Meet the Team

Photos top row -left to right (if viewing from a desktop)-

• Louise Middleton, Maureen Rolfe, Peter Phillips and Beth Callis

Photo bottom row-

•  Pearl McCarthy

Currently, Louise is the Chair of the Steering Group and Pearl is our forum Treasurer and Project Lead.  Beth provides admin support to the Steering Group and the wider forum.

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More about us

Louise-is a mum to Craig, a young adult.

Louise's SEND ‘journey’ started over 18 years ago.  From 2004 to 2017 she was employed as SEN support in a variety of education settings supporting children and young people on a 1:1 basis and in small groups.  From 2003 to 2008 Louise was involved with a local support group in Poole, AS-U-R

The first parent carer forum – PAX – was formed around 2008 because parents recognised the need to engage with the local authority in order to bring about changes in service provision.  Since then we’ve gone through a couple of name changes, but the aims remain the same.  We want to empower parents to have a voice in how services for children with SEND are shaped and delivered locally.

Within the forum, Louise is interested in Strategic Coproduction of services across all sectors of education, health and social care.  Louise represents the forum at numerous board meetings, for example: Coproduction, SEND Improvement, Mental Health and Post 16 Education, Employment and Training.

Louise wants to be able to give back to other parent carers to ensure that they have a voice and to ensure that the services delivered meet the needs of children and young people and gives them the best possible start in life to enable them to reach their goals and aspirations.

When not volunteering with the forum, Louise enjoys reading, archery and water sports.

Maureen- is interested in work around Post 16 and Post 19 Options and she is part of the local Learning Disability Partnership Board, Carer Action Group and Health Action Group.

Maureen has pet rabbits. 

Peter- is interested in strategic coproduction with the Local Authority, and in the specific needs of children who have experienced trauma, such as looked-after and adopted children. He also has experience in Elective Home Education. He represents the forum at the BCP SEND Improvement Board, and the Strategic Partnership Board for Aspire Adoption Agency.

Apart from his involvement with the forum, Peter enjoys writing poetry and family history biographies, and he is an Elder of his local church. You can find out more about Peter HERE. 

Pearl-joined PCT in 2021. Pearl is disabled and has a condition called Moebius Syndrome.  Pearl has a moderate hearing impairment and was born with clubbed feet. Her professional background has been mainly in industry accounting and bookkeeping. Pearl have 2 children with a visual impairment and both are neurodivergent and has learned to adapt her parenting to suit her children's needs.

Pearl was born in Ireland, grew up in Wales and settled down in England. She enjoys swimming in her spare time. 

Beth- has been employed part time by the forum since the summer of 2019. She manages our social media, email communication and does stuff behind the scenes. Beth has one son in local Satellite provision.

Beth loves relaxing at home watching tv, bowling and playing at the arcades with her son.

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What does the steering group do?

Our Parent Carers Together Steering Group has a number of parent and carer representatives who participate in external meetings for the benefit of our members and their children/young people.

Everyone who represents the forum at an external meeting or taskforce writes a summary report of the meeting to keep the other members of the steering group and parent reps up to date.

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How often do we meet?

Members of the Steering Group meet once a month (face to face or virtually) to provide meeting feedback, look at ways to increase parent involvement and to plan for the future of the forum. We also communicate with each other regularly via email and Facebook. 

Below are some photos of past and current members of our Steering Group.  One photo is of our Interim Steering Group, taken 14th May 2019 which was our first ever Steering Group meeting!

Parent Rep Volunteers

Photos top row- left to right (if viewing from a desktop)-

• Stacey Freeman, Terri Millward, Anita Czekus and Abbie Barnes. 

Photo bottom row-

• George Oates and Nicola Maclaren 

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More about us

Stacey- is a late diagnosed autistic person and parent of two Neurodivergent children. She has a special interest in ADHD and autism, including the profile of PDA, and other coexisting conditions. As a former teacher with SEND experience, and a former trainer with The PDA Society, she is also passionate about helping professionals and families better understand and support children with SEND, within both the home and school environments. Stacey is also passionate about ensuring training across BCP & Dorset is up to date, and co-produced with parents, carers and the individuals it involves. For example, courses about autism should seek feedback from autistic voices. #nothingaboutuswithoutus

Abbie- is settling into her role of parent rep and has attended a couple of our PCT coffee mornings. In her spare time, Abbie helps run a pan disability football club for adults and when there is interest, a football club for children and young people with SEND. 

George-before becoming a SEND parent, George has worked in a range of roles within social care, education and the voluntary sector mostly working directly with children and young people. George is passionate about services being child-centred and using creative ways to support children and young people to understand their needs, engage with the support they receive & contribute to decisions made about them.

PINS Project Team