About
The Stoke Parent Carers Champions for Change Forum is facilitated by VAST in partnership with voluntary organisations in Stoke-on-Trent.
Through our consortium model our Member Organisations work directly with and represent parents and carers of young people with disabilities to ensure local services meet the needs of children and families.
Our forum amplifies the voices of parent carers and local support organisations in the work they do every day, championing change for their own families and all families in Stoke-on-Trent.
If you are an organisation or a parent carer who would like to become a member of the forum and be kept informed of news, events and ways to get involved please get in touch for more information or fill in the form on our ‘Get Involved’ page.
“Nobody can ‘give’ a person their voice as it is no one’s gift to give such a thing. Having a voice and being heard is a basic human right. What happens is this voice is often denied or ignored.”
Asist Community Advocate
Our Mission is to work together with parent carers, local services, and organisations, to achieve the best possible opportunities for all children and young people with SEND and their families in Stoke-on-Trent.
We believe real change is achieved by working together (coproduction) to reach a shared goal. People who are affected by a service are best placed to help design it. We use our collective power to influence change.
Professionals can better understand the barriers and issues that families face by listening to parent carers who are experts by experience.
Representing parent carers, we work in partnership with professionals to ensure services are relevant and right for the children and families they serve.
Our aim is to work directly with and represent parent carers in all aspects of designing, commissioning, delivering and reviewing services as an equal partner.
We aim to:
- Create a culture of participation, collaboration and coproduction across the education, health, social care and the voluntary sectors.
- Work directly with and represent parent carers to use their voice collectively and ensure their voices are heard at a local, regional and national level.
- Inspire our partners to share and fulfil our vision by sharing experiences, good practice and knowledge.
Stoke Parent Carers Champions for Change is based on principles of :