The Merton Parent Carer Forum steering group needs YOU!
Merton Parent Carer Forum is the official parent forum in Merton for parents of children and young people with special educational needs and/or a disability (SEND).
At the moment we do not have the capacity to be involved in all the roles we would like to, so we need your help!
We are a friendly supportive steering group of parents of children and young people with SEND from across the whole borough of Merton, who work together on a variety of issues affecting different age groups, to help improve the lives of other parents and carers and their children and young people with SEND.
We are looking for new steering group members NOW! We need parents of children and young people of all ages and from all communities in Merton, so that we are truly representative of all.
You don’t need to be an expert on anything. Your expertise is being a parent of a child or young person with SEN or a disability. But if you do happen to be an expert, and would like to share your expertise, we would love to hear from you too!
This is an opportunity for you to increase your knowledge of what is available for children and young people in Merton, understand how the local authority and health make the decisions affecting our families and work with them to shape and improve policies and services for the benefit of us all.
Volunteering with us is a great way to improve your skills and wellbeing. You can access free training. It can help if you are looking to keep on top of skills and if you are looking to return to the workplace in the future.
The smallprint:
- The steering group meets once a term
- There is currently limited travelling involved as most steering group and representative role meetings are online or hybrid meetings(a mixture of online and in person)
- All meetings are timed to fit in with the school day and are term time only
- We always aim to have at least 2 parent representatives at each Board/Working Group meeting
- If possible, a willingness to co-write brief minutes of key points to share with the steering group after these meetings
- You can shadow more experienced steering group members at meetings to gain experience and confidence
- You can access training and webinars offered by the National Network of Parent Carer Forums
- We currently have roles available on the CAMHS Partnership Board, Merton’s Children’s Trust, the MIASS (Merton Special Educational Needs Information, Advice and Support Service) Advisory Board, plus other roles becoming available soon. These meetings are usually held once per term.
Want to find out more about parent carer forums?
‘Contact’ administers and pays a grant available to one parent carer forum in each local authority area of England, funded by the Department for Education (DfE).
The grant is used to strengthen parent carer forums, so that parent carers can participate in the strategic planning and decision-making around services for children and young people with SEND in their area.Watch Contact’s video, What is a parent carer forum and what do they do?, to find out how parents across England are helping improve local and national services for children with SEND. Or watch Making a Difference, Why Should I Join My Local Parent Carer Forum? to hear parent carer forum members talking about why they got involved with their local forum.
There are 151 parent carer forums (PCFs) across England.
We need you!
It’s never too late to volunteer so just get in touch if you would like to find out more. Contact the Parent Forum Manager:
Telephone: 07518 903260
Email: mpcf [at] mertonmencap [dot] org [dot] uk
