SEND families invited to join new parent carer forum
- Rebecca Taylor
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are being encouraged to get involved with a new parent carer forum which is being set up in Wolverhampton.
After more than a decade of supporting families and working with the SEND Local Area Partnership, Wolverhampton’s existing parent carer forum Voice4Parents announced it would be closing earlier this year, and work is now underway to establish its successor.
Parent carer forums are run by family members of children and young people with SEND and represent the collective voice of parents and carers in strategic discussions with the SEND Local Area Partnership - comprising the City of Wolverhampton Council, Black Country Integrated Care Board, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Black Country Healthcare Foundation Trust, schools and local voluntary and community groups - as well as providing a forum for sharing experiences and accessing information.
Councillor Jacqui Coogan, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education said: "We really appreciate the amazing work that members of Voice4Parents undertook over the years to improve services for SEND children and their families, and we were very sad to hear they had taken the decision to close earlier this year.
"Parent carer forums play a vital role in empowering parents to influence decisions, ensuring services meet families' needs, and raising awareness of challenges for children and young people with SEND and their families.
"It's really important that we have a strong parent carer forum to advocate for SEND children and young people, to ensure their families' voices are heard, and to help the SEND Local Area Partnership develop the best possible services for every child and young person in our city who has additional needs, so please find out more about how you can get involved.”
Contact, the charity for families with disabled children, is leading on the establishment of the new parent carer forum, and is inviting parents and carers of children or young people aged 0-25 with SEND to join one of three virtual sessions to find out more. These will be held on Wednesday 4 June from 10am-11.30am, Monday 9 June from 12.30pm-2pm or Wednesday 11 June from 6pm-7.30pm. To book your place, please email catherine.ratcliffe@contact.org.uk.
