As our academic year draws to a close, this will be our last newsletter until September. Any news or information will be shared on our website and Facebook page over the Summer so keep checking for updates. 

Next week will be our Annual General Meeting on Zoom, details below to book on. We hope to see you then, to share with you our results from the year and plans for next year.
CLICK HERE TO READ OUR ANNUAL REPORT 2023.

As the Summer holidays are drawing closer it can be an anxious time for some of our children and young people. We have links to some of the activities available over the Summer holidays, more to come at our AGM or on our website.

Thank you for all your valuable feedback, attendance at our events and your support over 2022-23 and we hope to see you all soon at future events. 

The Parent Carer Forum parent voice and school network reps have met in person to look at what has been achieved by the PCF over the last academic year, and to make plans for the year ahead. 

We discussed what has worked well and what we would like to do better next year and we came up with topics for our in-person and online meetings. It was great to get 14 volunteers working together and sharing ideas and experiences. Thank you to everyone who gave up their time to help us shape the future of the PCF! The next step is to set some dates and book some venues. 

Look out for a new calendar of events coming soon!


Volunteers have been busy representing parent carers at the following meetings this month:
Parent Carer Forum Steering Group
School Transport Focus Group
SEN Team and Live Well Communications
Cheshire West Association of Special School Heads
SPACE coffee morning
Information Advice and Support Service Advisory Board
Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disability Subgroup
One Page Profile training
Learning Disability Partnership Board
Autism Assessment Services
Autism/ADHD pathway
Autism Video Parent Carer workshop

THANK YOU FOR YOUR FEEDBACK

Transport Focus Group - Conclusions
We spoke to 17 parent carers over 3 focus groups and received feedback from others via email. The main conclusions were as follows:

• There were concerns about the training that some transport providers had and it was felt that some of the problems that have arisen were due to the lack of understanding of SEN and individuals' needs.
• Those who were using a personal budget for transport were generally happy with the way the system works and appreciated the flexibility and control it allowed for.
• Communication was not always effective and parents found it stressful if taxis were very early or very late to pickup/dropoff
• Numerous changes in taxi drivers/escorts did not help children with anxiety and changes were not always communicated to parents
• 'Meet and Greet' beforehand did not always take place
• Asking SEN children to sign a behaviour contract was inappropriate

We identified 3 'Quick wins'

1. One Page Profiles to be used by all providers
2. Easy read accessible documents for children and young people
3. Providers to text/call families if they are running early/late

Cheshire West and Chester Council want to make sure that when local people have a need for care and support, they also have as much choice and control themselves over this as they are able to.

Direct payments are cash payments that residents can receive instead of the Council arranging services for them. Having a direct payment gives the recipient more choice and control over the support they receive to meet their identified social care needs.

Sometimes current processes and the ways of applying for a direct payment have got in the way of people choosing this as an option. Therefore, CWaC want to hear from, and work with, local people to improve their approach.
 
The Council are hosting an event on 5 July - 5.30pm to 8.30pm at Storyhouse, Hunter Street, Chester, CH1 2AR 

Bringing residents, Council officers, and other organisations such as community partners together, to review processes and make changes to improve them. There has already been lots of work to look at this and many local people have shared their experiences. These events will use this information to share what is happening now and to discuss what is working well as well as what needs to change.

To book a place use the link below or Tel: 07938 600 081 - places are limited to 30 per session and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

If you are unable to attend but would like to share your thoughts or ideas, or if you would like more information about direct payments, please email, Nathan.Meech@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

USEFUL CONTACTS....

Live Well Cheshire West - www.livewell.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

Information Advice and Support Service (IASS) - Tel 0300 123 7001 

www.livewell.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/Services/1279 

SEN Team - Tel 0151 337 6505
senteam@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

Starting Well - www.startingwell.org.uk/

West Cheshire 0-16 CAMHS Tel - 01244 393200
www.cwp.nhs.uk/services-and-locations/services/west-cheshire-0-16-camhs/

IPSEA- Call-in Helpline Tel- 0300 22 5899
https://www.ipsea.org.uk/Pages/Category/service-overview

CONTACT Advice Line -Tel-0808 808 3555
https://contact.org.uk/ 

Get Involved with the PCF.... 

We are always looking for new parents and carers to join us. You can attend meetings, give feedback to influence the services your child or young person uses or help us to identify the gaps in services. Also, a chance to meet other parents and learn about what's on offer in Cheshire West & Chester. 
 
email contact.pcfcwac@gmail.com
or join us for one of our meetings. We hope to see you soon!

Copyright © 2023 CWAC PCF, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:  contact.pcfcwac@gmail.com