Meet the Team

Steering Group Members

photo of our Admin Beth"

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

 

 


 

Parent Rep Volunteers

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

  • Stacey Freeman, Terri Millward, Esther Maristegui Nunez and Anita Czekus 

 

 


 

What do we do?

Parent Carers Together has a Steering Group and 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.

Currently, Louise is the Chair of the Steering Group.

Beth provides admin support to the Steering Group.


What are our motivations, interests and areas of expertise?

Louise-Hi, I’m Louise, mum to 22-year-old (Craig).

My SEND ‘journey’ started over 18 years ago.  From 2004 to 2017 I 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 I 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 I am interested in Strategic Coproduction of services across all sectors of education, health and social care.  I represent the forum at numerous board meetings, for example: Coproduction, SEND Improvement, Mental Health and Post 16 Education, Employment and Training.

I want 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 I enjoy reading, archery and watersports.

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.

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 in the BCP SEND Transformation & Development Board, and the Strategic Partnership Board for Aspire Adoption Agency. Apart from his involvement with the forum, Peter works in marketing and strategy in the telecoms industry, and he is an Elder of his local church.

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


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.

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!