Lincolnshire Parent Carer Forum
Lincolnshire Parent Carer Forum
admin@lincspcf.org.uk LPCF, PO Box 1183,
Spalding, PE11 9EE
Registered Charity No. 1141060 * ICO Registration Z1810966
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2025
LPCF Parents' Voice
April to June 2025
Our extensive quarterly round up of what parents have been saying about Health, Education, Transport, EHC Plans, Leisure, Social Care etc.In this edition of parents' we have easy to read sections for Education , Health & Social Care separated to hopefully make it easier to read.
We are now housing all of the responses to the feedback you give us in the Parents Voice from professionals on the LPCF Website>Information>Feedback from professionals page.
In this edition we have lots of comments on the following:-
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 comments from our workshops can now be seen on the library page of the LPCF website.
The April to June report 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.
Lincolnshire Parent Carer Forum
Find out what we do
15th July 2025
This workshop was designed to introduce attendees—both parents/carers and professionals—to the work of Lincolnshire Parent Carer Forum (LPCF). The aim was to provide a clear overview of LPCF’s mission, membership benefits, and the various ways individuals can engage with and contribute to the forum’s work.
By attending the workshop, attendees gained an insight into the role and remit of LPCF, found out about how LPCF gather the views of the membership and the ways in which they use them to inform practice.
Attendees were also given guidance on what signposting and support LPCF could offer and information about what LPCF were not able to support with.
One parent commented " I now fully understand the Lincolnshire Parent Carer Forum and how this can be used by both parents/carers and professionals. I have learnt how important it is for parents to be aware of this service and how invaluable the support you are able to offer really is. I have learnt about the workshops that are on offer and also how to navigate the website which has a wealth of information and signposting.
Please see the report published on the library page of the website
Juggling the Joys of Parenting!
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Parents Workshops with Hil Gibb
November 2024 to June 2025
In partnership with Hil, LPCF developed workshops for parents about the issues that have been identified by the membership over the last few years. The series was aimed at parents who wished to have fun, meet other parent carers that want to make life easier for themselves and learn new strategies that can make a real difference to their lives.
Each workshop consisted of a 90 minute interactive workshop on Zoom.
These workshops were free to parents on the LPCF membership.
LPCF are looking to hold more sessions for parents in the near future.
End of Series Summary
Parenting with Insight: Understanding Ourselves to Better Support Our Children.
Over the course of this powerful and reflective programme, participants explored how deeper self-awareness, emotional insight, and practical strategies can transform both their parenting and their personal well-being. Across the eight sessions, a strong sense of community, compassion, and shared experience emerged, providing a supportive space for honest conversations and lasting growth.
A recurring theme was the importance of self-compassion—learning to speak to ourselves with the same kindness we offer our children. Participants became more aware of their inner critic, emotional triggers, and the impact of past expectations, particularly around parenting children with SEND or additional needs. Many found comfort in recognising they are not alone in their struggles.
The series offered a wide range of practical tools—from improving communication and preparing for difficult meetings, to building resilience and reframing challenges. Participants reflected on their values, how these influence their reactions, and how to better understand those around them, including their children. Learning to let go of things outside their control and embracing individual communication styles proved especially impactful.
There was a strong focus on reclaiming identity and making space for self-care, with encouragement to take small, manageable steps toward personal well-being. The sessions also highlighted the importance of presence—being “in the now”—and finding value in small actions and mindset shifts.
Across all sessions, the tone remained warm, non-judgemental, and inclusive. Participants praised the facilitators, particularly Hil, for creating a space where people felt safe to share and supported to grow.
Peer insights were just as valuable as expert guidance, with many expressing gratitude for the openness and honesty shown by the group.
As the series came to an end, there was a clear sense of personal progress and readiness to continue the journey. Many left feeling more equipped to navigate family life with calm, clarity, and confidence and looked forward to future opportunities to learn, reflect, and connect.
More feedback is included in this report
LPCF Wellbeing sessions
Feb - June 2025
A series of "virtual" Wellbeing sessions with Nicole from Hummingbird Hypnotherapy.
After the success of our last series of Hypnotherapy sessions with Nicole, members of LPCF were excited to start on the next series commencing in February 2025.
These sessions were kindly grant funded by Lincolnshire County Council to help improve parents wellbeing.
