About the CORC Advisory Group
The CORC Advisory Group was established in 2022 to bring together the perspectives, knowledge, and experience of a range of relevant and invested stakeholders. Comprising of young people, professionals, and parents and carers, the Advisory Group has helped to ensure that CORC’s activity is informed by the lived experience of those it seeks to support, is effective in achieving its vision, and complements other work to improve support for children, young people and families.
Since the beginning, meetings have rotated between ‘learning and sharing’ sessions, where content and themes relevant to the professional interest of members are presented and explored, and ‘full business’ meetings where CORC projects or priorities are shared for consideration and discussion.
By offering this balance of meeting types, where insights, reflections and experience are shared in a rich and interactive environment, both CORC and Advisory Group members have benefitted equally from the Group.
One Advisory Group member shared:
The ‘learning and sharing’ sessions have offered an overview of Anna Freud's work on youth justice work and image based measures project. They’ve also provided a space for thinking about how recent research is challenging traditional ideas and broadening our understanding of mental health need, and whether the Lundy model of participation can help us with a rights-based approach.
Routinely engaging with the Advisory Group has also provided CORC with a useful ‘temperature check’ on some of our work. Checking in at different time points or stages of development on projects such as the cultures guidance (the challenges of outcome measurement associated with differences in culture) and the Wellbeing Measurement for Schools modular pupil survey offer has helped highlight what resonates with different audiences and contributed to CORC’s broader approach to these and other projects.
Most recently, we’ve consulted with the Advisory Group on CORC’s Best Practice Framework. The Group’s input provided a valuable perspective on the content, application and audience of the BPF that will feed into our wider evaluation of this resource. Watch this space...
With the meetings dates mapped out for 2025, we’re looking forward to the continued growth and impact of the Advisory Group. That it offers an opportunity for members to reflect and contribute, and to learn and share, not just around CORC’s work but through it to influence the wider landscape of mental health and wellbeing support for children, young people and families makes its contribution all the more valuable.
If you work in a CORC member service and are interested in getting involved with our Advisory Group then do contact your Regional Improvement Officer who can tell you more.