’s Secretary Ed Balls and agony aunt Denise Robertson back this new guide.

30.03.10 - Launch of Alliance on Family Contact Manifesto

24.03.10 - Budget 2010 - SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP ORDERS AND RESIDENCE ORDERS
View HMRC BN37

27.01.10 - Kids in Museums Family Ticket Watch Campaign

The Grandparents' Association welcomes the Kids in Museums campaign to support the Flexible Family Ticket.

A survey will provide much needed answers to make sure that a family ticket reflects the diversity of family life today.

So, can you provide a few answers to the following questions?

What has been your experience of a family ticket?
What would you like a family ticket to be?
Does your family fit the shape of a standard family ticket?
What’s the shape of your family? Mum plus her four kids. Dad plus his only child. Grandparents and their grandchildren, for whom they care. Mum, Dad, Auntie and her daughter.
What’s the shape of a typical family ticket to a museum or gallery? Two plus two.

The Flexible Family Ticket campaign is supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to help families of all shapes and sizes to feel welcome in museums and galleries across Britain.

Feedback can be given as follows:

Email – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Twitter – www.twitter.com/familyticket
Website – www.familyticketwatch.org.uk
Post – Family Ticket Watch
Kids in Museums
Downstream Building
One London Bridge
London SE1 9BG

Kids in Museums will publish the results of all your comments in March, recommending a Flexible Family Ticket format that can be adopted by all museums and galleries, to really reflect the changing face of families in Britain today. Thank you for your help!

25.01.10 - BeGrand.net launches its new 'destination' website BeGrand.net for grandparents.
Grandparents are taking the lead in teaching grandchildren a host of traditional values and are frequently acting as their confidants according to a new study out today commissioned to mark the launch of BeGrand.net, an important new online resource for grandparents providing information, advice and support to help them with every challenge they may face.

The Grandparents' Association is part of the partnership behind BeGrand.net and is working together with Digital Unite and Opportunity Links to deliver this new site.The site ams to provide a ‘destination website’ for grandparents with quality, trustworthy information, covering all aspects of grandparenting, from serious legal and social problems to mainstream, every day issues and experiences.

Begrand.net is focused on grandparents and their points of view. Though there’s information out there on childcare, it tends to be pointed at parents.  In the same way, there are sites that help you make friends with other people caring for children, they tend to be pointed at mums.  

Begrand.net will facilitate a community where grandparents can talk to each other about what matters to them

The site is all about getting grandparents to share ideas and support each other, in a safe and friendly environment.  The site will provide easy tools and the confidence to use and shape a community

It will also provide 1-2-1 advice and support via online advisors. This is confidential advice and support via web chat email and telephone.The Grandparents' Association is part of the partnership behind BeGrand.net and is working together with Digital Unite and Opportunity Links.The site ams to provide a ‘destination website’ for grandparents with quality, trustworthy information, covering all aspects of grandparenting, from serious legal and social problems to mainstream, every day issues and experiences.

Begrand.net is focused on grandparents and their points of view. Though there’s information out there on childcare, it tends to be pointed at parents.  In the same way, there are sites that help you make friends with other people caring for children, they tend to be pointed at mums.  

Begrand.net will facilitate a community where grandparents can talk to each other about what matters to them

The site is all about getting grandparents to share ideas and support each other, in a safe and friendly environment.  The site will provide easy tools and the confidence to use and shape a community

It will also provide 1-2-1 advice and support via online advisors. This is confidental one to one advice and support via web chat email and telephone.

25.01.10 - BeGrand.net NEW STUDY  - GRANDPARENTS KEY TO INSTILLING TRADITIONAL VALUES IN FAMILIES
Download the press release - Launch_release_broadsheet_FINAL.pdf size 109.79kb
To visit the website, go to www.begrand.net

20.01.10 - The Government has at last regognised the important role that Grandparents play in family life - Liz Buckland Bromley Support Group

Grandparents …..

