A VOICE FOR PARENT CARERS
“Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum is a voice for those with lived experience of being a Parent Carer (This means parents and/or carers of children with any disability, SEN, condition, impairment or additional need). We can create a bridge to the providers of statutory services to help build better services for all families of disabled children in Gloucestershire.”
"Listen to Me" social meet ups in your area - check out our Dates for your Diary section
A chance to meet up with other families of disabled children for peer to peer support and to share your views on the services your families need
Families in Partnership
The Parent Carer Forum has partnered with Gloucestershire County Council to share this key information leaflet for Parent Carers.
If you have any questions or concerns please get in touch with us so we can pass these on. We are engaging in weekly Q and A sessions with GCC and the CCG to provide up to date information and guidance.
You can email us: info@glosparentcarerforum.org.uk
or contact us via our Facebook Page or the Forum Discussion Group
The best way to be kept up to date and to help get the voice of Parent Carers heard is join the forum as a member. Click below to join the forum (membership is free)
We recognise that for many of our members being a parent carer can be challenging to say the least. The evidence is in the report, lack of support, lack of access to services and in a worrying number of cases, a lack of school places paints a difficult picture. As parent carers ourselves we share many of the challenges you’ve told us about.
The financial challenges of raising a child with SEND cannot be ignored, especially in the current climate. Keep an eye out for helpful information on our social media feed about Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payments and Carers Allowance over the coming weeks. If you’re already in receipt of those don’t forget to check about the Disability Element of Child Tax Credits or Universal Credit if you’re in receipt of either of those.
If you’re still waiting on news of a school placement for September please know that we are with you – it’s a journey more than one of us has been on – and we always flag that need for more capacity with the Education Department when we meet. You may have seen the recent news of a new school coming to Gloucester but we all recognise that’s a little way off and certainly won’t be ready for September this year.
Here at the Parent Carer Forum our plan is to use what you’ve told us to shape the priorities of our work this year and to share with you where that takes us. We’d love you to be part of what we do so, if you feel that you’d like to work with us please get in touch. We’re keen to empower parent carers to be active participants in meetings with our Local Authority and Health boards in anyway you feel able. That might be as a parent rep attending meetings or it might be by providing responses to targeted surveys or comments on your experience.
Let me close by thanking those of you who have contributed to our work this year, to those of you who have attended Listen to Me meet ups and shared the issues that matter to you, to those of you’ve who’ve filled in surveys or shared your experiences with the professionals who’ve attended our meetings. Your voice is important and we will do all that we can to make it count.
WHAT WE DO?
SOCIAL MEET UPS
Join other parent carers for friendly meet ups, share you views, make new friends, and get support and information.
BECOME A MEMBER
Receive regular newsletters, join our online chat group, find out about other services.
Membership is free
STRATEGIC PARTNER FOR BETTER SERVICES
Add your voice to our work to improve services for all children with additional needs, SEN and disabilities in Gloucestershire.
What is parent participation?
Parent carers are in a good position to identify issues regularly experienced by families with disabled children (including those with any kind of physical, learning or sensory impairment, disability, additional need, long term health condition or SEND). Sharing this knowledge with professionals as they plan services to meet disabled children’s needs is a valuable way for Parent Carers to participate in the development of better services and support.
Parent Carer participation occurs when parents and professionals work together, recognising each other’s expert knowledge, to design, develop and improve services for disabled children in the local area.
ABOUT US
The forum is led by a committee of parent carer volunteers who will work to ensure parent participation is supported and facilitated across services in the county. If you would like to support the forum by joining our committee please get in touch via email. The committee will generally meet once a month to plan the forum’s next projects and reflect on current work. We are a Community Interest Company with a board of Directors, all of whom are parent carers. The forum does not share Parent Carer details with other organisations, you will only be contacted by the forum using the details you provide when you register.
email: info@glosparentcarerforum.org.uk to find out more.
Information and guidance for young people in Gloucestershire about education, employment, housing, support and well being.
You're Welcome - Gloucestershire's inclusive online community and activities directory
Gloucestershire Carers Hub - Register as a Parent Carer and access free well being sessions, training and support
Glos Families Directory - including The Local Offer with information about services for disabled children and their families