The Maternity Voices Advisory Group (MVAG) brings together family voice representatives, national stakeholders, legal experts and NHS Resolution (NHSR) colleagues. The group helps to inform development of the Early Notification (EN) Scheme.
It also supports NHSR to develop communication, resources and learning.
Throughout 2026/2027, the group is focussing on four main areas: family experience and feedback, information for families, learning resources for trusts and clinicians, and continuous improvement.
Workstream A: Family experience and feedback
This workstream focuses on understanding and improving the experiences of families with lived experience of the EN Scheme.
Key areas of work include:
- Exploring effective and sensitive ways to gather feedback directly from families.
- Ensuring feedback methods are accessible, inclusive, and trauma-informed.
- Using family feedback to inform future developments of the scheme and associated resources and demonstrate changes made.
Workstream B: Resources and information for families
This workstream helps develop clear, accessible and inclusive information for families.
Key areas of work include:
- Developing and improving information for families affected by the EN Scheme.
- Ensuring materials use plain English and reduce the use of unnecessary legal or clinical jargon.
- Making more translated information available and supporting families with different communication needs.
- Improving online information and website content.
- Exploring new ways to engage families, including digital resources and animations.
The workstream aims to make sure all families can access information that is relevant, easy to understand and responsive to their individual needs and circumstances.
Workstream C: Learning resources for trusts and clinicians
This workstream helps develop educational resources that support learning and improvements across maternity services.
Key areas of work include:
- Incorporating family perspectives into learning resources and case studies.
- Understanding how clinicians access and use learning resources.
- Working with healthcare organisations and professional bodies to promote shared learning.
- Sharing lessons learned through webinars, case stories and other educational formats.
- Exploring opportunities to increase awareness of the EN Scheme within healthcare education and training.
The workstream supports positive change by helping trusts and clinicians learn from incidents and improve how they engage with families during the investigation process.
Workstream D: Continuous improvement and evaluation
This workstream looks at how the EN Scheme is operating, including what is working well and what are the opportunities for improvement.
Key areas of work include:
- Reviewing insight and findings from the EN scheme evaluation when completed.
- Identifying areas for consideration to support wider maternity and neonatal safety improvement work.
The workstream helps the EN Scheme continue to develop and respond to the needs of families, healthcare providers and the wider maternity system.
Working Together
MVAG reflects NHSR’s commitment to listening to families and working with others to develop the EN Scheme. By bringing together different experiences, knowledge and views, the group helps keep the scheme family-centred, inclusive and focused on learning and improvement.
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