SEN/CWD Parent Advisory Group (PAG)
This group has been in existence since January 2008 and meets six times per year. Its purpose is to assist in the development and maintenance of high quality services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities.
It does this by providing a constructive and positive dialogue between the Children and Young People service (CYPS) and parents in the interests of improving provision and services for vulnerable children. The emphasis is on what can be done together to take things forward. It is not intended to be a forum for discussion about resolving individual cases.
View the minutes of all the meetings conducted by the Parent Advisory Group.
Group members
The group is comprised of the:
- Head of Exclusions
- Head of the Reintegration, Attendance and Admissions Service (ERAA)
- Head of SEN
- Head of Services for Children with Disabilities
- Principal Educational Psychologist
- Partnership Development Officer
- the parent advocate
- one parent representative from the current Parent Forum
- one representative from a generic voluntary support agency
- four parents of children currently with a Statement
i.e. one parent for each category of SEN as follows: physical / sensory special needs, communication and interaction, behavioural emotional and social development, cognition and learning
- one SEN parent governor of a mainstream school
- one parent governor of a special school.
The group provides regular feedback to the Heads of Service about the delivery of services for children with special needs including issues of concern and issues of good practice from the perspective of parents and carers.
It helps to formulate policy by providing consultative feedback to the Heads of Service on the development of policies, strategies and procedures regarding special needs in Lambeth.
It feeds back issues and minutes to parent groups, senior manager(s) Children’s Services, councillors and other stakeholders concerning any proposed Local Authority policies about children and young people with special needs.
The group reports to the Assistant Director for Inclusion and will feed back to the Lambeth Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership Board through the Lambeth Parent and Carer Forum.
All meetings are chaired by the Lambeth Parent Advocate.
The term of office for members who are not employed by Lambeth Council is currently from one year to eighteen months to allow for continuity.
Annual workplan
The group has agreed and planned an annual work programme which covers such topics as:
- improving communication with parents, agencies and SEN/CWD Teams
- the Statementing Process
- the voice of the child
- local based respite care
- exclusion – fixed term/permanent
- bullying
- SEN transport
- support – speech therapy
- transitions
- Youth Strategy and SEN/CWD
- domiciliary care
- Parent Partnership
- direct payments
- delegated funding – is it working?
- resource directory for SEN/CWD
- demise of Contact-a-Family [Social clubs]
- sport and leisure opportunities for SEN/CWD
- educating children at home
- ASD Strategy
Would you like any issues to be considered by PAG?
One of the PAG parents - Linda Downie - has agreed to act as a liaison between PAG members and other interested parents and parties. If you have any views, questions or information that you would like to be considered by PAG she would be very happy to take them forwards.
We are hoping to create an email address for her to be contacted by but in the meantime the parent advocate’s email address may be used and any messages marked in the subject line ‘For June Douglas – PAG’ will be forwarded to her. The Parent Advocates email address is ddownie-campbe@lambeth.gov.uk.