LPCF Members were given the opportunity to attend these FREE sessions taking place during the evening.
Seven sessions were held covering topics such as Boundaries, Daily Positivity and Relaxation and rest.
An evaluation form was completed by members so Trustees could monitor the usefulness of the sessions.
Due to the positive comments and success of the sessions monthly sessions are being held from September 2025 (see events page for more details).
One member commented about the session on how to manage expectations "I absolutely love the hypnotherapy session. I think I was so exhausted this time that during the hypnotherapy session I had completely fallen asleep. I had a really good night sleep though as my mind seemed much less busy and more settled and I noticed I felt much more positive and able todeal more calmly with obstacles during the day with my SEN child. Many thanks for the extra recorded session, I’m definitely going to be using this. Unfortunately due to date change of these sessions and my work commitments I won’t be able to attend the Thursday sessions which is a real shame as really felt the 2 sessions I have attended has helped me"
Another member commented "I have learned if I am feeling overwhelmed to just stop and take a moment and think about the positives that have happened that day or even that week. Sometimes dealing with my children has made me find myself being severely overwhelmed and I do take it out on those around me.
Its taught me to be more present and be more patient. And take the little positives as a win."
A relaxation followed each session where parents were encouraged to take some time for themselves.
Special LPCF wellbeing page
LPCF have developed a private page on the website just for LPCF members who attend the Hypnotherapy sessions. On the page are the links to the sessions, Nicole's PowerPoints and some useful resources to keep members informed between sessions. Some resources have also been donated by LPCF to use between the sessions. Book recommendations and helpful articles and videos will also be added.
More feedback is included in this report
LPCF AGM
25th June 2025
LPCF held its AGM where the 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts were presented.
Volunteers and Trustees were thanked for the enormous amount of volunteer time given during the year.
A quick overview of the Annual report was given by the Chair.
This included mention of the Increase in membership of 23% increase despite the normal erasures to comply with GDPR.
The LPCF State of SEND Survey received over 500 responses – findings will be published shortly.The LPCF Week of SEND again had over 300 attendees but it was disappointing to see the overall attendance of parents declining.
The Pins project was mentioned where Lincolnshire delivered a gold standard Pins project to schools in Boston & South Holland but
unfortunately came at a considerable cost to LPCF's Charity resources and wellbeing.
The Ofsted and CQC inspection also coincided with the Week of SEND which placed additional demands on the forum, however, the views of the membership were still represented by LPCF Volunteers and Trustees, who used every opportunity to inform Ofsted and CQC.
Partners were thanked for their co production with LPCF.
All volunteers and Trustees were thanked for their dedication to LPCF and its mission over the last year.
Trustees were elected for the forthcoming year.
The Annual Accounts were presented by the Chair and are available on the library page of the LPCF website.
Annual Report
Workshop on Transitions
with LCC Specialist Teaching Team
Monday 9th June 2025
Transition to Secondary School
As part of LPCF's ongoing commitment to supporting children through key educational transitions, LPCF invited the Specialist Teaching Team and the Dyslexia Outreach Service to deliver a free online workshop for parents and carers of children with SEND transferring from primary to secondary school.
This workshop was held to provide guidance and reassurance to families during what can be a challenging and emotional period.
The session aimed to:
• Equip parents and carers with practical strategies to help prepare their child for the move.
• Share insights into common concerns and how to address them.
• Foster confidence in families so they can support their child effectively both emotionally and academically.
• Highlight available support services and how to access them.
One parent commented "The session covered a lot of topics and was well paced.
I learnt:
Homework expectations can be discussed / adapted.
What a student passport is and that it's a two way work in progress document.
Organisational tools home and school (glue stick and colour coding and in/out trays great ideas).
Another parent commented "Really helpful and felt reassured that other children with similar learning needs as my son go through the schooling system with support and he's not alone- help is there! Really approachable and informative presenters.
A big thank you to Odette and Jane for presenting this informative and helpful workshop.
LPCF's Parents' Voice
January to March 2025
Our extensive quarterly round up of what parents have been saying about Health, Education, Transport, EHC Plans, Leisure, Social Care etc.In this edition of parents' we have easy to read sections for Education , Health & Social Care separated to hopefully make it easier to read.
We are now housing all of the responses to the feedback you give us in the Parents Voice from professionals on the LPCF Website>Information>Feedback from professionals page.
