2022-03-31-accounts

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

Annual Report and Financial Statements

Year ended 1[st] April 2021 – 31[st] March 2022.

Charity Number: 1183372

Report dated January 2023

Medway Parent Carer Forum c/o Snapdragons, Cliffe Road, Strood, Rochester, ME2 3FF Tel: [phone] (term time mornings only) or 07813 123 984 Email: [e-mail]

2

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

Contents

Administrative information Page 3 Mission, Aims, Objectives and Vision Page 4 Ensuring our activities achieve our objects and benefit the public. Page 5 Review of activities Page 6 Future plans and financial planning Page 13 Management Page 14 Membership Page15 Financial information Page 16

3

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

Administrative information Trustee’s during the reporting period

June Patey Keith Clear Shenda Smith Anita Oxenham Hannah Burke

Steering Group

Angela Debont Jayne Pardesi Lisa Scarrott Emma Kelliher Elizabeth Bradley Victoria Crone-Kontemeniotis (until June 2021)

Volunteers

Krystal Sutton Harriet Chatwell Sally Congram (until February 2022) Kate Fenner (until January 2022) Leigh Baseley

Bank

HSBC 231 High Street, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4BQK CAF Bank 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ

4

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

Vision statement

The forum has been created to help parents and carers of disabled children to have a say in the way services are shaped and delivered in the Medway area, in Education, Social Care and Health services.

Mission

Medway Parents and Carers Forum, work with (not for) the local authority, health, and local services to improve services for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and their families, by ensuring that families’ voices are heard by planners and decision-makers.

We provide an opportunity for parents and carers to express their views and input into the planning and delivery of SEND services. Wherever possible, we aim to work in co-production.

We signpost, support, and empower families to obtain the best possible support and services for their children.

Our Aims

 To have a collective voice, around common issues.  To work in partnership with those who provide services and support.  To raise awareness of what support /services are needed.  To raise awareness of issues faced by our children.  To share experience and knowledge.  To give feedback.  To ensure that the future for our children is a good one. To achieve these aims we need families support, our strength and effectiveness rely upon their opinions and viewpoints.

Objectives

 We will continue raising common issues that affect all types of disabilities.

 Through shared knowledge, the forum will raise awareness of the groups and services available to the Medway Community.  Work together in partnership, to gain the right outcome on policy making and service provision for all disabilities .

5

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

Ensuring our activities achieve our objects and benefit the public.

The Forum has been created to help parents and carers of disabled children to have a say in the way services are shaped and delivered in the Medway area, in Education, Social Care and Health services.

We benefit the public and our members by being their combined voice in attendance at meetings and planning for services in the Medway area. We are the established and committed individuals that attend the same meetings and put across the parents and carers thoughts, feelings, frustrations, and elation. Ensuring inclusion for all and transforming services for service users.

We ensure that all our activities undertaken by the forum meet our Vision, Mission, Objects, and Objectives. At the heart of the forum are Trustees that want to ensure the future of the forum and the community ties that we have already built, in coproduction and consultation. Looking to a future where coproduction is natural and inclusive. This enables our parents the autonomy, confidence and empowering their progression of dealing with the needs of their young persons. They are part of a community of like-minded individuals changing the future of services and support.

This year we have helped support various initiatives from the local authority and our parents and carers, we constantly feedback to our members about what has been achieved and to the professionals that supported parents and carers. We have received great feedback from the professionals on how they enjoyed meeting parents and carers, and that felt the sessions achieved what the session objectives were.

6

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

Review of activities

The forum maintains 3 different Facebook pages.

MPCF (Medway Parents and Carers Forum) Professionals page MPCF (Medway Parents and Carers Forum) Professional parents' page MPCF family page also LinkedIn Instagram Twitter

We also attend Local Authority meetings for Health, Social Care, and Education. Here are some of the events we attended between April 2021 and 31[st] March 2022.

At these meetings we represent our membership of parents and carers, engage with the committees and local authority on parents and carers views, feeding back to parents and carers after also.

April 2021

9[th] Medway Voluntary Action group meeting

• 10[th] Trustees and Angela Finance lead

• 14[th] Grant Training Lisa and Angela listened in.

