LPCF Achievements

One school going all out to promote LPCF

LPCF have been signposted to one school who is going all out to promote its partnership with LPCF and thereby supporting parents of children with SEND.
A big thank you to the Deepings School for promoting LPCF on their website.

National Lottery funding

Good news!
LPCF have been successful in securing funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.
The good news is LPCF will be able to hold more Hypnotherapy sessions and workshops in the near future.
A big thank you for making this possible.

Autism Strategy Priorities

Sept 2021

Together LPCF and LYV were tasked with collecting the views of parent carers and children and young people on the Autism strategy both Nationally and in Lincolnshire.

We are delighted that 18 parents and 6 young people felt passionate enough to attend the meeting and share their views with us.The meeting was held virtually using Zoom

Both LPCF & LYV have a seat on the Autism Partnership board and this document will be given to them in a bid to inform the prioritites in Lincolnshire. A big thank you to all who attended.

Parents Voice

Our extensive quarterly round up of what parents have been saying about Health, Education, Transport, EHC Plans, Leisure, Social Care, Covid- 19 etc.

This edition of our Parents Voice is again a large document demonstrating a wide range of feedback from parents.
Also in this edition we have the details of our 2022 Week of SEND - add the dates to your 2022 diary now!

We have again used our "Feedback Friday" polls to gather more information from our closed parents only Facebook page. This simple polling system means that more people can give us their feedback.

The July to September report for 2021 can be found here.
For other Parents Voice reports please have a look in our extensive library or check back through our Achievements pages or our library page.

How are parents helping LPCF to make a difference?

A debate amongst parents on Facebook highlighted the issue of the discrimination, negativity about disabled youngsters, a lack of understanding by many people plus the problem of having hidden disabilities.
As is usual this debate was reflected in the LPCF quarterly summary of evidence “Parents Voice” which is publically available and read by a number of interested organisations such as LCC, Health, Healthwatch, DfE, etc.

As a result of this particular Facebook dialogue the Consultants (IMPOWER) working with LCC to improve SEND in Lincolnshire have written an article entitled “‘She doesn’t look autistic’ – bias, and what we can do about it” for their National team highlighting the issue . It is worth a read and remembering that Lincs parents have prompted the article in a company which works with numerous Local Authorities and NHS across the Country.
If you would like a read, it is an interesting short article and also highlights and issue of parents with children with SEND conflicting based upon the visibility / lack of visibility of a child’s SEND.

Learning to see the light after Lockdown

April -July 2021

A fourth series of "virtual" Hypnotherapy sessions with Nicole from Hummingbird Hypnotherapy.

After the success of our third series of Hypnotherapy sessions with Nicole, members of LPCF were excited to start on the fourth series.

LPCF Members were given the opportunity to attend these FREE sessions taking place during the evening.

Eight fortnightly sessions were held covering topics such as "How my brain works", Confidence and self esteem, Finding your joy and Boundaries, to name but a few.

An evaluation form was completed by members so Trustees could monitor whether to add more sessions.
Due to the positive comments and success of the sessions more sessions are being held in 2021.(see events page for more details)

One member commented about the session on Change and transition "It was a big step for me when I first joined as I was new to zoom and didn't know anyone. Now my fear isn't going online and "being live", it's what will I do if the zoom sessions stop as they've made such a difference to me and I can only describe it as "Being weighed down" if I miss a session and go 4 weeks between.
I can contribute and be active when I want to and when I feel tired and weary from life, like today after my first trip into town with my son, I can be quiet and concentrate on listening and nodding and smiling without
fear of questioning or judging, just content listening and leave calm and relaxed. Thank you

Another member commented "Really good session on looking after other people’s mental health. Especially useful spotting the signs.
An LPCF volunteer also gave lots of information about trauma services. Thanks Nicole and LPCF".

Nicole also wrote and presented a special workshop specifically for the LPCF membership on "How to stay positive".The two hour workshop gave parents a chance to explore what positivity looks like for them and give them lots of tips to increase it in their lives.

One parent commented "Fabulous session as always. Nicole is so positive and happy.
Practical and useful strategies you can use every day” .
More feedback is included in this report

Excellence Award Winners

Coaches Beth and Sharon proudly display their Excellence Award certificate with the young person they have supported at Royal Vulcans Cheer and Dance.

The group were nominated by the young person's parent to pay tribute to the group who have provided support and encouraged achievements in overcoming SEND issues to allow the young person to achieve and flourish.

Do you know of an individual or organisation who have excelled in providing for children with SEND?
It could be a TA, School, GP setting, community group, business, taxi driver ....
Make sure they get recognised by nominating them on the LPCF website in the feedback section

Who knows they may be the next SEND hero we highlight.

Parents Voice

Our extensive quarterly round up of what parents have been saying about Health, Education, Transport, EHC Plans, Leisure, Social Care, Covid- 19 etc.

This edition of our Parents Voice is again a large document demonstrating a wide range of feedback from parents.
Also in this edition we have the winners of the LPCF Excellence Award along with all of the nominations. Check it out it could be you!!

