Blackburn with Darwen Education Development Trust
Key Facts
Location
Project Criteria
Contact
Mary Carley
Email
Project funding
£142,500
Funding round
Parents of disabled / SEN children are often isolated, confused and frustrated by lack of support. They would welcome more advice on how best to care .for their child. To cope with this many parents form informal self help/support groups, which grow through word of mouth, relying on overstretched parents, limited capacity. Often operating without funding these groups may be isolated from mainstream support, advice and referral. In addition minority ethnic parents face cultural and linguistic barriers. To address this locally our part time consultant will:
- identify these groups and their needs
- map them against existing voluntary and statutory sector provision
- support them to become sustainable, constituted organisations (remaining small and welcoming);
- help more neighbourhood level groups develop with increased membership and
- establish pro-bono business advisors' support.
Our project officer will support:
- fundraising to extend services eg youth groups;
- coordinate training for parents in parenting their special needs children, meeting their own needs as parents and of their non-special needs children;
- support groups' marketing and business planning
- advocate and develop links to extended support for parents through voluntary and statutory sectors.
Through this project we expect to:
- Strengthen infrastructure / capacity of self help / voluntary groups helping parents of children with SEN/disabilities
- Support 40 groups impacting on lives of 650 parents/carers and their children
- Raise professionals' awareness of children with special educational needs/disabilities and parents' needs
- Commission parental consultation and external evaluation of all funded projects
- Co-host BwD Parenting forum with CVS