Halton SEND Parent Carers Forum

The Parent carer forum is a group of parents and carers of disabled children aged 0 -25 years. Their aim is to make sure the services in their area meet the needs of disabled children and their families. They do this by gathering the views of local families and then working in partnership with Halton Borough Council, education settings, health providers and other providers to highlight where local services, processes and commissioners are working well, or challenge when changes or improvements need to be made. Forums usually have a steering group of parents who lead this work and listen to the views of other parents in the local area to make sure they know what is important to them Who can join a parent carer forum? Parents or carers of a child with any type of additional need or disability are welcome to join. Joining the Forum does not mean you have to commit lots of time. In most forums you can join and receive information, and then decide if you want to get more involved at your own pace.The forum represents the views of parents in the local area but does not advocate for individual families. Co-production is an important principle in parent carer participation. Co-production is when parent carer forums play an integral and equal part in the decision-making process and are fully engaged in shaping, developing, implementing and evaluating services and systems. Forums are keen to hear from as many parent carers as possible.