Oxfordshire Parent Carers Forum would like to clarify its involvement with the Oxfordshire Local Area SEND Consultation process.
The Forum were invited to attend a series of sessions to discuss and re-word a draft of Oxfordshire’s proposed local area SEND Strategy.
Our contribution comprised of the following:
Requesting amendments to make the Strategy more inclusive, less jargon filled and more family orientated.
Suggesting changes around phrasing, tone and language.
Challenging the lack of opportunity to gather parent carer feedback to inform the key points of the strategy.
Raising concerns about the absence of the supporting implementation structure that will sit beneath the Strategy, as this has yet to be developed.
Some of our suggested amendments were incorporated into the draft of the local area SEND Strategy. These drafting sessions provided an opportunity for some challenging discussions to take place, around the impact this document will have on the lives of families and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Whilst we were involved in the Finance, Sufficiency and Continuum Workstreams, which were part of Oxfordshire County Council’s SEND Transformation plan, we had no onward involvement in the development of the Reforms Strategy. The Sufficiency Strategy was developed in 2018, prior to the formation of the Forum.
We were invited to comment on the survey and made some recommendations. We were also able to provide feedback on the consultation process and some of our suggestions were included.
As an independent voice for parent carers in Oxfordshire, we did not feel it was appropriate to be part of the Consultation roadshow events, but we have promoted them widely within our networks to ensure that parent carer voices are heard during the process.
We have aimed to ensure that parent carer voices and views have been represented throughout our involvement in this process and we would like to thank all parent carers and young people who continue to share their highly valued views and experiences with us.
For more information on OxPCF and our work, please visit our website: www.oxpcf.org.uk or email info@oxpcf.org.uk