Parent and family network

Welcome to the Parent and Family Network!

We are a staff network set up to support, represent and foster community among colleagues with familial and other caring responsibilities for children and young people. We advocate for those within our network across the University, provide a social forum, termly meetings and talks on a range of subjects. We welcome any and all to join and be part of our community both online and in person. Parenting and caring for children of all ages can be challenging (albeit it very rewarding too) so we are here to support you and advocate for you as best we can. 

Joining the Network: We keep in touch through our online community, offering each other informal peer support and information to help us, as parents and carers, manage work and family life. Join our Parent & Family Network online community on Microsoft Teams. Our Teams group has channels for different subgroups including:

New and Expectant Parents

Neonatal Parents

Children with SEND

Adoptive and Foster Parents

International and Multilingual Families 

Adoptive and foster parents

You can also contact us via parentfamilynetwork@reading.ac.uk. Introducing the Network leadership The Network is led by two co-chairs and a steering committee, who are all staff volunteers from across the University.

The current leadership are:

Co-Chairs: Jeevan Kang and Sarah Jewell

Steering group: Victoria Collins, Gunter Kuhnle, Teresa Bukowska, Rhi Smith, Dennisha Villaverde, Hollie Stockdale and Emma-Jayne Conway 

The Network is a member of the National Network of Parents and Carers in Higher Education. How the Network began: The Network was founded after two colleagues, Ellen and Nikki, returned to work following maternity leave and wanted a way to connect with other working parents. With support from the Deans of Diversity and Inclusion, the Network was founded in 2019 and currently has over 300 members from all areas of the University. Events We run a mixture of informal discussion sessions and meet-ups, and talks with invited speakers. For information on upcoming events please join our Teams group. You can find information on previous events, as well as links to recordings of selected events (university log-in required) on the Events page.

The Network is one of the University's diversity and equality networks. These webpages bring together relevant information and resources which may be of interest to those with parenting and caring responsibilities at the University.