In this edition we have lots of comments on the following:-
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 comments from our workshops can now be seen on the library page of the LPCF website.
The October to December report 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.
Workshop on Toilet Skills
with the LCC Continence Service
23rd April 2025
LPCF invited the LCC Continence Service to present a workshop around toilet skills to help parents and professionals address the issues around this often sensitive topic.
One parent commented " It was an amazing workshop. The woman who gave information in the workshop was great and answered any questions given! I would highly recommend.
Another parent commented "Very interesting and useful session, lots of tips for me to take away and put into practice. Lots of time given at the end to ask questions and receive answers.
A big thank you to Amy for presenting this informative and helpful workshop.
LPCFs Week of SEND 2025
Monday 27th January to Friday 31st January 2025
A successful fifth virtual "Week of SEND" was held in January.
The aim of the yearly event is to provide as much information as possible on as many subjects as possible and to give organisations the chance to showcase the enormous amount of support available in Lincolnshire.
The sessions were held throughout the day, during the evening and at the weekend to ensure that as much flexibility for attendance was given to parents and professionals.
There were 15 sessions in total, including 70, 10 minute presentations from a diverse range of organisations showcasing their offers of support over the week.
The accessible Zoom platform was utilised so participants could access sessions from the comfort of their own home.
One participant commented "Hope it is going well. It really is a great opportunity for parents and carers to find out more about the various
support that's available across Lincolnshire for CYP & adults with SEND."
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.
Any resources, presentations or publicity flyers were uploaded onto the parental resources page of the LPCF website.
LPCF would like to thank the parents and professionals who attended throughout the week and everyone who was involved in making the event a success. We couldn't have done it without you.
LPCF Excellence Award Winners
July to Dec 24
Congratulations to Marie Tiwari, SENCo, who was awarded first place in the LPCF Excellence awards.
Laura Leighton, OT was awarded second place and Kayley from Bearhugs Nursery was awarded third place.
A special excellence award for Bebright Pre School for being nominated by 4 parents in the six month award period was also presented.
The awards are voted on by the Trustees and volunteers of LPCF every 6 months.
Well done to all nominations for going above and beyond for families of children with SEND. For full details of all the listings click on the blue link to see the July - Dec nominations.
The Role of Liaise and the Graduated Approach (SEN Support)
with Liaise
30th January 2025
As part of the LPCF “Week of SEND” LPCF invited Liaise to talk about The Role of Liaise and the Graduated Approach(SEN Support).
Liaise were invited as they are the information,advice and support services for Lincolnshire for families of children with SEND and trained to help parents navigate SEND law.
This virtual workshop gave an introduction to Liaise, the law and the
2015 SEND Code of Practice, information about the SEND funding schools receive and highlighted the importance of early Identification of SEND.
25 parents & professionals booked themselves onto the session, with 15 attending.
4 people gave their apologies before the event started.
One parent commented "I didn’t know about Liaise and the support they offered and it’s good they help with young people up until 25. Independence from the local council is good.
Another parent commented "I have armed myself with all the advice and feel more able to support my child’s learning or at least know where to go for more advice.
Promoting Positive Behaviour
with Aspens
30th January 2025
As part of the LPCF “Week of SEND” LPCF invited Chris from Aspens to talk about Promoting Positive Behaviour. This virtual workshop explored:-
· What are behaviours of concern.
· The types of behaviours that may be displayed (such as verbal and physical aggression, breaking objects, escape and avoidance and self-neglect).
· What happens physically to a child when displaying these behaviours.
· How to establish what the behaviour may be telling us.
· Why they may happen.
· How to put a plan into place, as well as some strategies that may help reduce such behaviours and promote positive ones.
38 parents & professionals booked themselves onto the session, with 23 attending.
7 people gave their apologies before the session started
One parent commented "I have learnt lots of useful information in last nights zoom session ‘promoting positive behaviour’
I found particularly helpful the different strategies that I can use to help my daughter calm quicker and prevent / pre plan for to help the reduction in negative behaviours. It was also very interesting to lean about the fight flight freeze and how it works in relation to the build in behaviours.
I found this particularly helpful. I will also be purchasing some emotion cards for my daughter and better explain the different feelings we might have with her and how she can let people know around her how she’s feeling in a safe way."
