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The Parents and Carers Focus Group is a network for parents and carers at the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.

TheÌýpurpose of the Parents and Carers Focus Group is to support students and staff who are already caring for children or relatives, or who are expecting to do so in the future. The Group organises regular informal meetings, where weÌýdiscuss parenting issues with each other, as well as seminars, swap shopsÌýand so on. There is also a Ìýfor related discussion.

Recently, we have held sessions on HR issues for parents and carers (see links below), training on basic life support for childrenÌý(what to do if a child chokes or stops breathing), and seminars on sleep issues, fussy eaters, social media useÌýand raising bilingual children. We also feed back to the wider EDI initiative on issues that are important to working parents.ÌýBelow are some useful links to institute,ÌýÂ鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ and third-partyÌýweb pages which are relevant to current and to-be parents and carers.

Pregnancy and Leave

• Maternity leave Policy andÌýCalculator
• Shared parental leave and pay policy
• Maternity, paternity, adoption, parental leave FAQs
• Advice and Support for Pregnant Students
• Safety Guidelines for New and Expectant Mothers

Returning to Work and Beyond

• Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾'s Work-Life Balance Policy, which includes information on part-time and flexible working
• The Special Leave Policy (Leave for Domestic and Personal Reseasons) applies when you need to take leave to look after an unwell child. It also covers fertility and bereavement leave.
• Breastfeeding room at the Institute - Cygnet room
• Parents and Carers Together (PACT), a Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾-wide social network
• ICH has a Rest/Expressing Room for Breastfeeding Mothers (the Cygnet Room), which is on the ground floor, along the corridor behind reception
• Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Day Nursery
• . Places available for Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ GOS ICH staff. Find out more about availability and prices (Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ log-in required)
• The Faculty Carers' Fund provides financial supportÌýto enable staff with dependents (of any age)Ìýto attend meetings, conferences, workshops, etc., that they might not otherwise be able to attend
• Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ BiLingo offers a number of resources for parents of bilingual and multilingual children
• The Athena SWAN Charter, supporting the careers of women in Higher Education

For Parents of Disabled Children

• is a UK-wideÌýcharity that supports families of disabled children, whatever their condition or disability, with information and advice
• (DLA) is the main benefit available to children with a condition or disability, is not means-tested, and can provide help with costs arising from a disabled child's additional needs
• have replaced the DLA for over-16s

Maternity and Paternity Mentoring

Having children is already dizzying enough, and it can involve a lot of effort to work out what options are available to you,Ìýwhen it comes to leaving and returning to work. Maybe you feel that you'd like advice on striking a work-life balance that suitsÌýyou. To help make these transitions smoother and clearer, maternity and paternity mentoring is available through the EDIÌýmentoring focus group at the institute. If you are interested, pleaseÌýemailÌýICH.Mentoring@ucl.ac.uk for further details.

For Carers of Adults

Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾'s Parents and Carers Together (PACT) network caters to carers of adults as well as children, with events specifically aimed at the former.ÌýIt deals with issues such as

• part-time and flexible working,
• techniques and strategies for communicating with colleagues and/or managers,
• dealing with discrimination and stereotypes,
• managing expectations of other staff,
• challenging inappropriate comments,
• emerging technology and its impact, and
• establishing and maintaining a work-life balance.

The Faculty Carers' FundÌýis also open to carers of adults, and can help you financially to be able toÌýattend meetings, conferences orÌýworkshops.

GOS ICH Core Hours

Core hours are 10am–4pm. This means that all regular meetings concerning research or governance, including committee, staff, research group meetings and departmental seminars should be held between 10am and 4pm. This should help those with caring responsibilities to attend. Meetings can be held outside these times if they are one-off or termly events, but only if there is plenty of notice so that colleagues can make necessary arrangements. These meetings should have minutes if relevant so that those who cannot attend can remain informed.

Contact Us

If you have any questions,Ìýor if you wish to be added to the Parents and Carers Focus Group Mailing list (edi-carers@ucl.ac.uk), please contact Kimberley Reid.