PCC Meetings
Meetings are open to any parent/carer of a child or young person with a learning difficulty, disability or additional need living in Southwark. Our next meetings are held from 10.30 to 12.30 at Rye Oak Children's Centre, Whorlton Road, London SE15 3PD on:
- Wednesday 26 May
- Wednesday 14 July
- Wednesday 8 September
- Wednesday 20 October
- Wednesday 8 December
Creche and lunch are provided but a week's notice is needed for the creche (tel: Becky on 020 7277 4436). We want you to be able to attend and participate in our meetings, so if you require any support – an interpreter, a taxi (if you are unable to use public transport), childcare, etc, please let us know. Finally, if you incur any reasonable costs to attend of a meeting, we can reimburse you on production of a receipt.
Parents enjoying lunch after a PCC meeting
PCC Events
Parent Carer Away Day
The Parent Carers’ Council (PCC) held an away day for parent carers interested in deepening their involvement with the PCC, developing their skills as parent representatives, and helping other local parent carers to achieve positive change in any number of ways. A report will follow soon.
The day was led by Barbara Wilson, a trainer with extensive experience of establishing effective user forums and supporting people to become involved in local services. It was held from 10am–2:30pm, Tuesday 2nd February at InSpire, St Peter’s Church, Liverpool Grove, SE17 2HH.
PCC Previous Events
Parks and Play
Southwark Council Parks Department and the PCC held a consultation at Francis Peek Centre in Dulwich Park on Saturday 28 November from 11am to 3pm. The local Parks Department has received Big Lottery ‘PlayBuilder’ funding to develop new ‘natural’ play features in a number of parks and play areas across the borough. These new features will be aimed at 8-13 year olds and must take into consideration the needs and preferences of children with disabilities and/or additional needs.
To complement these improvements, the Parent Carers' Council (PCC) prompted the Parks Team to bid for Aiming High capital money to buy and install inclusive play equipment, which can be accessed by children of all ages and abilities. But they still need to hear about the difficulties we all face as families with disabled children to ensure that they buy the right equipment and place this in parks that are convenient and easy for us to get to. For more information, contact Andrea on 020 7525 0855 or email: andrea.pita@southwark.gov.uk. We hope to see you there.
Parent/Carer mini-Conference: Friday 16 October
The Parent/Carers’ Council held a mini parent/carer conference on Friday 16 October at InSpire, St Peter’s Church, Liverpool Grove, SE17 2HH, which is off the Walworth Road. For map, click here.
Invitations were sent to the 200 parent carers who responded positively to an Aiming High questionnaire last October, but all parent/ carers of children with disabilities or additional needs living in Southwark were welcome.
Programme for the Day
Aiming High for Disabled Children: The day started at 10am with arrivals and introductions and at 10.20am Roger Weissman, Southwark’s Aiming High updated us on the Aiming High for Disabled Children commissioning programme.
Other parent/carer groups: We invited parent carers from other boroughs to tell us what their Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts are currently doing to encourage parent carer, disabled and labelled children’s and young people’s participation in the Aiming High for Disabled Children Programme. And how parent carers’ groups and supporting organisations are using their participation grants to increase parent carer involvement locally.
Education: We then broke into small groups of parent/carers of children attending special needs schools and parent carers of children in mainstream education and asked each person to think about, jot down and relate a short story to their group which highlights good or not so good practice in schools. We hope to send some or all of these accounts to our local Children’s Trust, Young Southwark, to help shape the Children and Young People’s Plan (strategy) for 2010-2013.