The Relational Way: How you can help

The Way We Care is a film that asks what becomes possible when relationships, connection and belonging sit at the heart of how we care for children and families.

The conversation doesn't end with the film. Wherever you sit in this conversation - as someone with lived experience, as a parent or carer, practitioner, policymaker, community member or simply someone who wants to see things done differently, there is a place for you in what comes next.

Keep the conversation moving

Take the conversations into your workplace, service and community. The more people who see, talk about and imagine a relational alternative, the more possible it becomes.

Bring people together - Host a screening, conversation or workshop with your team, service or community.

Talk about the alternative. Share ideas with colleagues, leaders, local MPs and decision-makers about the film, why relational care matters and what is possible.

Stay connected and help shape what comes next. Join the Centre for Relational Care’s webinars and Working Together spaces to help inform our ongoing work.

Share it. Talk about it. Bring others in. Help make change possible.

Put connection into practice

REAL is a simple self-check developed by the Centre for Relational Care to help us notice how we are showing up in our relationships, and what we might do differently.

REAL can be a starting point, or adapted to complement your existing practice. It can be used in your relationships with children, families and communities. You don't need to be a specialist in relational care to begin, just willing to notice, reflect and try.

Try REAL. Adapt it. Put it into practice.

Download REAL 

Grow the connections around children and young people

Think about a child or young person you know and ask yourself: How many safe adults are in this child or young person’s life?

You can grow and strengthen those connections by:

• Understanding who and what matters to them

• Showing up reliably and consistently

• Growing their options for connection where we can 

Notice the connections. Strengthen what’s already there. Create opportunities for more.