Supported Loving Network Meeting

Back for another Supported Loving Network Meeting! We will have our usual mix of talks and discussisons. The first half we will have space to break into small groups to give everyone space to share openly, explore challenges, and swap ideas based on our role (NHS staff, self-advocate, social workers, social care staff). We’ll then come back together to share insights and learn across roles.

We will also have a presentation from Rosie Richards and Learn and Thrive.

Enabling people with learning disabilities to live full lives — with choice, connection, and meaningful relationships — while also balancing risk and safeguarding responsibilities is a vital part as our role supporting people with learning disabilities. Too often, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is either avoided altogether or delivered using resources that simply aren’t designed for SEND learners. Learn and Thrive will introduce Learning for Life — a co-produced project creating clear, practical, accessible RSE and life-skills resources specifically for people with learning disabilities.

Drawing on lived experience, co-production, and real-world delivery, this whistle stop session will explore:

• Why avoiding RSE does not reduce risk — and can increase it
• How appropriate RSE supports safeguarding, informed consent, and safer decision-making
• How Learning for Life resources could help you

In our second presentation, Rosie a social worker, disability advocate, group facilitator and queer person. They are also a 2025 Churchill Fellow and are currently researching ways to improve sex education for adults with intellectual disabilities by learning from Australia, Norway and Sweden. They believe that sex should be about pleasure and wellness and not about shame and fear, and wants to support adults with learning needs who have been consistently excluded from mainstream sex education to realise their right to a meaningful sexual life. They plan to use thier research to co-design empowering, pleasure-centred, disability-inclusive sex education in the UK. Rosie will be talking about my learnings from Australia about best practices for learning disability inclusive sex education such as how to meaningfully co-design, the importance of centering the senses, and effective values education.