We have again used our "Feedback Friday" polls to gather more information from our closed parents only Facebook page. This simple polling system means that more people can give us their feedback.

The April to June report for 2021 can be found here.
For other Parents Voice reports please have a look in our extensive library or check back through our Achievements pages or our library page.

The Journey of Co-production

Lincolnshire Parent Carer Forum has a well proved track record of co-production with the Local Authority but is continuing in its journey to work with the NHS and its partners to fully reach this goal with some positive progress to date.

LPCF see the that the NHS is an immensely large and complex entity (the largest employer in Europe) and hence effecting change is like trying to stop an oil tanker and turn it around, hoping not to get stuck in the Suez Canal – it takes time, patience and skills.

To read more about this journey please click here

LPCF AGM

24th June 2021

LPCF held its AGM where the 2020-21 Annual Report and Accounts were presented.

Volunteers and Trustees were thanked for the enormous amount of volunteer time given during the year.

Our year in numbers was presented detailing the work undertaken over the last year:-

3928 hours given to our forum last year.

267 meetings attended by our volunteers

Trustees were elected for the forthcoming year.
Other partners were thanked for their co production with LPCF.

Sheridan Dodsworth (Head of SEND Lincolnshire County Council) and Eileen McMorrow (LCC Special Schools Strategy Programme Manager) were invited to talk about Co producing SEND transformation in Lincolnshire.

Annual Report
Minutes of AGM

Volunteer Engagement Day

8th June 2021

LPCF held its June Volunteer/Trustee engagement day virtually this time due to Covid-19.

A team of eight volunteers joined together to learn about the initiatives that the Charity has been working on and to look at its current priorities.

The team were given the usual update on the meetings that volunteers and trustees have been attending and the outcomes that have been achieved.
The transformation work in SEND was discussed at length as LPCF have been at the heart of the work, feeding back the views of parents on the membership.

Along with the Local Authority, Impower and partners LPCF have been involved in this additional programme of work to identify new ways to support schools, parents/carers and other professionals to successfully deliver the best outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs in a sustainable way.

Impower who are leading this work attended LPCF's "Week of SEND" to inform members about the projects progress so far, collect the views of the membership and to thank volunteers for their involvement in the work.

Thanks was expressed by the Chair to the team for all their hard work in supporting parents of children with SEND in Lincolnshire.

Behaviours of Concern

March /April 2021

In partnership with LPCF, Chris from Aspens delivered two workshops for parents and professionals about behaviours of concern.
This subject had been identified by parents on our membership as an area that they would like workshops on especially over the challenging year of Covid-19.

During both of the two hour workshops Chris covered:-

• Common Causes
• Behaviour as a form of communication and how to establish what they are saying
• High Levels of anxiety & behaviours of concern
• What are behaviours and behaviours of concern
• Putting a plan in place and how to help

The interactive sessions gave attendees a chance to ask about the difficulties they were experiencing and gain some useful strategies and techniques to explore after the workshop.

One parent commented "It was very interesting and I felt more positive than I’d felt for a long while.
Gave me techniques to use and it’s already proving a bit better in the house and my son seems to be responding in a better way.
The speaker knew his stuff and was nice to listen to. It would be nice to have a session just about teens. Thank you".

Parents Voice

11th April 2021

Our extensive quarterly round up of what parents have been saying about Health, Education, Transport, EHC Plans, Leisure, Social Care, Covid- 19 etc.

This edition of our Parents Voice is again a large document demonstrating a wide range of feedback from parents.
We have a used our "Feedback Friday" polls to gather more information from our closed parents only Facebook page. This simple polling system means that more people can give us their feedback.

The January to March report for 2021 can be found here.
For other Parents Voice reports please have a look in our extensive library or check back through our Achievements pages or our library page.

Parents Resource Library Launched

1st April 2021

Despite Covid and lockdown LPCF have not rested in keeping things going and engaging with both Professionals and Parents. During the successful Week of SEND in January it was identified that parents wanted much of the essential information provided in slideshows and presentations.

As a result, and following a short consultation with services, LPCF agreed to host a new webpage dedicated to information essential for parents from respective services.

The library will hold core documents from various organisations and services such as explanatory leaflets, FAQ Sheets, Tips and Tricks, Parents crib sheets, worksheets etc.

N.B. The library does not include documents such as event diaries which change regularly.

Learning to see the light during Lockdown

Jan-March 2021

A third series of "virtual" Hypnotherapy sessions with Nicole from Hummingbird Hypnotherapy.

After the success of our second series of Hypnotherapy sessions with Nicole members of LPCF were excited to start on the third series.

LPCF Members were still given the opportunity to attend these FREE sessions taking place during the evening.

Mindfulness, goal setting, Anxiety, Motivation & Low mood were among the topics covered by the sessions.

An evaluation form was completed by members so Trustees could monitor whether to add more sessions.
Due to the positive comments and success of the sessions more sessions are being held in 2021.(see events page for more details)

One member commented about the session on priorities-"Loved the session about making me a priority. Also making us accountable so that we make ourselves do it and it is a non negotiable. Lovely to see some new faces amongst us".

