Parent carer participation events

Families’ views are essential to what we do. As well as inviting families to participate via surveys and emails, Family Voice Norfolk also holds events at which parent carers can discuss face-to-face the issues that concern them. When we can, we hold these in venues across Norfolk, as we know how difficult it can be for parent carers to travel and that services for our families can vary across our large county. Since the coronavirus pandemic has changed all our lives, we have also held sessions online.

In the past, our Family Voice, Family Chat sessions offered a two-way exchange of views, where expert speakers gave information and answered families’ questions, while parent carers had the chance to give their views about existing services and what they would like to see in the future.

More recently, our online Let’s talk… sessions have offered families a chance to share their experiences and concerns in the ever-changing environment of the pandemic. The sessions are a safe space to discuss issues with other parent carers – you are not alone in these challenging times.

We make sure that planners and decision-makers who can make a difference hear about your views and experiences. Our representatives would never pass on information that could identify a family, but it is invaluable to be able to highlight to professionals the real concerns of families and how support for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) can be improved.

If you were unable to attend one of our Let’s talk… sessions on a subject that is important to you, some slides and information supplied by the speakers can be downloaded below.

If there is a topic that you would really like to be able to discuss with professionals and other parent carers, we may be able to organise this. Please get in touch in one of the many ways available on this website.