We exchange messages, but there is little room to ask how everyone is really doing. A familiar group can still enjoy fresh conversations and small shared activities.
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Care & connectionDifferent lives. Small shared moments. A little more connection.
Care & connection · PRACTICAL LEARNING
Closer Together: A Six-Week Family Connection Challenge
A six-week programme for 2–15 named learners, including at least one adult, who want to explore their own connection goals. One £36 booking, a shared start date and individual lessons—conversations happen through the familiar methods you choose.
Who is this for?
A willing group of 2–15 named learners, including at least one adult; ages 13–17 can have their own account with confirmed parent/guardian authority, connected by family, friendship, chosen family or other personal relationships. These may include siblings, cousins, parents, grandparents or partners, among many possibilities. You may live together, nearby or in different countries, and your aims need not match another group’s. Every account needs its own email. Children under 13 can join suitable activities through an adult without an ICPED account. Do not use it to pressure contact or resume an unsafe relationship.
£36.00 · fixed total for 2–15 named learners, including at least one adult · one-time payment
The family group is busy. How much do you know about one another’s lives?
Distance, routines or years apart can leave little room for more than quick updates. Make space for questions, appreciation and shared activities, with a contact rhythm your group chooses.
Useful things you can try
- Ask about ordinary life without rushing to give advice.
- Try a shared activity at different times and in different places.
- Agree a simple way to keep the connection going.
Tools to take away: Listening prompts · Shared-action prompts · Contact-planning prompts.
Does this sound familiar?
We used to be close, but our lives have changed. Siblings, cousins or friends may welcome an easy way to learn about each other again, including the people and routines now important to them.
We want to get to know each other, but do not know where to begin. Start gently, respect boundaries and choose what people feel comfortable sharing.
There are just two of us—or people across several homes and countries. Choose a direction that fits your group; your purpose does not need to match another family’s.
Different shifts, time zones, shared phones or limited data make meeting together difficult. Read separately, then try a small conversation or activity through a method you can keep using.
These are a few starting points. Your relationships, goals and resources may look different. Choose the conversations and shared actions that people would welcome.
See how this programme can work for you ↓Six weeks · 42-day shared access windowShort self-paced lessons and shared activitiesLearning languages: English
Care & connectionDifferent lives. Small shared moments. A little more connection.What you can put into practice
- Invite people warmly, agree small expectations and respect the choice to decline.
- Listen for what someone means before rushing to advice or comparing difficulties.
- Show specific appreciation without making someone owe you more.
- Choose an affordable shared action that works across distance or different routines.
- Agree workable contact windows and backups for limited data, power cuts or busy lives.
- Notice what helped and keep one connection habit by mutual agreement.
How the course helps
What would you like to make a little more room for? Perhaps you want to maintain a relationship across distance, get to know someone better, grow closer or rebuild communication that everybody feels safe and willing to try. A sibling abroad, cousins with different routines, a grandparent or chosen family are only some possible starting points; your people and aims may look different. Closer Together gives you a gentle structure: one week to prepare, four weekly challenges and one week to notice what helped. Each learner uses the ICPED learning portal for their own lessons, practical tools and progress. Conversations and actions happen through your own WhatsApp group, calls, voice notes, email, time together or another familiar method. You can keep that contact going after the course ends. Nobody needs to be online together, buy equipment or upload private reflections. Adapt a suggestion, skip what does not fit and keep participation voluntary.
Make it work in your setting
Start with the people, willingness, time and resources you actually have. Read individually in the ICPED learning portal and choose a familiar way to talk or act together: WhatsApp, calls, voice notes, email, in-person contact or something else that fits. These are examples, not a checklist. No simultaneous online meeting, new device, paid app or extra spending is required. How to use our examples →
A situation you may recognise
- We exchange messages, but there is little room to ask how everyone is really doing. A familiar group can still enjoy fresh conversations and small shared activities.
- We used to be close, but our lives have changed. Siblings, cousins or friends may welcome an easy way to learn about each other again, including the people and routines now important to them.
- We want to get to know each other, but do not know where to begin. Start gently, respect boundaries and choose what people feel comfortable sharing.
- There are just two of us—or people across several homes and countries. Choose a direction that fits your group; your purpose does not need to match another family’s.
- Different shifts, time zones, shared phones or limited data make meeting together difficult. Read separately, then try a small conversation or activity through a method you can keep using.
Why this can be useful to give
Give people a thoughtful invitation to explore the connection they would welcome. They might want to stay in touch, learn more about each other, grow closer or rebuild safe communication; each group chooses. One buyer pays £36 for a final list of 2–15 named participants, including at least one adult. Ages 13–17 may have their own account with confirmed parent/guardian authority. The buyer is included only if their own name and email are in that list. Agree participation before entering details; every named learner receives their own learning account, while conversations use the familiar methods you choose outside the learning portal.
What you’ll explore
01 · Preparation week · Invite, agree and make it manageable
Choose a purpose people would welcome, agree a manageable shared timetable and select contact methods that suit different devices, budgets and time zones. Use individual ICPED lessons to prepare; discuss your choices in your own WhatsApp group, calls, voice notes, email or another familiar way.
02 · Challenge week 1 · Listen before you suggest
Try one short conversation with a question that makes space for the person’s answer. Practise listening without interrupting, taking over or making a comparison.
03 · Challenge week 2 · Appreciate something specific
Notice an ordinary contribution, a quality or a shared memory. Express appreciation in a way the person would welcome—without public pressure or an expectation of repayment.
04 · Challenge week 3 · Do one small thing together
Adapt a shared activity: a remembered meal, a walk, a story, a song or a simple task. You can take part at different times and swap a voice note later. No spending is required.
05 · Challenge week 4 · Make contact more dependable
Explore a realistic contact rhythm and a backup that fit your group’s aims. Work around different routines, shared phones, time zones and interrupted power or data. Use the channels you already know, so contact can continue when the programme finishes.
06 · Wrap-up week · Keep what helped
Ask what felt welcome, what was difficult and what you would change. Keep a small habit together, or pause without blame. Finish during your shared 42-day access window.
Tools you can use afterwards
Private invitation, listening, appreciation, shared-action and contact-planning prompts, plus a six-week review. Think, talk or write a few notes; ordinary paper is enough. The ICPED learning portal holds your lessons, tools and personal progress, not your family conversations. Keep useful notes and permitted downloads afterwards, and continue using the contact methods you chose. Personal reflections do not need to be uploaded.
A practical programme for voluntary, safe connection. It is not counselling, mediation or a substitute for help with abuse or an unsafe relationship. New family bookings have 42 days of access from the chosen shared start; purchases made under earlier arrangements keep those entitlements.