Team get together

• 16[th] Sue Gibbons Parent strategy leaflet. From Clinical Commissioning Group

• 19[th] Coffee meeting with Local Offer Officer

• 20[th] Clinical Commissioning Group catch up

• 22[nd] Team meeting 11am

Introduction to Sue and Wendy 2pm from Clinical Commissioning Group and Local authority

• 23[rd] Medway Voluntary Action group meeting

• 27[th] Family action

May 2021

• 4[th] Coffee evening with Sendias Lisa Omer

• 6[th] Sue Gibbons 11.15

Laura from Sendias 2pm

• 7[th] Clinical Commissioning Group

• Southeast National Network Parent Carer Forums regional meeting LS Task and Finish Group SEND Assurance framework LS

• 11[th] Send Operational Group

Overview & Scrutiny Performance Data Workshop

• 14[th] Adult Social care Strategy Information and Q&A session

• 18[th ] Liaison Medway Council, education, and Clinical commissioning group

• 19[th] Kent /Medway integrated Partnership Group

• 26[th] Kent Foetal Awareness spectrum disorders partnership group

• 27[th] Jack Rye Commissioning group

June 2021

4[th] Medway Voluntary Action Covid response

15[th] Forum/Clinical commissioning group

7

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

16[th] Kent/Medway Intergrated Partnership

• 18[th] Medway Voluntary Action Covid response

• 21[st Post] 16 event held online

• 22[nd] Post 16 employment event held online

Inaugural Children’s Professional Advisory Board Children and Young People Overview & Scrutiny Data Workshop

• 23[rd] Post 16 event Health held online

• 24[th] Post 16 event Social Options held online

• 25[th] National Network Parent Carer Forums SE regional meeting

• 28[th] Coffee morning with Raising youth

• 30[th] MPCF Liaison with Medway Council and Clinical Commissioning Group

July 2021

• 2[nd] Medway Voluntary Action Covid response 15th MPCF/Sendias

• 16[th] Medway Voluntary Action Covid response

• 20[th] MPCF/Clinical Commissioning Group Send Partnership Board

• 21[st] Intergrated care Partnership board-cancelled

• 22[nd] Trustees meeting

• 26[th] Coffee meeting with Adult Social Care

29[th] Trustee training

August 2021

• 3[rd] Medway and Swale Children’s Clinical and Professional advisory board

• 11[th] Sit on panel for Interviews for partnership commissioner

• 18[th] Intergrated Childrens Partnership group

• 19[th] Kent and Medway Intergrated Childrens Delivery Board

• 28[th] Sticks and Stones event (All day) Fort Amhurst

September 2021

1st Childrens and Young People Overview & Scrutiny Data workshop

3[rd] Hidden Disability Rochester Cathedral

• 6[th] Medway Council Accelerated Progress Plan Monitoring meeting

• 7[th] Youth Medway Foundation

• 9[th] Online coffee meeting with SEN Transport

• 10[th] Medway Voluntary Action Covid response

• 14[th] Send Operational group

• Preparation For Adulthood group

• 16[th] Coffee morning with Medway Engagement Group and Network (MEGAN CIC (Community Interest Company))

Kent and Medway Intergrated Children’s Group

• 16[th] Liaison MPCF/Medway Council/Clinical commissioning group Accelerated Progress Plan from Ofsted prep

• 17[th] Meeting facilitated between SEN transport and Featherby school parents

• 20[th Accelerated] Progress Plan review meeting/SEND Accelerated Progress Plan monitoring meeting with Department for Education and NHS England

8

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

21[st] MPCF/Clinical commissioning group with Medway Community Healthcare

• 22[nd] Patient experience strategy MST

• 23[rd] Accelerated Progress Plan and Trustees feedback

• 27[th] Coffee meeting with SEN transport

• 28[th] SEND Partnership Board

October 2021

• 1[st] Coffee morning at Snapdragons Sendias catch up

National Network Parent Carers Southeast regional meeting

• 4[th] Coffee morning with Think Forward

• 6[th] Facilitated Paediatric First aid training for parents at Bridgewood Manor

• 7[th] Interviewing for partnership commissioner and post debrief (all day)

• 8[th] Medway Voluntary Action covid response

• 13[th] Coffee meeting with Prevent (online)

