Gemma Ray

Gemma Ray is a kinship foster carer, marketing consultant and former BBC Radio presenter. Understanding that communication is at the heart of everything we do, NVR has allowed Gemma to communicate with the children in her care and her wider support network with more authority, peace, love, curiosity, fun and compassion. Calling NVR'a magic wand', Gemma is a self-confessed 'NVR bore' and is passionately on the journey of NVR practitioner certification to support kinship and foster families.

Conference Workshop

Turning Critics into Supporters - NVR Kinship Care and the Wider Family

This workshop explores the role of the wider family system in NVR when supporting children in kinship care. Through a personal case narrative, the session will examine how extended family members who initially created tension, conflict, or undermined parental authority can become powerful supporters when brought into the NVR process.

The presentation will reflect on the realities of kinship care, including parental burnout, blocked care, and the pressure of managing differing views within the family network. It will explore how key NVR principles such as parental presence, the Unite meeting, and the mobilisation of supporters can shift the narrative around a child from blame and judgement to collective responsibility and collaboration.

Participants will gain insight into how engaging grandparents and wider family members can strengthen the support network around kinship carers and reduce isolation. The workshop will also reflect on the challenges of navigating family dynamics and the importance of redefining expectations of support.

Drawing on lived experience, this session offers practitioners a deeper understanding of how NVR can extend beyond the parent child relationship and influence the wider relational system surrounding a child in kinship care.