New forum to support children with special needs

Sunday 09 October 2016

Parents of children with special needs are to have a greater say in their support services, following the creation of a new independent consultation group.

Parent Forum aims to improve the services across health, education and social care, forging a close relationship with the States in order to push forward and suggest reforms.

Backed by Education, Health and Social Services and the Social Security Departments, the group is looking to recruit twelve volunteers - all of whom are parents - to work alongside independent chair Warwick Long, Head of Commercial Banking for the Channel Islands and Isle of Man at HSBC.

All members will receive informal training, later attending meetings with representatives of organisations focused on helping children with special educational needs.

Deputy Louise Doublet, Chairman of the Scrutiny Panel for Education and Home Affairs said they were “really pleased” with the Education Minister’s support for the initiative.

She added: “I urge parents to step forward, to be involved in this Parents Forum and have their views heard. This level of communication is key to improving the lives of children in the Island. I would like to invite this new group to contribute to the work of future Scrutiny reviews. Their input will be highly valued.

Parent Lesley Bratch, who has worked with the Special Needs Advisory Panel (SNAP) since 2013, echoed these remarks, stating: “It has become clear that services are better able to meet peoples’ needs when everyone works together. The Parent Forum has been born from this concept.”

Director of Inclusion and Family Support at the Education Department Cliff Chipperfield highlighted the impact of collaboration with local parents: “We have completely redesigned our services over the past two years and during that change we asked parents for their views of what we do. Their feedback was incredibly valuable and we want it to be part and parcel of everything we do in future. Nobody knows better than the mums and dads what issues their children are facing.”

Although still in its infancy, Parent Forum has already launched its first project: a survey into parents and carers to help improve communication and encourage new members to join.