Barnsley Parents and Carers Forum - NEWS!

June 2010 Newsletter is out!

Please click here for our latest newsletter.

Brilliant News for the Forum!

At our latest Forum meeting held on the 23rd of September 2009 we democratically adopted two resolutions that make the Barnsley Parent & Carers Forum a formal legal body. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all who managed to attend and made this possible.

The first resolution voted on was for the Constitution document to be adopted which sets out the roles of the management committee, the structure under which it will operate and its aims and purpose. This resolution was unanimously agreed on by a show of hands and so adopted.

The second resolution was to appoint the key management committee roles until the first AGM is held. At that time these will step down but will have the opportunity to be re-elected if they wish. These appointments are Peter Stradling as Chair, Sarah Wike as Secretary and Mark Jackson as Treasurer. Stephen Lodge will be Vice Chair. This too was agreed by a unanimous show of hands and so carried.

As the Constitution adopted calls for 12 members to be a representative body of Parents and Carers there are 8 people required to volunteer for these positions. We are pleased that some have already come forward to be considered for these. Anyone else who feels they have strengths and experiences they could contribute to this group are urged to contact us for further details via email or telephone as a matter of urgency.

Contact us at info@barnsleypcf.org or Peter on 01226 243007

Transition Information for 16+ seeking Employment

Are you aware of an organisation known as The Shaw Trust? They are based at Priory Campus and offer a comprehensive package of support to 16yr olds or older with a Disability or an additional need who are seeking Employment. This includes finding placements, advice on Benefits, Travel, Training and ongoing support.

The local contact is Shirley Stone on 07837 295163. There is also a freephone number 0800 085 1001 and a website www.shaw-trust.org.uk

Family Information Service

We met with Alison Bluett, Head of Service, recently and had a very productive meeting. She wants us to work closely with her and her department as a resource to overview all their work on information provision for disabled children and making it clear, understandable, accessible and useful. The department is currently working on providing a Brokerage Service for Childcare for disabled children. More information will be available in September.

Launch event at Barnsley FC

Our launch event was a great success with well over a hundred parents, carers and professionals in attendance throughout the day!

Please contact us to give us your impression of the event if you attended. We are interested in general comments as well as anything constructive you have to say that may help us improve future events.

Attendee Impressions

"Unfortunatley we arrived late to BFC and so we missed the Parents Experiences which were by all accounts a great ice-breaker for everyone and not a few tears were shed. Several of the professionals spoke next with the help of various slideshows which was quite informative. One highlight of the day for us was the two ladies who came from the Doncaster Forum who gave us a real insight into what can be acheived by our forum. We also enjoyed the 'table discussion' sessions which were quite revealing of issues that need attention in the Barnsley area. All in all we enjoyed the event, found it very informative and are looking forward to the next."

- Andy and Emma Webb