If you want to be involved in shaping services for our young people then please join us - the wider our representation the stronger our voice!
Barnet Parent Carer Forum is part of the National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) whose membership is made up of all Parent Carer Forums in England. NNPCF representatives, who are all parent carers, work with a broad range of organisations including Department of Education, Department of Health, Council for Disabled Children, British Academy of Childhood Disability and IPSEA.
To find out more go to www.nnpcf.org.uk
Barnet Parent Carer Forum Structure and Constitution
We are a constituted body
We aim for a broad membership of Parent carers to ensure a representation of age, gender, disability, ethnicity, type of education and parents’ skills and abilities. Our steering group meets every 6/8 weeks. If you are interested in joining us please contact us. By getting involved you can have a say in what matters to the child or young person in your family.
Why get involved?
You are the expert. If you are the parent of a child who has Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities, then you are an expert on the support and services that your child and their family need. Here is an opportunity for you to share this knowledge with others, including the professionals who make decisions that directly affect you.
You have insight. This is your chance to give local authority officers and other decision makers a unique insight into the impact of services on the lives of families with disabled children, and contributing to service development from the service users perspective.
Develop yourself. Other forums report that parents volunteering their time can have raised self- esteem and develop other skills and experience.
Meet Us - The Team
Lisa Coffman - Treasurer and Co-ordinator
I am the coordinator and treasurer of the Barnet Parent Carer Forum having become a member of the Steering Group in 2017.
I am the mother of 3 girls, two of whom have SEND, a corporate lawyer and Chair of Governors at a Barnet Academy.
As well as ensuring that the Forum manages and spends its limited funds well I also work in co-production with representatives in Health, Education and Social Care to ensure that the views of all SEND families are heard, especially those who find it difficult to express their opinions. This is especially important during times of SEND reform. I sit on various workstream and leading edge groups in Barnet aiming to represent the views of parents/carers and families of children with ASD and mental health difficulties.
Parents and Carers of children and young people with SEND have a great deal of knowledge and expertise and it is hugely important that this is used to inform and improve the decisions being taken by those who develop and provide services for them.
Ayala Lerner - Steering Group Member, BPCF
I am the mother of two teenagers one with SEN who attends a SEN School. I have worked in a SEN school for 15 years and have gained so much from teaching there. The pupils have taught me to be patient and appreciative and to accept others.
I have learnt the importance of celebrating even the smallest achievements and the warmth and pure love of the children who I teach. Giving a voice to parents with SEN children and young adults is really important to me and I hope to continue to give back to society through my work with the Forum, my governing and my teaching.
Erin Sanders McDonagh
I am a parent carer of a five-year-old child with complex physical and medical needs, who requires a high level of care and support. I joined the Steering Group in the past year and bring lived experience of navigating health, education and social care systems alongside families navigating a wide range of needs and systems.
Lisa Coffman and colleagues across Barnet have been developing a renewed focus on physical disability (PD) through a PD Leading Edge Group, and I am pleased to be contributing to this work. I work alongside Lisa and partners across Barnet to help ensure that the needs and experiences of families are heard, understood, and translated into meaningful service change.
Alongside my lived experience, I am a criminologist and researcher at the University of Kent. My work focuses on issues of violence in its many iterations; over the past 15 years I’ve been able to work with public services and agencies including local authorities, police, social care and the NHS to help bring about important changes. While my research does not focus on disability, it centres on how systems respond to complex needs and how meaningful change can be achieved across sectors and at both local and national levels.
I am focused on ensuring that parent carers are not only listened to, but actively involved in shaping the services designed to support their children.
Debra Radley - Steering Group Member, BPCF
My previous experiences include Teacher Governor, Parent Governor, Secondary Dance Teacher, SEN Teacher and Local Authority SEND caseworker, as well as being a parent of a child/young person with a life threatening complex medical condition and anxiety.
I am also a voluntary member of Barnet's Independent Advisory Group in partnership with the Met Police. My family's personal journey started when my daughter was nearly 2 years old, a very scary time where our lives were changed. A wise friend once said to me ~ this is a marathon not a sprint.
I joined Barnet Parent Carer Forum when we moved to Barnet and as an active member I was impressed with the organisation of a group of committed, like minded, driven and committed parents who wanted to give back and pave the way for all Barnet's children and young people with SEND. As a committee member of various steering groups in partnership with the Local Authority (in education, health and social care) I want to positively improve the experience of parents and carers of children and young people with SEND.
BPCF wants to make a difference for all our children and young people with SEND and their families and I am delighted to play a part and in its future.
Anna Petsas - Steering Group Member, BPCF
Hello, I’m mummy to 3 children and my eldest has Down’s Syndrome. I am a member of the Down’s syndrome leading edge group and have been involved in the generation of the combined care pathway for children with with Down’s Syndrome in Barnet. I am passionate about working with all members of the team around a child, from education to health, to ensure that each child receives the best possible input to allow them to reach their full potential.
I am also a doctor, working in the NHS as an anaesthetist and intensivist. I’ve experienced the health care service as both as a provider and user, and I’m acutely aware of the struggles on both sides. I feel passionately that we need to work together to create a more accessible, user friendly and cohesive support system for our children within the health service and beyond.
The BPCF is a unique and powerful forum that allows our voices to not only be heard, but listened to and considered. Through co-production and negotiation we can help to shape services to better suit the needs of our children.
Gita Mehmood - Steering Group Member, BPCF
I am the parent of a young adult with Autism Spectrum Condition and I joined the forum in order to help parents to have a voice in how and which services are delivered for disabled children. Like many others, I have been frustrated by how hard it is to get the support my child needs.
I urge other parents to join the BPCF as I truly believe that parents should be involved at every stage in decisions that are made by key professionals who are responsible for designing and delivering services that greatly affect our children.
David Epstein - Steering Group Member, BPCF
I am the father of a daughter and two adult boys one with Non-Verbal Autism and specific learning difficulty who is in supported living and the other who has verbal dyspraxia and moderate learning difficulty who lives at home with us. I have been through the transformation from Statements to EHCP which takes it up to the age of 25 however our children grow into adults and still have needs.
I have also worked in an alternative resource provision Secondary School in a Barnet for 15 years and have total empathy not just with the children and young people but also with the Parents/Carers, giving advice and help (especially in the annual reviews which I have experience from on both sides). In my 15 years of working in an alternative resource provision, I have come across many wonderful individual children and young people, each one with different quirks and needs, especially on the creative side.
While our children and young people find it difficult to get their voices heard the strains and battles with the powers to be fall on us as Parents/Carers which can feel draining at times. I feel the importance to be part of a group like the Barnet Parents Carer Forum to work as a group to try to improve the life of our children and young people and encourage every Parent/Carer in Barnet to join as the more voices working in Unison together will help us to help our children and young people.