About us
Part of a national network we try to ensure by feeding in the experiences and needs of Kingston parents and carers who have children with additional needs and disabilities, better, more relevant and responsive services will follow. As local SEND parents ourselves we bring a wealth of different experiences of helping our own children and young people through life.
We are a newly formed volunteer team who currently have nine members on our Steering Committee
A supportive group, offering information, running events and giving parent/carers opportunities to have a say and get involved in improving local services.
Our policies
Diversity & Inclusion
Kingston Parent Carer Forum (KPCF) is committed to an ethos of diversity and inclusion. We endeavour to be the voice for all our families. Including those from an ethnic minority background, so that we can capture and address your issues and challenges in getting the right support for your children. Research shows that local community…
Our Constitution
This is our constitution which describes how we are governed and how we go about our work representing local families
Advice & Support
We do not formally give advice, but have collected a range of information and links to help local families on a range of issues
Meet the team
Beverley Pass
Bev is a single mum to a lively young man called Tommy who is six and diagnosed with Autism, Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder and sensory processing disorder. He currently attends a specialist resource provision unit within a mainstream school and is doing really well in his learning with their support.
As a charity CEO and chair in the past Bev is professionally used to navigating the complex world of statutory service delivery, she is also a subject matter expert in equality diversity and inclusion with a deep personal drive for achieving fairness and parity in society.
Claudia Isaby
Claudia is mother to a boy on the autistic spectrum with sensory processing disorder and dyspraxia. Receiving early interventions and ongoing support in the classroom have made a significant impact on his development. She is driven to ensure that these services can be available for all those in need of them as they have already made such a difference to his young life.
At times applying for support has been very challenging and her hopes in joining the parent carer forum are to help improve the process and make it accessible and less daunting for anyone who needs it.
Noreen Ahmad
Noreen is a mother of three children; her eldest son has autism and is epileptic.
Noreen has always emphasised the importance of accessing early intervention and therapy and believes that transferring her son to a special school has helped her son progress immensely.
Her son’s diagnosis inspired her to achieve a postgraduate Award in Autism from Sheffield Hallam University.
Noreen is always motivated to support SEND families and carers in navigating the process of accessing services.
Kelly Harrison
Kelly is mum to two children; her youngest Vinnie has Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1, a progressive neuromuscular condition.
Kelly is trustee of TreatSMA, a charity formed in 2017 to advocate for treatments and standards of care for SMA.
Kelly has an interest in social housing within the borough after being locked in a battle with Kingston council to provide safe and suitable housing for Vinnie.
Karen Gale
Karen is mum to a bright social boy, who started struggling in mainstream school from year 1 in 2018/19. His first school sadly did not see or recognise that he was Dyslexic, had Auditory Processing Disorder and Autism (with a suspected PDA profile). After struggling with trying another mainstream school we finally received his EHCP.
As a single mother, she had no other choice at the time but to take a career break to become his full-time carer. And after being out of school for almost a year with both of their lives turned upside down, they thought they had found utopia in an unique specialist provision. But by no-means is their journey over, as after yet another year of transitioning back into education,but there are small glimmers of hope for her son.
There is no quick fix to the ongoing issues in our health or education system but Karen believes in working with others and services with an aim in trying to help assist changes that need to be made to make our children’s futures more viable.
Jo Thomas
Jo Thomas is mother to a 12 year-old son with additional needs. She joined the PCF after struggling to get the support needed for her family, with the aim of raising awareness of the challenges faced by the parents of children with SEN. Jo has worked in communications and public affairs for several years and tries to use her professional skills in her role on the PCF steering committee. Her particular passion is reducing the inequalities faced by children with disabilities when trying to access leisure and school holiday provision.
Asif Mullan
Profile coming soon…
Rosie Fletcher-Brown
Profile coming soon
Arlette Wright
Profile coming soon…
FAQ’s
How can I get involved with the PCF?
We currently have space on our steering committee and welcome any parent/carer who.is interested in supporting the aims of the organisation to work with local services to improve the lives of children and young people. Membership is open to all family members and carers of a child or young person under 25, residing in Kingston or receiving services in the area. If you are interested, you can stay in touch with our work…
Do you hold events?
We are currently providing online services for example relaxation sessions and legal seminars. Make sure you are signed up…and Facebook to hear news of our upcoming events.
Can you help if I am unhappy with a therapy or education provision for my child?
We do not provide advocacy or advice services. You can see our legal directory for other local organisations who can help you with these matters. We are committed to sharing information with local SEND parent/carers and run seminars as well as share information.
We also hold copies of legal handbooks and, along with videos of legal seminars, we are building a resource of legal guidelines for parents to access via Kingston PCF.
Do you support campaigns for rights of SEND children and young people?
Our role is not to campaign but to provide a voice for local parent/carers. We may sometimes share information of local campaigns but we won’t directly get involved in this ourselves.
How do you work with the local authority and other agencies?
By engaging on forums and working with them to get our view across, we help The Local Authority to fulfil its statutory requirement to listen, engage and work together with parent carers for the benefit of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and their families. Our goal is to coproduce with the local authority and other services so we ensure the voice of our children informs decision-making.
Minutes of consortium meetings are here on the Local Offer page if you want more information about the current agenda.
How is your organisation funded?
Every local authority has a statutory duty to provide a PCF, we are funded by money set aside for this service.