2024 has been a rollercoaster. Here’s a recap of everything that’s happened and the work Worcestershire Parent Carer Forum (WPCF) plans to focus on in 2025.
January 2024 kicked off with Hazel and Berni attending mediation. Like many parent carers we were frustrated at the lack of action and transparency, and that FiP were not representing the views and experiences of Worcestershire’s parent carers. The state of Worcestershire’s SEND services was at an all-time low and no one seemed to be holding anyone to account. A successful mediation led to a shuffle of the FiP Steering group and shortly after WPCF were “under new management.”
Almost immediately a constitution working party was assembled and Worcestershire’s parent carers coproduced the WPCF mandate for all future activity. In May 2024 FiP was rebranded and became Worcestershire Parent Carer Forum, a name chosen by Worcestershire’s parent carers.
Two public AGMs took place in 2024—the first was drastically overdue and part of the reason we sought redress via mediation. We will continue to hold regular and transparent AGMs open to all Worcestershire parent carers.
In April Ofsted announced a full inspection of Worcestershire’s SEND services, and despite barely having found our feet, it was time to gather parents’ views and experiences in earnest. We produced a pre-inspection report that gathered and summarised the collective voice and experiences of Worcestershire’s SEND families. We also met with Ofsted inspectors to answer their questions. The results were as we expected and as many parent carers felt Worcestershire deserved – “Widespread and Systematic Failings.” However, this was and still is, of no consolation to many of Worcestershire’s children and young people who continued to be failed.
Across May and September, WPCF recruited and trained 28 parent carer ‘reps’ to represent the views and experiences of all Worcestershire parent carers. Thanks to these reps, October saw the launch of WPCF’s ‘Views & Voices’ SEND events – a programme of 50+ in-person events running across the county and continuing into 2025.
Throughout 2024 we have also focussed on building connections and influence with decision-makers across health, social care and education. Our reps have attended, contributed to and influenced many projects including:
The Autism Partnership Board, The Children’s Joint Autism & ADHD Diagnosis Pathway, Early Years SEND, Educational Psychology, Emotional Based School Avoidance, Equality Advisory Group, GP SEND Handbook, Healthwatch Board, ICS Children & Young People’s Programme Board, Learning Disability & Autism Programme Board, Paediatric OT & Physio improvements, SEND & AP Partnership Committee and Executive Boards, SENDIASS Advisory Group and the Visual Impairment working group.
Our only employee, Maree continues to work with Worcestershire schools to improve their coproduction with their parent carers – a project funded by WCC.
We are frequently asked if we’re coproducing, and the simple answer is no. We are not yet equal decision makers and there is a lot of work to be done to achieve that. However, we are now attending some of the meetings where decisions are made and we deliver robust but constructive feedback on behalf of Worcestershire parent carers. Put simply, we always tell it straight – as a group of reps or as a single parent carer voice in a room full of professionals. Coproduction is a ladder and we’re slowly gaining altitude, but there remains a huge amount of progress to be made. As for many of Worcestershire’s parent carers, tangible improvements to SEND services must be delivered before trust can be rebuilt. We will continue our efforts.
Looking forward to 2025, our agreed focuses are:
Improving our representation of all Worcestershire parent carers – we know our steering group and our reps are very white and neurodivergent! Dawn has agreed to lead a marginalised community working group to bring much-needed focus to support ethnic and marginalised communities who face additional barriers, discrimination and unconscious bias. We will shortly invite participation in a new physical disabilities working group.
Extending our Views & Voices SEND events – as working parents ourselves, we know that not everyone can meet in person during the day. In Q1 we will launch in-person evening events, online peer support events and online information events.
Diversify how we gather parent carers’ views and experiences – Parent carers need more choice in how they share with us. We’re going to trial a variety of feedback methods including WhatsApp, Padlet, Voice Notes, paper surveys and more. Watch this space.
Working towards genuine coproduction – We have spent much of the second half of the year advocating for coproduction training to be delivered across the partnership. This training is now scheduled for 2025 and will assist both WPCF and our health, education and social care partners to agree a common goal and adopt a mutual coproduction charter.
Worcestershire Parent Carer Forum, our steering group and our reps are committed to advocating for the rights and interests of Worcestershire’s children and young people with SEND and their families. Our priority is to ensure that the voices and experiences of Worcestershire Parent Carers are heard, respected and valued. We remain committed to working collaboratively with the Local Authority, Education, Health, Social Care, and other stakeholders to address the issues identified in the Ofsted and CQC inspection and drive the meaningful change that our children are legally entitled to and deserve.
