A 'DEEPLY concerned' mum has set up a petition criticising a parent and carer forum because she says it is failing children with special educational needs.

Tracy Winchester has set up the online petition demanding 'no confidence in Worcestershire Parent Carer Forum' (PCF) which already has 147 signatures.

Mrs Winchester, 43, SEND National Crisis Worcestershire, has two autistic children, Rowan, 12, and Maive, nine, and said the forum is not representing parents effectively and is not holding the services for children to account. 

"The PCF (FiP) is complicit in the failures and is allowing Worcestershire Children's First (WCF), for example, to claim parent carers are involved and represented and in reality that is not the case. So, as a consequence, SEND children are being failed," the mum said.

Mrs Winchester, from Bromsgrove, said in the online petition: "As a deeply concerned parent carer living in Worcestershire, I am witnessing firsthand how the Worcestershire Parent Carer Forum, Families in Partnership (FiP), is failing to represent parents and carers effectively.

"Despite being commissioned for this very purpose, FiP has shown a lack of challenge towards Worcestershire Children First/Worcestershire County Council and other associated agencies.

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"This failure is not just disappointing but also concerning as it involves the use of public funds.

"The wider parent carer community feels left out with no involvement or transparency regarding who makes up the PCF Steering Group.

"The Chair's identity remains unclear, raising further doubts about their independence. Many individuals believed to be part of this group are either employed or funded by Worcestershire Children First or Worcestershire County Council - a clear conflict of interest that undermines their claim to independence.

"This situation leaves parents and carers like myself feeling failed by those who are supposed to represent us. We present a petition (vote) of no confidence in FiP due to its inability to fulfil its role effectively. Furthermore, we call for a comprehensive, national reform of the PCF model itself so that it can truly serve our community's needs.

Please join me in demanding change for better representation and support for parents and carers in Worcestershire by signing this petition today."

Cllr Tracey Onslow, Cabinet Member for Education, said: “On November 1, 2023, the DfE shared with us the outcome of their latest review into the progress made against our Accelerated Progress Plan (APP) for SEND.

"In their letter, they highlighted that FIP have demonstrated they now have clear actions that will support and enable parents and carers of SEND children to actively engage in strategic decision making, planning, commissioning, and service evaluation. At our next APP review meeting with the DfE and NHSE (due April 2024) they have been requested to see further evidence of the development of FIP, and ongoing work with other parental groups, to support parent carer participation."

We have also approached the forum directly for a comment but it has not responded.