Another parent commented "Thank you so much,found the session really useful and already I feel as though I have more understanding to deal with certain situations, it's given me a lot to think about. The 'assault cycle' was interesting as well as talking about pro active strategies."
One professional commented "As a professional I found the session very interesting and will certainly signpost more of my parents to join the group.
The links to resources was very useful and will be used in my sessions with parents."
Anxiety
with LPFT
29th January 2025
As part of the LPCF “Week of SEND” LPCF invited LPFT to talk about Anxiety.
This virtual workshop explored supporting children and young people with their worries.
There was a whistle stop tour of how anxiety may present in children and some helpful hints and tips on how parents and carers can support the child/young persons toolkit for managing those big feelings
48 parents & professionals booked themselves onto the session, with 29 attending.
1 person gave their apologies before the event started.
One parent commented "Interesting to read the comments from other parents and carers and see the strategies that they have used with their child.
Obviously, not all will work with my child but it's worth trying some of them".
Another parent commented "This was the best LPCF session I have attended, all credit to the speakers. Thank you"
One professional commented "I found it useful to learn about the different ways anxiety can look in children. Being a SENCo in an early years setting I come across a wide variety of different children.
I liked hearing about the different approaches in supporting the children and I appreciated that others on the course sharing their own personal experiences and what works for them as I have minimal experience in supporting children with anxiety myself".
Transformation in SEND
with LCC SEND Team
29th January 2025
As part of the LPCF “Week of SEND” LPCF invited the LCC SEND Team to talk about the Transformation in SEND.
LCC were invited to discuss the exciting initiatives being developed which included:
Discover the achievements so far and delve into exciting plans for the next phase.
47 parents & professionals booked themselves onto the session, with 25 attending.
10 people gave their apologies before the event started.
One parent commented "A really helpful session and it was good to hear about the changes happening to try and provide better provision for our children.
Another parent commented "Many new initiatives being explored by LCC which is exciting and very creative.
Lots of investment too at a time when other authorities are going bankrupt".
Please see the report published on the library page of the website
Lincolnshire Parent Carer Forum
Find out what we do
28th January 2025
As part of the LPCF “Week of SEND” LPCF gave parents and professionals the opportunityto find out more about LPCF.
By attending the workshop, attendees gained an insight into the role and remit of LPCF,found out about how LPCF gather the views of the membership and the ways in which they use them to inform practice.
Attendees were also given guidance on what signposting and support LPCF could offer and information about what LPCF were not able to support with.
One parent commented "Learnt everything about what LPCF is about and has to offer and that it is a central hub that is in harmony with organisations which takes information from parents and helps fills the gaps of what services are missing.
Another parent commented "So pleased that this was raised to my attention and I now know this whole new world that is available to me. I was not aware of at all. The hosts were lovely".
Please see the report published on the library page of the website
Workshop on Working with schools to support your child
with the Specialist Teaching team, Inclusion Team & Dyslexia Outreach
27th January 2025
As part of the LPCF "Week of SEND" LPCF invited the Specialist Teaching Team, Inclusion Team & Dyslexia Outreach to present a workshop around working with schools to support your child's learning.
This workshop was designed with STT as a result of feedback from the recent Pins project.
By attending this workshop, parents gained the confidence to support their child's learning journey effectively and also gave them the opportunity to ask the experienced team any questions they had.
One parent commented " I have definitely learned that cooperation with the school is very important, that we should really support our children at home. These workshops showed me what to pay attention to, where I can turn for help. The workshops showed me that I shouldn't be afraid to ask questions, especially when I don't understand something. I should definitely prepare for meetings, write down the questions that we want to ask, e.g. Senco. I learned a lot from this and I thank you for your help.
Another parent commented "I have learnt more about the importance of a positive school/ parent partnership and the support available for parents during transitions and the provision of access arrangements.".
Please see the report published on the library page of the website
LPCF Parents' Voice
October to December 24
Our extensive quarterly round up of what parents have been saying about Health, Education, Transport, EHC Plans, Leisure, Social Care etc.In this edition of parents' feedback we have changed the format slightly with sections for Education , Health & Social Care separated to hopefully make it easier to read.
A section at the beginning of the report has been dedicated to professionals who have kindly commented on your views directed to them, in the previous edition of the parents' voice.
In this edition we have lots of comments on the following:-
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.
We also have selected a few comments from our latest workshops.
The October to December report 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.