• 15[th Accelerated] Progress Plan moving forward meeting with Medway Council

• 19[th] MPCF/Clinical commissioning group

• 20[th] Kent and Medway Childrens Intergrated Partnership group

• 25[th] Catchup meeting with commissioners re NHS England project

• 26[th] SEND partnership board

• 28[th] Kent & Medway Intergrated children’s delivery board

November 2021

• 8[th] Small Steps meeting Magpie Hall Road

• 10[th] SEND OP/ Accelerated Progress Plan moving forward meeting Saxon Way Primary School SEND event

• 11[th] MPCF/Medway Council/Clinical commissioning Group Liaison

• 12[th] Medway Voluntary Action Covid response

• 15[th] What is SEMH (Social Emotional Mental Health) coffee meeting

• 16[th] Clinical Commissioning Group/MPCF

• 17[th Kent] and Medway Intergrated Childrens Partnership group

• 24[th Coffee] meeting on Zoom with speaker re Wills and Trusts

• 25[th] Kent & Medway Intergrated Childrens Delivery Board MPCF/SEN team/Sendias

• 29[th] Coffee morning – speaker (Ed Psych cancelled but meeting went ahead)

• 30[th] National Network Parent Carers Forum Conference all day

December 2021

• 1[st] National Network Parent Carer Forums Conference all day

• 2[nd] Coffee meeting on Zoom with speaker re Wills and Trusts

• 3[rd] Introductory meeting to MPCF of Local Authority's new Assistant Director of SEND and Education- Celia Buxton

• 4[th] Mid Kent College

9

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

• 7[th] Introduction to Parent Carer Forum’s and being a parent rep Ruth Hobbs (training for volunteers)

• 10[th] Sendias/MPCF

• Medway voluntary Action covid response

• 13[th] Coffee meeting with SEN transport – online

• ND steering group

• 15[th] Kent Medway Intergrated Childrens Partnership group

• 16[th] Trustee legal governance on Zoom

• 21[st] MPCF/Clinical Commissioning Group

• 22[nd] Kent and Medway Childrens Intergrated Delivery Board

January 2022

• 6[th] Children and Young Person Overview & Scrutiny committee

• 6[th] Feedback re survey

• 11[th] Trustees Meeting

• 13[th] MPCF/Medway Council/Clinical Commissioning Group Liaison

• 14[th] Medway voluntary Action Group

• 19[th] Kent and Medway Integrated Childrens Partnership

• 20[th] Kent and Medway Intergrated children's Delivery Board

• Preparing for Adulthood Housing conference

• 25[th] Featherby Rd School

• MPCF/Clinical Commissioning Group

• SEND Partnership Board

• 31[st] Lordswood coffee meeting

February 2022

• 2[nd] MPCF/Medway Community Healthcare Memorandum of understanding discussion

• 7[th] MPCF/Medway Council catch up

• 8[th] Medway & Swale Childhood Obesity taskforce inaugural meeting

• 16[th Kent] and Medway Intergrated children's partnership group

• 21[st] Trustees meeting

• 22[nd] MPCF/Clinical Commissioning Group

• 23[rd] CYP Overview & Scrutiny Data workshop

• 24[th] Autism SE sensory workshop – stall

• 25[th] Meeting with SEN transport

• 28[th] EHCP training

March 2022

• 1[st] Online meeting with parents and SEN transport

• 3[rd] Understanding and improving coproduction session 1 MPCF/Medway Council/Clinical Commissioning Group liaison CYP Overview & Scrutiny committee

• 4[th] Understanding and improving coproduction session 2

10

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

Facilitate an online meeting with Parents of Hope view school and Send transport

6[th] Meet with new Junior reps to discuss Young Peoples Facebook page

7[th] Coffee meeting with parents and Assistant Director of SEND and Education

8[th] Local Offer MPCF/Medway Council Local Offer Officer

9[th] Developing a logic model for Intergrated children's service Medway and Swale

Preparing For Adulthood group

10[th] MPCF/Medway Council/Clinical Commissioning Group liaison Facilitate online meetings between SEN transport and parents of Elaine school

11[th] Southeast Parent Carers Forum regional meeting

16[th] Developing a practitioner framework to support delivery of Intergrated Childrens Service Swale & Medway

17[th] Kent and Medway's Intergrated Children’s delivery board

18[th] Medway Headteachers Secondary Association virtual meeting Discussion re Meet Social care – Andrew Oates /LS

21[st] MPCF Annual General Meeting- online

22[nd] EYFS leaders' discussion

EHCP fit for purpose workshop for parents – online

Meeting re Peer associates cover for Medway with Joanne Waller Kent

23[rd] Task and Finish group Early years Covid response

MPCF/Clinical Commissiong Group

25[th] Catch up with Celia Buxton Assistant Director SEND and Education and MPCF Forum leadership team

28[th] Tunbury school

30[th] Child Health conference

11

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

Future plans

Our future for the Medway Parent Carer Forum is to engage and recruit more Trustees into the forum and elevate the number of volunteers we have. Carry on with our successful coffee meetings.

