Parent Carer Forums

Amaze works closely with the parent carer forums (PCFs) in Sussex to make sure the voices and views of parent carers are heard.  With the PCFs we work to represent families’ experiences to improve services for local families of children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). 

What is a parent carer forum?

A parent carer forum is a group of parents and carers of children with SEND who work together with local authorities, health services and other providers to develop the way services are planned and delivered for families.  It is a requirement of the SEN Code of Practice that partners work together in co-production and the PCFs facilitate this. Forums listen to and gather the views of other parent carers to make sure they represent as wide a range of parent carers as possible.

Why get involved?

Joining your local parent carer forum is a great way of keeping up to date with local and national SEND issues and feeding back about the services your child gets or the support your family needs. 

If you want to get more involved, you could become a parent carer representative who works alongside the commissioners who plan local services for disabled children, giving the parent carer view. Or join your forum’s steering group to decide on the strategic priorities to be influencing.

Find out more about how your local parent carer forum works to improve services for disabled children and their families and how to join:

How Amaze works with the forums

Amaze hosts and supports PaCC in Brighton and Hove, ESPCF in East Sussex and WSPCF in West Sussex.  Each of the forums retain their individual identity, decision-making, activities and goals, but Amaze provides their back-office, and support where needed.

The three parent carer forums also work together as Sussex Parent Carer Forum Collaborative (SPCFC) to ensure the voice of Sussex parent carers is heard loud and clear at the Sussex county level, when working in co-production with the NHS and amidst coming changes in local government.

Please note that in West Sussex, Amaze only hosts WSPCF and we do not currently provide other services for families in the county.

What does hosting mean?

Being hosted by Amaze means that all three Sussex parent carer forums can focus on representing parent carers of children and young people with SEND, relieved of the responsibilities of running an organisation, with Amaze providing back-office support with things such as finance, HR, IT, as well as the legal and policy framework for their operations.  The hosting arrangement is set out in a Memorandum of Understanding between each PCF and Amaze.  The steering groups for each of the forums remain responsible for decision-making around priorities and workplans. The role and remit of each forum in providing the voice of local parent carers is separate to Amaze’s focus on service provision.

 

What is the difference between Amaze and the parent carer forums?

Amaze provides services for families with children and young people with SEND in Brighton & Hove and East Sussex. The parent carer forums gather and represent the views of parent carers of children and young people with SEND to the people who commission and plan services.  We work closely together because we know that families get better services and support when their views are placed at the heart of the planning and delivery process. We call this co-production.