Category: Uncategorized

A new post has been published on the Education Hub. “The national curriculum is a set of subjects and standards used by primary and secondary schools, so children learn the same things. We’ve announced that we’ll be holding an independent review to refresh the curriculum and make sure it meets the needs of every child and young person. The Curriculum and Assessment Review will be led by Professor Becky Francis CBE who is an expert in education policy including curriculum and social inequality. The views of experts, parents and teachers will be key for making recommendations.”

You can read the post in full here: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/07/19/what-is-the-national-curriculum-and-why-is-it-being-reviewed/

A new post, “The King’s Speech 2024: What does it mean for education?” has just been published on the The Education Hub blog.

During the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday 17 July, the King set out the government’s priorities for the coming months. This included commitments relating to education, including children’s social care, schools, and further education. Together, these important changes will help to break down barriers to opportunity, and drive high and rising standards in schools, to create better life chances for everyone. Here, we explain what the King’s Speech means for young people, parents and the education sector. You can read more about the King’s Speech and how it works on Gov.​uk by following this link: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/07/18/the-kings-speech-2024-what-does-it-mean-for-education/

We would like to welcome Kenton Mee, from North Somerset Parent Carer Forum to the South West NNPCF representative role.

On his appointment Kenton said, “I am delighted to be appointed as the NNPCF’s Regional Steering Group Member for the South West. I extend my thanks to Tina for her incredible achievements in developing and representing the South West PCF network over the past seven years. I am committed to continuing her excellent work and look forward to supporting and representing our 15 Forums. Championing the lived experiences of our parent carers to help inform the national picture and continuing to develop our work with stakeholders across the region.”

Tina Emery said, “I am really pleased that Kenton is going to take over the South West role. He has worked incredibly hard in North Somerset with his local authority and his ICB, and is an active member of the South West region. He is going to do amazing things with all the 15 forums working alongside regional partners.”

We would like thank Tina Emery for all her hard work and the commitment to the South West regional representative role, as well as her role as CoChair, Tina is going to be missed but we look forward to welcoming Kenton. We wish Tina, the very best with her next adventure.

Tina is currently handing over to Kenton. Tina’s term will end in September and Kenton will take over the role fully in October.

The NNPCF team met last week for a planning day at the Department of Education. It was an opportunity, for us to all get together as a team, to plan and to say our face-to-face goodbyes to both Kath and Tina who are stepping down shortly as their appointed terms have come to end. We were also able to welcome both Martin and Kenton who are joining our team as the North West and South West Representatives respectfully.

Whilst at the DfE, we also had the opportunity to speak with Alison Ismail who is the Director of SEND and Alternative Provision, Katharine Davies and Eleanor Jubb Heads of Transitions and Coproduction in the SEND & Alternative Provision Directorate, about what’s important to our SEND families, our Parent Carer Forums and the need for change within the SEND system.

NNPCF welcomed the opportunity to attend the DfE Ministerial Reception on 11^th July 2024. We were able to talk directly to the Secretary of State Bridget Phillipson, Stephen Morgan, Catherine McKinnell and Jacqui Smith, highlighting the importance of the lived experience of our SEND families, along with the importance of coproduction and highlight local Parent Carer Forums and the great work they do.

The evening also gave us an opportunity to speak with other key stakeholder partners including Amanda Allard, Director of the Council for Disabled Children, and Anna Bird,  Chief Executive Officer at Contact.

We hope that with the government will bring the much needed change within the SEND System for our families.

The Communications Access Symbol is an initiative developed in partnership by charities and organisations that share a vision to improve the lives of people with communication difficulties. The disability access symbol scheme is led by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and was coproduced with a number of stakeholders including the NNPCF.

A completely free training package is available to any individual or business that wishes to sign up to the symbol. Some businesses that have signed up to the symbol include various Job Centres, Universities, Banks and Buildings Societies, and some NHS trusts among many others!

We are delighted to say the NNPCF have recently been re-accredited, for the 2nd year, with a number of our Steering Group, Operational Support team and National Representatives completing the training.

We would encourage you to take a look at the scheme and sign up to the training. If you would like to mention it to your Local Authorities and ICS’s please feel free to do so, to encourage their sign up as well!

You can find out more at https://communication-access.co.uk/

We would like to welcome Martin McAndrew, from Bury Parent Carer Forum, to the North West NNPCF representative role.

On his appointment Martin said, “I look forward to taking on this role and hope to do half as good a job as Kath has. Really excited about meeting and supporting all of our amazing PCF’s to keep doing the great work that they all do.”

Kath Bromfield said, “It is a real strength of NNPCF that reps can only do a maximum of two terms. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time representing the North West and am delighted to pass the baton to Martin who will be amazing and see the region go from strength to strength.”

We would like thank Kath Bromfield for all her hard work and the commitment to the North West regional representative role, she is going to be greatly missed and we look forward to welcoming Martin.  We wish Kath, the very best with her next adventure.

Kath is currently handing over to Martin.  Martin will take over the role fully in August.

As part of the National Wraparound Childcare Programme the Department for Education, with the support of the National Network of Parent Carer Forums, have developed a survey to better understand to what extent the current wraparound childcare offer for primary age children meets the needs of parents and children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). We are looking for parents of primary age children with a special educational need or disability to complete this survey.

Wraparound childcare is childcare that ‘wraps around’ the conventional school day. For the purposes of this programme, we are using the term ‘wraparound childcare’ to refer to provision directly before and after the school day during school term time for primary school age children. The purpose of this survey is to improve understanding of the types of wraparound provision that parents are accessing, the reasons for this, and any barriers they have faced when trying to find childcare that meets their child’s needs.

Survey participation is voluntary, and the data collected is completely anonymous. Learning from this survey will be factored into the National Wraparound Programme and support the Department for Education to understand how they can increase the inclusivity and accessibility of the programme.

Link is here – https://dferesearch.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dor02j5Pr813PT0

Closing date: 29^th April 2024