You will already be doing a lot to support the people you work with. Advocacy is not a replacement for that. It is an additional, independent layer of support that exists specifically so that people have someone in their corner who is only accountable to them. That independence is the point. It is what makes it different from the support you provide, and it is why it matters.

Across Cardiff, practitioners regularly encounter situations where advocacy would make a real difference, but the opportunity gets missed. Here are three of the most common reasons why.

This course exists to change that. It was developed to give practitioners a clear, practical grounding in advocacy. Not as an abstract topic, but as something directly relevant to the work you are already doing.

By the end of it, you should be able to recognise when an advocacy need exists, understand which route applies, make a referral through CVAG with confidence, and have an honest conversation with the people you support about what is and is not available to them.

How advocacy spans a spectrum from informal self-advocacy through to statutory services, and where this course's focus sits on that spectrum.

What a professional advocate actually does in practice, their role, boundaries, and responsibilities, and how their involvement differs from the support offered by professionals, family members, or friends.

A detailed look at IPA, IMCA, and IMHA. What triggers each duty, what the advocate's role is, and how to make the referral with confidence.

Statutory versus non-statutory advocacy, the threshold between legal duty and discretionary provision, and the areas where need regularly goes unmet.

How CVAG works as the single gateway for all advocacy requests, who can contact it, and what to expect. Also, why contacting CVAG every time matters for consistent data and reporting.

Six real case studies from CVAG showing some recent examples of how advocacy need is identified, which route is taken, and what happens when the right support is in place.