Telford holds Parent Carer Summit for children with SEND

Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) leads from health and the local authority have come together in Telford with representatives from parent carer groups for a Parent Carer Summit.

The summit, which took place on Tuesday 28 November at Meeting Point House in Telford, is part of an ongoing commitment from Telford & Wrekin Council and NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin to strengthen links across the SEND community to improve the experiences and lives of children, young people and their families.

The aim is to raise awareness of the support available and improve two-way communication between the SEND community and partners working in the local health, education and care system.

Councillor Eileen Callear, Telford & Wrekin Council cabinet member for education, employment and visitor economy said: “Getting two-way communication right is vital so that families know what support is available to them and their experiences help to shape and improve our services.

“The Ofsted and Care Quality Commission inspection of our SEND provision, back in March this year, identified that we have made some really positive progress. It also highlighted that we could improve our non-formal communication with families.

“This summit is part of our approach to strengthen communication, working with our parent carer groups to identify how we can make improvements and how they want to be communicated with.”

Jennifer Griffin, Designated Clinical Officer for SEND for NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, said: “We had a fantastic turnout for the first summit, and I would like to thank everyone who took the time out of their day to come along and contribute to the very important discussion.

“We have captured a lot of helpful insight and ideas which we will be using to develop our communication going forward.

“This is very much the start, and we will be building on this approach to ensure that we effectively share information and advice about the provision available to children and young people with SEND.”

Further summits will be planned, with parent carer groups, in the new year.

Parent carers wanting to get involved in a parent carer group in Telford can get in touch with Parents Opening Doors, the established SEND parent carer forum in Telford  https://www.podstelford.org/.

To read the Ofsted/CQC report, go to https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/