Parent carer forums come together for annual conference

2 mins read

Tuesday 4 February 2025

Tags: parent carer forums, parent participation, PCF & Contact joint conference, LetsParticipate25

Parent carers are coming together today, 4 February, in Northampton for the joint annual Contact and National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) conference.

Throughout the day, members from 153 parent carer forums from across England will be networking, sharing ideas, taking part in Q&A sessions and listening to speakers including:

  • A Ministerial Keynote address from Catherine McKinnell MP, Minister of State (Minister for School Standards)
  • A session led by government adviser on SEND, Dame Christine Lenehan covering current developments in SEND thinking and policy
  • What Works in SEND: Holding onto hope led by Amanda Allard, Director, Council for Disabled Children.

Want to find out more about parent carer forums?

Have you thought about getting involved with your local parent carer forum?

Forums work with local authorities across England to make sure that local, regional, and national services best meet the needs of families of children and young people with SEND.

They represent the voice and experiences of those receiving services. And they make sure that service providers take account of them when planning, designing, implementing, and reviewing services. 

Contact works with the Department for Education (DfE) to support parent carer forums across England by providing an adviser team, training and resources to forums, and helping forums manage the DfE grants they are awarded to do the work they do.

Find out more about how Contact supports parent carer forums.

Find your local parent carer forum