Another member commented "Love the idea of sitting in the car and having a mindful moment before I go in the supermarket etc. so I'm "in the moment" and make better choices rather than pick up the usual "wrong things"/poor choices again on autopilot. This is becoming my new habit!"

Nicole also wrote and presented a special workshop specifically for the LPCF membership on "the discomfort of personal knowledge & building personal attributes".The two hour workshop gave parents time and space to think about themselves.

One parent commented "Extra-long session this week and what a tonic. Lots of humour and laughter along with learning about what my personal strengths are and what I have got to work on. Nicole wrote this especially for LPCF parents and it was truly amazing - so thank you Nicole".
More feedback is included in this report

What makes us tick?

29th March 2021

In partnership with Hil, LPCF developed workshops for parents about the issues that have been identified by our membership over the last few years.

This workshop was part of this work and was titled “exploring our boundaries and learning about our core values to enable us to support ourselves and our families.”
This workshop consisted of a 90-minute interactive workshop hosted by LPCF on the Zoom platform.

One parent commented "I've never really thought about what I value so very interesting to discover myself.

My big 7 are self-worth and acceptance, friends and family, space for me/me-time, clear communication, loyalty, consistent, respect. Others I value are be heard and share the load, trust, fairness, commitment - people do what they say! and positivity".

Training for LPCF volunteers

March 2021

The workshops were funded by the NHS for parent carer forums and covered four main areas: networking, influencing, presenting and personal resilience.

Selling the message of how important parent carer forums are in co producing with partners was the target of the first session.

The second workshop explored the topic of influencing and looked at it's importance and how it can be very challenging.
The third workshop covered presenting and look at the changing landscape of presentations now they are virtual.

The last workshop covered practical strategies for building resilience.This was emphasised due to the toll the current pandemic has taken on many parents.

Reaccreditation of Carers Quality Award

LPCF are proud to announce that we have been re accredited with the Carers Quality Award.


Assessor Every One

Well Done Team

LPCF 1st Ever virtual "Week of SEND"

25th January -29th January

A successful first ever virtual "week of SEND" was held by the LPCF team.
The aim of the event was to provide as much information as possible on as many subjects as possible during the week and also to address any concerns parents had about the support in Lincolnshire.

The sessions were held all day and into the evening to ensure that as much flexibility for attendance was given to parents and professionals during the challenging times of Lockdown.
There were 21 sessions in total , including 65 organisations who showcased their offers of support in 10 minute slots or presented in one of the eleven interactive workshops held during the week.


Participants were asked to complete an evaluation to provide feedback to LPCF about the event, which has been collated in the report herewith for your information.

LPCF would like to thank the 360+ people who attended throughout the week and everyone who was involved in making the event a success. We couldn't have done it without you. Roll on January 2022!

"Waving not drowning"

Parents workshops with Hil Gibb

In partnership with Hil, LPCF developed workshops for parents about the issues that have been identified by our membership over the last couple of years. The series was aimed at parents who wished to have fun, meet other parent carers that want to make life easier for them and learn new strategies that can make a real difference to their lives.

Each workshop consisted of a 1- hour interactive workshop on Zoom, which on most occasions continued after the hour had elapsed.

Due to the National Lockdown and the effects of Covid -19 on the families on the membership the LPCF Trustees took the decision not to charge for these workshops.

Two taster sessions took place in October and November and the course started weekly from Wednesday January 6th 2021 at 1pm.

Due to the positive comments and success of the sessions more sessions are being held in April & May during the evening.(see events page for more details)

One member commented:-
"Thought the human response to change was interesting and the fact that we can use it for any situation. Also, the fact that I need to identify my triggers and avert them.
The most powerful part of the session was the discussion on the fact that nobody can make you feel something - the choice and power lies with me. Useful to hear that I am not alone in the journey and many other parents are experiencing the same feeling as me".

Another member commented:-
"Hil is top grade in relating to people and how they interact with life through easy to understand examples and whilst she leads towards certain thought processes and practice, she always acknowledges room to adapt and adopt as individual circumstances apply.
It's almost like life coaching but for real world situations rather than just the theoretical"

More feedback is included in this report

Parents Voice

16th February 2021

Our extensive quarterly round up of what parents have been saying about Health, Education, Transport, EHC Plans, Leisure, Social Care etc

This edition of our Parents Voice is again a large document demonstrating a wide range of feedback from parents.

The October to December report for 2020 can be found here.
For other Parents Voice reports please have a look in our extensive library or check back through our Achievements pages or our library page.

Feedback Friday

LPCF now have a large Facebook following so we have decided to collect the views of our membership every Friday using a quick and simple Facebook poll.

We ask members a question and they have a few options to choose from. This enables LPCF to develop a picture of what life is like for parents in Lincolnshire. The questions vary each week and parents are also given the option to add comments.

This ensures that LPCF is able to represent the views of our membership accurately during these challenging times.

If you are a member of LPCF you are eligible to join our "parents only" closed Facebook page and please keep your feedback coming.