Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question about our forum not answered below please help our whole community by contacting us and asking us directly.

I keep seeing references to 'Aiming High'. What is Aiming High?
Aiming High is a new Government Plan to help disabled children and their families get the support and chances they need to live ordinary family lives.
There are more funds for services. The greatest portion of this is to fund Short Breaks. There are funds for Childcare provision. There are also funds to set up Forums for parents to tell local authorities how to make services better.
What are Short Breaks?
Short Breaks are a provision to allow disabled children and young people to take a short break, do new things and make more friends. This ranges from residential care to support to access clubs, community and leisure facilities.
What will a Parent Participation Forum do?
The Government recognises that Parent and Carers are finding it difficult to both find information and access Services. We as service users are in the best position to tell Service providers how to make services better. Parent Participation Forums will represent the collective voice of children with disabilities and additional needs in Barnsley.
How will Forum do this?
We will be actively seeking the views of Parents and Carers on the main issues that concern them at present. We will provide a Newsletter in various formats to keep our members up to date on work in Progress. We will have representation at a strategic level in various local authority departments. We will strive to develope a good working Partnership with all relevant departments and their personnel. We will strive to signpost where to find information to help you deal with your concerns.
How can I be involved?
We need you to be as active as you can be. We need support to form Focus groups to look at issues that you are passionate about seeing improvement in. We need you to let us know your views as we release information to you. We would like you to tell us about good models of service provision you have experienced that can be used again in other areas.