Apologies for cross posting. Please circulate within your organisation.

We would like to invite you to a national networking and agenda setting event that brings together professionals from public and third sector services with an interest in grandparents who have residential care, whether formal or informal, of their grandchildren. Our intention is to bring together policy makers, practitioners, and grandparents.

There are three main aims for the Event. The first is to share our research findings from Intergenerational Exchange, part of Timescapes: the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Qualitative Longitudinal Initiative. Second, we want to place these findings within the national context of grandparenting as understood and experienced by practitioners and policy makers with responsibilities and insights into grandparenting. The third aim of the day is to identify ways in which the research and collaborative learning from this workshop can impact on policy and practice, and to consult with professionals about the key issues that our future research might address. To that end we hope to set up an active grand-parenting network to inform the next phase of this project.

Our research identified that when grandparents with residential care of their grandchildren are most vulnerable, they are most invisible to services. This might be because they do not know how to access services, or they worry about the consequences of getting service professionals involved in the private life of their family. This residential care was described as ‘rescue and repair’ rather than the expected ‘leisure and pleasure’ grandparenting. Our research was with low income families, but consultation with Grandparents Plus and The Grandparents Association suggests that this may be the case across socio-economic groups.

Our intention is to bring together a wide range of experience. We feel that your contribution is important to the success of the event and we do hope very much you are able to come.

The Event will be held in University House, on the 26th March 2012. Attendance is free and lunch and refreshments will be provided throughout the day. For further information and to complete the booking form please visit: http://www.timescapes.leeds.ac.uk/events-dissemination/events/rescue-and-repair-grandparents-with-parental-care-of-their-grandchildren.php . Please return completed booking forms to Mrs Jamie Knipe before Monday 19^th March 2012.

We look forward to seeing you on the day.

Yours sincerely

Dr Kahryn Hughes and Dr Nick Emmel, University of Leeds

In consultation with Sarah Wellard, Grandparents Plus, and David Cousins, The Grandparents Association

Mrs Jamie Knipe

Timescapes Administrative Officer

School of Sociology and Social Policy

Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law

University of Leeds

Tel: 0113 3433571

Email: [log in to unmask]

Web: www.timescapes.leeds.ac.uk