Carry on meeting the needs of our members, by being their voice at local authority and charity meetings.

Ensure training is available to our members for subjects they feel they need support in.

Enlist the help of more professionals for our Meet the Professionals Coffee Meetings.

Ensure that co-production carries on between ourselves Health, Education and Social Care.

Keep our membership growing, whilst retaining our current members, and whilst safeguarding our young people.

Engaging and networking with other charities to support the voice of our parents and carers.

Support individual family needs with applying for EHCP’s, and Form filling. Support parents/carers and Local authority with independent evaluation of ECHP plans.

To employ administration staff, for day to day running of the office, a volunteer coordinator, and a family support officer.

Financial planning

Over the past few years, we have worked tirelessly to coproduce with both the Local Authority and Health to help shape Children’s services. Coproduction is well known to increase both cost efficiency and consumer satisfaction. The fulfilment of what is for the authority a legal requirement, (that underpins both the Children and Families Act and the Care Act) has however financial implications on the Forum, and we have been becoming increasingly stretched to coproduce whilst still covering our everyday activities. It is now usual in most authorities for the LA to match the Department for Education funding to Forums to allow them to coproduce effectively.

We have put together a business plan for the next year.

We apply for a grant from the Department of Education yearly, via Contact. Which we have been successful in receiving for the last 13 years. Since we were formed in 2009. The other form of finance we received came from the Local Authority.

12

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

Management

The trustees are responsible for the overall management and control of the Medway Parent Carers Forum and meet a minimum of 4 times a year. The work of implementing most of the policies is carried out by the members of the Steering Group, who meet at least 6 times a year. The Steering Group prepare the papers, manage the accounts and the review of any matters arising. They also deal with the day to day running of the Forum, including but not exhausting social media, emails, telephone enquiries and running of the office. All trustees give of their time freely and no remuneration was paid in the year. Expenses were paid in the year.

No trustee or person connected with a trustee received any benefit from the Medway Parent Carers Forum.

Statement of Trustees Responsibilities.

The Trustees are responsible for preparing a Trustees 'Annual Report and Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards. Medway Parent Carer Forum has income below £250,000 and has therefore elected to prepare the financial statements on a Receipts and Payments basis in line with the Charities Act 2011. The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

13

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

Membership

A member may be an individual, a corporate body, or (an individual or corporate body representing) an organisation which is not incorporated. Membership of the CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) is open to anyone who is interested in furthering its purposes, and who, by applying for membership, has indicated his, her or its agreement to become a member and acceptance of the duty of members.

We currently have around 93 members recorded, having completed a membership application form. These members have full voting rights. The membership is currently under review, and all members are being asked to submit a new membership form and being supplied with a new membership card.

We also have members divided amongst our Facebook pages, The Professional page has 64 members, The Professional Parent page has 90 members, and the Family page has 1179 members. This has been steadily increasing, via word of mouth, information days, Charity events, Facebook advertising on other groups, and through the children’s centre at Snapdragons. These members do not have voting rights until they have completed a membership application form.

The pages enable our members to interact with each other, support and encourage and share information. This is always encouraging to see members supporting each other and helping us to change the future of services for our young people.

14

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372 statement of Accounts 111 21 ill l- Ill Iiiik--a-Ii¥ 41451191¥125ais j]1 Iz}!l1 11111S1'11'1 Is.Jl{I 1 3 5 15

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372 LrG IT 16

Medway Parent Carers Forum Charity number 1183372

The Trustees of the charity are pleased to present their report together with the accounts for the period ended 31 March 2022. The accounts comply with current statutory requirements, the governing document, and Charity Commission guidance.

Approved by the Trustees and signed on its behalf by:

Shenda Smith

Shenda Smith Trustee Date 30[th] January 2023

17