Good news in the new proposals set out in the discussion document issued by the Government on 20th January 2010, Support for all: the Families and Relationships Green Paper. The Government has at last recognised the important role that Grandparents play in family life providing childcare, emotional and financial support. I was privileged to be invited to attend the launch of the Green Paper on 20th January 2010 at the Harmwood Children’s Centre in Camden attended by Ministers Ed Balls and Dawn Primarolo.

Apart from more support to Grandparents from Children’s Centres in the form of involvement of Grandparents: improved information about legal rights after divorce or separation (Contact in the case of grandparents) the Government is proposing to remove the need for ‘Leave to Apply’ for contact giving Grandparents the automatic right to apply for a Contact Order.

This is a great step forward, as those who have made an ‘application for leave’ will know, it can not only save money - we’d all pay any amount to be able to see our grandchildren - but will remove, in some cases, months of too-ing and fro-ing in the courts before the actual Contact Application is even considered.

From both the grandparent’s and the child’s perspective this is valuable time lost, we know that children grow and develop so quickly. In some cases the parents even use this delay as an added excuse for opposing contact, saying that so much time has passed the child/children ‘don’t remember’ their grandparent/s.

During discussions with us he advocated the use of mediation as a possible alternative to the present adversarial and potentially antagonistic court system. In addition the Family Court system is overburdened and expensive to administer.

Prior to making an application for Leave or Contact, it is expected that this route will have been explored and in deed, the Judge, when you get to court, can order the parties to attend Family Mediation. However, unless there is some sort of penalty imposed on those who don’t or won’t attend the sessions, it won’t always have the desired outcome. However, it would reduce the work of the Courts considerably and may speed up Application for Contact hearings.

Liz Buckland - Bromley Support Group

20.01.10 ED BALLS: ‘New package of measures to recognise grandparents’

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls will on Wednesday unveil the Families and Relationship Green Paper setting out a wide range of measures to support all families as they bring up their children and to help families cope with times of stress and difficulty.

The Government is committed to supporting all parents, grandparents and carers in sustaining strong and resilient relationships. For the first time grandparents are going to be recognised for the informal but essential role they play in providing childcare, this will mean:

•        new legal measures for grandparents, including on kinship care, and

•        a new website ‘BeGrand’ specifically targeted at grandparents

The website will provide a directory of services and peer support, online advisers, information and advice on everything from cooking with grandchildren to legal rights and issues around kinship care.

We know that overall 68 per cent of grandparents feel very close to their grandchild. But at the same time, whilst most grandparents enjoy caring for children half of them feel more stressed.

The ‘BeGrand’ website will help towards relieving the stress of grandparents who are not sure what to do or where to go for information on activities or even legal advice. They can even speak to other grandparents about how they can support their grandchildren better.

However, sometimes through times of parent’s separation the relationship between grandparents and their children can be lost, even though this may not be in the best interests of the child.

An estimated one million grandchildren are denied contact with their grandparents as a result of adoption, divorce, separation or family feud. Our aim is to remove the barrier to ongoing contact between grandparents and their grandchildren after parents separate.

The current requirement for grandparents is to seek leave from the court before they can apply for contact. The Government is proposing to remove this requirement to signal that it recognises the important role that many grandparents play in supporting/caring for their grandchildren, and that more grandparents are able to seek contact with their grandchildren through the courts.

The Government will therefore provide more information for grandparents about their legal and other options in maintaining their relationships with their grandchildren, post parental separation and divorce.

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said:

“We want to support strong and stable families and help families help themselves. Grandparents are often the unsung heroes when it comes to informal care arrangements for children and young people. They play an invaluable role for millions of families, helping to bring up children and also helping working families balance work and family life and stepping in when things go wrong.

“By giving families and grandparents the right information and advice they can remain in control over how and when to access help and support when they are under pressure and their relationships are suffering. It’s time they receive the recognition they deserve.

“Removing the barriers that grandparents face in courts, when they wish to see their grandchildren through times of divorce and separation, will relieve an enormous burden currently placed on grandparents. 

