Hi, I’m Miranda, a parent carer to 4 neurodiverse young people. I went to my first forum meeting about 14 years ago and have dipped in and out since. I was also the face of the successful campaign to save Lancashire breaktime just before and during covid. I’ve used so many different provisions for my children over the years and my eldest 3 had statements from a young age. They have used Special education resource facilities (SERF_ units, Pupil referral units (PRU), special independent school, special state residential school, private mainstream and state registered mainstream. My youngest has been on special educational needs (SEN_ Support since nursery (now in year 10) and is thriving in the largest mainstream in Lancashire with absolutely loads of adjustments. We’ve had a huge journey to get where we are and all are doing well because of the help they’ve had through their education. I firmly believe that all children whether they have special educational needs or not should be provided with the education they deserve. This enables them to reach their full potential and it should be provided when needed. We all know when a child is in crisis it has a knock on affect on the whole family being in crisis. I also believe in having high aspirations for kids with SEND to help them achieve the most they can. As well as Lancashire Parent Carer Forum, I am also a trustee at a local autism group and part of the team running Fylde Sharks swimming lessons and Fylde Otters swimming club. I have run a parent support group for over 11 years which meet most weeks term time. My main hobby is gardening and when I’m able I also volunteer at our local train station and am part of the horticulture team there.

Hi, I'm Michelle a dedicated mum of three and a passionate advocate for families across Lancashire. My journey with the forum began three years ago, following my son’s autism diagnosis - a turning point that sparked my commitment to improving support systems for parent carers. As Co-Chair, I bring empathy, lived experience and a strong belief in the power of community. I am driven by a desire to make meaningful change at a strategic level, ensuring that the voices of families are not only heard but actively shape the services they rely on. My leadership is rooted in collaboration, compassion and a clear vision: a Lancashire where every parent carer feels supported, understood and empowered.

Hi, we’re Rachel and Phil Shatliff and we’ve been members of the Lancashire Parent Carer Forum Roundtable since its inception. We are the Chair and Treasurer of East Lancs Down’s Syndrome Support Group respectively, voluntary posts we have held since we set up the charity about 15 years ago. We started with just 4 families and now support over 100 across East Lancs, Blackburn and beyond. Our youngest, of 3, Lucas, has Down’s Syndrome and led us into a whole new world, most of which is fabulous! Lucas is now 19 and has thrived through mainstream school and is currently loving his catering course at Blackburn College, alongside a paid role at Nell’s Pizza in Manchester. Our focus with the charity is to support families with a member with DS from diagnosis through to adulthood, with an emphasis on social interaction, enabling families to have a safe space to meet others with similar experiences, make friendships and share concerns and joys alike. We also run a social group for our older members (13+) as we have found this is something missing in many areas – we have people travelling long distances to take part which reinforces the need and it has been wonderful to see our young people grow in confidence, social skills and developing relationships. Lucas met his girlfriend of two years at the group, and it is wonderful to see them grow up together. Another key area for us is education – with the right inclusive approach, and understanding of the learning profile of DS, many children can and will benefit from mainstream education. This support is not generally available, so we fundraise in order to provide specialist input to schools across Lancashire, through our Specialist Education service. We collaborate with many other DS groups across the country and are affiliated with the 2 main national groups, the Down’s Syndrome Association and DSUK/Positive About Down’s Syndrome. We also support lobbying groups such as the National Down’s Syndrome Policy Group and the Advisory Group of individuals with Down’s Syndrome. We recently took members of our group to attend the first National DS Summit in London. We also collaborate closely with the North Lancs DS Group in an aim to represent and support individuals and families right across Lancashire. Personally, we have both retired from corporate careers to focus on the charity. We love spending time with our wider family including 2 grandchildren, especially watching Man City FC together; we love travelling, and we both love music, Phil playing trombone in many groups, from brass bands to orchestras, Rachel playing the French horn a little but singing a lot in many different choirs. We have joined the Round Table because we want to ensure the voice of people with DS is heard across the County and in every key decision made. We regularly ask our members for feedback and have developed a county-wide “I Choose Board” of young people to share their views on what they want and need from their lives to be fulfilling and enjoyable, and as independent as possible. We also see great benefit in collaborating with other SEN groups to inform the decision makers in Lancashire, in the County Council and Integrated Care Board, about what is needed across the disability community, as so many challenges and concerns, as well as opportunities, are similar

