SEND Power in Haringey

3 mins read

Friday 4 July 2025

Tags: parent carer forums, co-production, Co-production week

As Co-production Week, 30 June – 6 July, comes to a close, we’re highlighting the work of SEND Power in Haringey, the local parent carer forum that stepped in when vital services for families of children with SEND in the borough were falling short.

SEND Power’s work shows how partnership and co-production can drive real change — and the impact that parent carers can have in shaping better futures for their children and their communities.

Before SEND Power in Haringey got involved, many families in the area felt unheard and unsupported, and the gaps in services were having a direct impact on children’s health, development, and wellbeing. The parent carer forum fed this back to the council and decided to co-create a local charter and accompanying training programme to improve the way families and local authority services work with each other.

The charter was shaped collaboratively. Parents, local authority staff and children and young people contributed to the charter’s content and design which included holding a children’s competition to design the charter’s logo which a local SEND youth forum judged. Many drafts later the Haringey Working Together Charter was launched, setting out the values that underpin good working relationships – kindness and empathy, trust, safety and belonging. Most importantly the charter stresses that families and practitioners are equal partners in shaping services that affect the entire borough, including children, young people, education, health and care.

Everything about the charter has been co-produced, from its mission and purpose to the artwork. The Charter can now be found on display in schools and other settings like the borough’s local Child Development Centre. Wider dissemination is planned through training and communications.

What difference has the Charter made?

The parent carer forum took action by gathering feedback from parent carers and presenting this lived experience to local decision-makers. Through regular co-production meetings, consultations, and collaborative workshops, the forum worked closely with Haringey council to make sure families’ voices were not just heard but acted upon.

As a result of the forum’s involvement and the Charter, families report feeling more supported, and many say the improvements have reduced daily stress and improved their children’s outcomes. The Charter is popular amongst parents because it gives them a framework of what they can expect. But this didn’t happen overnight — it was the result of consistent advocacy, relationship-building, and shared commitment.

The forum credits some of its success to support from Contact’s Parent Carer Participation team who support the development of 152 parent carer forums in England. Contact’s team offered invaluable guidance and encouragement throughout the process which the Haringey forum says helped them build confidence and know how to frame our concerns effectively.

More about the Charter can be found on the SEND Power in Haringey website.

Following this work families and practitioners in Haringey are now working together to develop a co-production training package, which will be underpinned by the charter with the aim of being ready by September 2025.