Co-production is a way of working that enables parents/carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities to share their knowledge, views and experiences with professionals from education and other agencies, such as health and social care. They work as equal partners with professionals, to review, shape and improve services for children and young people.

A Parent Carer Forum (PCF) is a voluntary group of parents and carers who all have children with special educational needs. Their role is to gather the voices of other parents and carers in the borough and share their views and experiences with the local authority. The PCF then works with their local authority partners co-productively to ensure that services in the borough meet the needs of disabled children and their families.

There are a number of ways that parents and carers can be involved in the forum with as little or as much time commitment as you would like:

• Member of the Facebook Group – You will be able to see any posts about Wandsworth SEND events, workshops and news.
• Member of the Forum – You can become a member by completing our membership form. You will then be sent our monthly newsletter, along with invites to events, or training and you may be asked your views on local services.
• Parent Carer Representatives – You will attend meetings with the Council or the NHS, where you will voice parent carer views to policy makers. Training will be provided. There is no minimum, or maximum time commitment for this . You can volunteer for as little or as much as you would like, or in a particular area of interest.
• Steering Group Member – You will be involved in planning and decision making regarding the direction of the forum. Meetings are held once a month, usually online.

Watch this video to hear what it’s like being a member of a parent carer forum.

We hold regular coffee mornings and often invite different speakers. Sign up to our Facebook or Eventbrite pages to find out information and book upcoming events.

We cannot offer advice nor intervene on your behalf. However, we can signpost you
to the most relevant service, or organisation, who can provide you with support and
advice, including legal advice should you need it. You can also access these
organisations in the help and support section of the website.

As a parent carer forum we are independent of the local authority. Our main remit is
to share the views and experiences of parents and carers of children with SEND in
Wandsworth. In order to do this we meet regularly with the education, health and
social care departments to provide feedback and ensure that the voices of children,
young people and their families are heard by decision makers in order to improve the
quality of services.

We also work with a number of voluntary organisations and charities such as
Contact, MIND and SEN Talk to share information on services and resources and
share this with our parents and carers.

The Department for Education (DfE) pays a grant of £17,500 to the parent carer
forum in each local authority in England. As we are a voluntary organisation the
local authority part funds our admin costs.