Hi, I’m Paula and co-founder of PDA support Lancs, a parent carer support group for families with children and young people with a PDA profile of Autism. In 2022 my then 13 year old son went into Autistic burnout. Prior to this, we did not know he was autistic but he had suffered years of school related anxiety which progressively worsened. Hitting burnout literally turned our world upside down and the life we had been accustomed had to change significantly to accommodate the care and support needed during recovery.   Fast forward 3 years, we have now secured an EHCP with an EOTAS package and our son is coming on in leaps and bounds. We hope this will lead to a successful transition to College in the near future. This has been an incredibly traumatic and life changing experience for all our family. A rollercoaster of highs and lows whilst discovering a new way of life and battling the system to get the education and support put into place. This has included going to tribunal to appeal the contents of his EHCP.   It has felt extremely lonely at times, overwhelming and mentally exhausting. Discovering parent support groups has been key to helping me navigate the past few years and help my own mental health. There was no local support group to help families who care for children with a pathological demand avoidance (PDA) profile of autism and so with the help of our other our-founder, trustees and volunteers our group developed in the form of a private facebook group and we now hold face to face meetings in Preston and Lancashire.   By joining the roundtable, I will bring together the voice an experience of our group members so that we can educate strategic members about the barriers to education, health care and social care support they face. I would like to raise the profile of PDA and work in collaboration with strategic members to develop a mission statement similar to that produced by Sefton County Council, Alder Hey children's NHS foundation trust and Liverpool and Sefton PCF. A shared understanding of PDA will help improve an understanding amongst professionals and improve the experience and support received. This can be viewed as followed https://www.seftondirectory.com/kb5/sefton/directory/advice.page?id=3Fs7FY8yoho I am particularly interested in accessible alternative provision, and raising the difficulties families face with education otherwise than at school (EOTAS) packages. For further enquires you can use the contact form on our website https://pdasupportlancs.org/

Trinity SNAP [Special Needs Advice Partnership] was set up in 2017 by Joan Bill who had left the SENDIAS service in Lancashire after over 20 years as a volunteer and then paid member of staff at Lancashire Parent Partnership which became SENDIAS in 2015. Trinity was initially a parent carer support group based in Ormskirk that met every month in a church meeting room at St Annes Church. When COVID hit and groups could not meet face to face Trinity moved online and used Zoom to hold meetings, however it quickly became apparent that this was really useful for working parents. When restrictions eased, it was decided to carry on with both Zoom and face to face meetings and these continue with 2nd Thursday morning every month at St Annes and 4th Tuesday evening on Zoom. All parents and carers are welcome at the meetings, you don’t need a diagnosis for a child or to live in Lancashire, for more details email trinitysnap17@gmail.com

Hi, I’m Gemma. I’m both a parent of a child with special educational needs and disabilities and a teacher with over 15 years’ experience working in mainstream primary education. Throughout my career, I’ve supported children with a wide range of additional needs, and I’ve always been passionate about inclusion, early intervention, and building strong, relationships with families. My personal journey as a parent carer has given me a deeper understanding of the systems we ask families to navigate — from EHCPs to referrals and the daily realities of balancing care with everything else life brings. Being on both sides of the system has shown me how vital clear communication, genuine co-production, and mutual respect are in achieving the best outcomes for children. I joined the Parent Carer Forum to represent families like mine, to ensure our voices are heard in decision-making, and to help improve the way education, health and care services work together. I’m particularly interested in supporting better transitions, inclusive teaching practices, and meaningful parental involvement across all settings.