Forums have a unique role: they represent the views and experiences of families with children and young people with special educational needs and disability (SEND). They work closely with local services in a positive, solution-focused way to help make things better for families.
Each forum may work in it’s own way, but they all share some key features that make them different from other local organisations.
forums are:
- Led by parent carers of children and young people with SEND.
- Rooted in the lived experiences of families. Representing the collective experiences of parent carers of children and young people with SEND 0-25 in their local authority area..
- In receipt of (or accessing via a host organisation) the Department for Education Parent Participation grant which exists to help parent carers develop parent carer participation in their local area.
- Members of the National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF). The NNPCF works to effect local, regional, and national service improvement through participation and co- production with parent carers.
- Independent local organisations. They are all different, and what they do can depend on the needs of their parent carer community, their capacity, resources, and their governance and legal structure.
- Committed to the principles described in the SEND code of practice.
- Working in partnership with their local authority. Forums have a ‘memorandum of understanding’ outlining the principles of how they’ll work together with their local authority. Local authorities are expected to work with forums as part of their duty to involve children, young people, and parents in decisions about local SEND services. Find out more here.
Shared Values:
While every Parent Carer Forum is an independent organisation with its own identify and values, there are some core principles that all forums share in how they work.
- Co-production – committed to working in ‘co-production’ – an approach where parent carers are trusted, equal and valued partners in decisions about services and support in their area.
- Participation and engagement – engaging with parent carers in meaningful ways to hear their experiences, challenges and ideas.
- Inclusion – valuing diversity and making efforts to reach parent carers regardless of differences. Representing as wide a parent carer voices as possible.
- Transparency – honest and open, keeping parent carers updated about their work and offering opportunities to be involved.
- Solution focussed -Committed to open, honest and constructive communication to represent parent carers experiences. Working together with services to solve problems and make improvements.
Do you have any thoughts about this page? Visit our How to feedback page to share them.
Looking for something else? You can find a full list of pages on our Parent carer forum handbook contents page.
Find out more about parent carer forums
Participation and co-production
The purpose of parent carer forums is to work in partnership, collaboration, or co-production with local services.
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Grants and monitoring
Important information on grants and monitoring for parent carer forums.
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Support for forums
Find out more about all the different support available for forums.
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Working in partnership
Working in partnership, including with health services, local authorities and other groups.
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Contact Parent Carer Participation Advisers
Parent Carer Participation Adviser's support the forum and provide a sounding board for the forum leadership. Find your forum's named adviser here.
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National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF)
In this section, we look at the role of the NNPCF that all forums are a member of.
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