How we founded…
…our community
for positive change
Watch our video
OUR STORY
2009, the local Parent Carer Forum was born. Two mums (including our CEO, Rachel) with the passion to help others were given the opportunity to make a difference for others like themselves. This was part of a government initiative to create Parent Carer Forums throughout the country that would represent the parent voice in the design of services.
Over the years we have grown from strength to strength and in number with some of our key highlights being:
2010 We ran our first conference and have run several other conferences and events throughout the years.
2016 We created our Really Useful Guides; a helpful resource for families.
2018 We developed our workshops for Parent Carers.
2019 Was a triple celebration; not only did we celebrate our 10th anniversary, but we also opened our Community Base in Kingswood and were awarded “Excellence in Parent Carer Participation” at Contact’s national award ceremony, held at The Palace of Westminster.
2022 We started the new year welcoming seven new staff members to the team as well as opening a new venue for Little Treasures, and reaching Parent Carers across Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire by delivering some workshops in partnership with our colleagues in North Somerset.
The SGPC Timeline
Have a look through our timeline highlighting even more milestones.
Our vision
To grow a well-informed, empowered, supportive community of SEND families, where every individual’s needs are anticipated, identified and met, enabling them to reach their potential.
Our mission
To represent the collective voice of our community, working together with service providers to shape great services and achieve positive change.
Working with us to achieve our goal
South Glos Parent Carers can offer a unique insight to professionals by highlighting problems frequently experienced by families of children with SEND. Your lived experiences are invaluable and:
• they are crucial when reviewing and planning services
• they can help to shape services that meet the needs of the community who use them
Providing this valuable insight is called ‘participation’ and your participation is a vital component of the co-production process. We literally could not co-produce without you.
Parent Carers can also volunteer with SGPC for as little as a couple of hours a week. Check out our Volunteering section for more information
Campaigning
Sometimes we are asked by families to campaign. The forum exists to co-produce with service providers, commissioners and policy makers in a solution focused way aiming to influence decisions through working collaboratively. We are not a campaign group nor are we affiliated with any political party.
Often we want to see the same improvements as local campaign groups and believe there is room for all of our voices and approaches while we all work towards positive change.
If you are a campaign group we would welcome a conversation on how we can work together and ensure your voice is included in the co-production work we do.
Reports and policies
Please find details of our main policies and company reports which you can download below.
OUR POLICIES
Safeguarding Policies - For Children and for Adults
Communications Policy and Advertising Policy
OUR REPORTS
Case Studies - how SGPC has helped families