About Us

What is the Parents Forum?

The Parents Forum is a friendly group of parents who meet to discuss real issues that affect children and young people with learning difficulties and disabilities in West Sussex.

As parents or carers, it is easy to feel your worries and concerns are not being taken seriously. The Parents Forum was set up to make sure your views and concerns are heard by those who plan and manage the services you and your child or young person relies on.

The Parents Forum is supported by West Sussex Children’s Trust.

Who is the forum for?

If you are a parent or carer of a child or young person with additional needs and you live in West Sussex, you can come along.

Working together we can make a difference to the services our children receive. And who better to make that change than you their parents and carers

What does the forum offer parents?

• A chance to improve the services and support for children and young people with learning difficulties and disabilities in West Sussex;
• The forum is made up of people like you, parents and carers. You will have the chance to share experiences with other parents of children with additional needs;
• A voice to help ensure children with additional needs are fully included in society and have access to the support and facilities necessary to sustain and improve their well being.

What the forum won’t do:

The forum works best at tackling generic issues that affect a number of people. It is unable to tackle specific issues that parents and carers have about their own child.

It will listen to experiences and ideas but is not able to operate as an individual advisory or support service – but we can signpost you to someone that can help.

How the forum works:

The forum will meet at least once a year.

From Christmas 2008 we will be introducing a newsletter to inform parents what is going on both in the county and nationally.