“Often when parents separate, grandparents are a valuable source of support for children and young people, providing them with the stability they need during difficult and emotional times.”

Information and advice will be delivered through a variety of online services centred around the new website, ‘BeGrand’, including:

o       Guides and factsheets drawing on Grandparents’ Association’s existing content library, to deliver grandparent focused information resources around key issues and to build parenting skills;

o       A directory of services drawing on existing directories such as the Parent KnowHow Directory, which grandparents can use to find out about events in their local area;

o       Online Advisors who will provide information and expert advice to grandparents, through email, instant messaging, and web chat.

o       A question and answer peer support service allowing users to post and respond to short questions.

Kinship carers

Some grandparents (and other family members) take on the care of their grandchildren when the parents are unable to, for example if they have drug, alcohol or mental health problems.

We want to make sure that family and friends carers are properly recognised and that they get the support they need.

There are currently unacceptable variations between local authorities in the level of support and services available to kinship carers.

New measures to help in this situation include:

-          strengthening the National Minimum Standards for foster carers so that family and friends carers receive training, development and financial support from fostering service providers in line with that paid to other foster carers;

-          giving local authorities statutory guidance on how to treat and interact with family and friend carers in this situation;

-          producing a support pack for relatives who are caring for children because of a parents drug or alcohol misuse.

The support pack, which will be available in hard copy and online, will include issues such as understanding benefits, care status, and drug treatment. 

Ed Balls and Health Secretary Andy Burnham will also later this week host a summit with health visitors, midwives, charities and new dads to address how to help dads get more involved in all the important stages of their child’s birth and early years. Challenging workforce to share good practice – they will hear from dads why they feel left out and what professionals can do to include them.

The Government is also tomorrow publishing a New Dads Guide, through the popular Bounty packs, to give tailored advice and tips for fathers ahead of their child’s birth. The Royal College of Midwives have also offered to produce new guidance to their members on how to better engage dads before, during and after the birth of a child.

15.12.09 - Lynn Chesterman CE of Grandparents Association' met with the Policy Unit at 10 Downing St to discuss all issues that grandparents contact The Grandparents' Association for inc contact, residence and childcare. BAAF, Fostering Network, FRG, The Grandparents' Association and Grandparents Plus on behalf of the Kinship Care Alliance met with Government Ministers (Dawn Primarolo, Helen Goodman and Baroness Morgan ) about family and friends care.  There was considerable interest in aspects of the Kinship Care Alliance's work.

07.12.09 - Grandparents' Association are guests of three ministers at Lancaster House for the Celebration of the role of Grandparents

Grandparents & grandchildren were the guests of the three Ministers, Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP, Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, and Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP on 7th December at Lancaster House, London. The Deputy PM thanked Lynn Chesterman, CE of the Grandparents Association, at the event held to celebrate the role of grandparents.

View images from the event.

13.11.09 - Grandparent' Association seeks Policy and Resources Manager Working for children The Grandparents' Association is the fastest growing membership organisation for grandparents in the country. We are seeking to appoint a Policy & Resources Manager on 17.5 hrs pw £27,000 p.a. (pro-rata). The post holder will work as part of the Senior Management Team, be responsible for raising funds in line with our agreed fundraising strategy and developing internal policies as appropriate. Proven fundraising skills are essential. This post can be based with in London or Essex.
For further information & job description please contact Louise Baker at The Grandparents’ Association on 01279 428040 or alternatively email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for details. Closing date: 13th November 2009.

28 October 2009 - Press Release - Grandparents' Association is part of a newly-formed consortium to building an online service focused on helping and supporting Grandparents. Grandparents' Association is one of three partners behind BeGrand.net - a website that launches in January 2010 and is designed to provide information and an online community for Grandparents.

* The site is currently funded by the DCSF as part of the Parent Know How project - which focuses on finding innovative ways to support families.  In the long term, the project will be commercially self-supporting. 

* You can find out lots more about BeGrand.net via its blog where you can also sign up for the newsletter that will let you know when the site launches.