A forum which supports parents and carers of children with additional needs is urging people to sign up so it can make its voice louder.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Alliance Cumbria is a statutory body, which makes sure parents have a say in decisions in SEND services which affect their children.
Run by volunteers, the non-profit organisation works alongside Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness councils and the Lancashire and South Cumbria and the North East and North Cumbria integrated care boards, which are responsible for NHS budgets.
The alliance said: “We are completely independent from all of these bodies, this independence allows us to challenge decisions where necessary and ensure that families are honestly and effectively represented.
“Our core role is to make sure that parents and carers with real, lived experience always have a voice when discussions take place and decisions are made about SEND services that they and their children access across Cumbria.
“We gather and share feedback from families into important strategic meetings with service designers and the professionals that are accountable and responsible for those service areas.
“This is to improve SEND services across Cumbria by ensuring that real-life experiences help shape how they are designed and delivered.
“As a statutory organisation, we are also able to ensure that the voices of parent carers across Cumbria are heard during Ofsted and CQC inspections of the local authority and NHS SEND services, as well as feed directly into national discussions by providing feedback to the Department for Education.”
Membership of the alliance is free and families who live in Cumberland or Westmorland and Furness and have a child or young person aged 0-25 with any additional need or disability, have a legal entitlement to join.
No formal diagnosis is required.
The alliance added: “It’s all about power in numbers, the more members we have and the more feedback we receive, the greater our influence.
“It enables us to demonstrate that we are a truly Cumbria-wide voice, which helps us greatly when challenging decisions and influencing service developments and improvements locally.”
Members also have access to a number of benefits, including:
Access to free SEND-related training opportunities throughout the year
- A free Max Card on sign-up – the UK’s leading discount card for families of children with SEND
- Regular updates on local SEND services, support, and events
- Opportunities to share experiences and influence change
It also gives out our free sensory packs at events it attends and hosts, as well as paying for and hosting training on additional needs and disabilities throughout the year for families.
To become a member of SENDAC, families can sign up at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QM82XS6
To find out more, visit its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/share/1SgZP5ovrZ/?mibextid=wwXIfr
