Welcome to the PCAN! We are the independent, parent-led forum in Kirklees for all parents and carers of children and young people with additional needs aged from birth to 25 years.
You are in the right place to find lots of good information, links to social media for networking with other parents, and to help us to develop a strong, collective voice so that we can work in partnership with service providers across Kirklees. Together we can improve services for our children and young people with additional needs!
We welcome all parents or carers, whether you are just beginning to become aware that your child or young person may have additional needs, or if they have confirmed diagnosis or disability.
It is free to join, so please click the “join us” link above!
WACKY offers a packed programme of activities for young people with disabilities aged 10 – 25yrs to take part in over the summer holiday. Projects will be based at Little Deer Wood Activity Centre Shepley Bridge Marina, Huddersfield Road, Mirfield. WF14 9HR. Activities will run between Monday 21st July and Friday 22nd August from 10.30am – 3.30pm, please below for a full list of dates.
Give them a ring for more information about supporting your child. The link to the booking form can be found here
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) are visiting Kirklees, as part of an inspection. They will be looking at arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
The inspection takes place w/c 16th June. Prior to their visit, they would like to hear your views about the support that your child receives, or the support you receive if you are a young person with SEND in Kirklees, aged 11-25. You can provide your views by completing an online survey at the following link:
This needs to be returned by 5 pm on Monday 9th June. You will be advised how you can get this back when you order the paper copy.
If you have more than one child with SEND please complete the survey for each one. They want to find out what is working well and what isn’t working well across any education, health and social care support that your child receives. It will include questions about your child’s age, additional needs, and any support they get for their education, health and care needs and their social life, and to prepare them for the next stage of their life. If you have more than one child with additional needs, please complete a survey for each one. The survey is anonymous and your details will not be shared with anyone. If you want to find out more about Area Inspections, what they do, what they are for and how they work, please click here
If you are not very sure about completing a survey online or need some help, we can support you in various ways:
We are holding Zoom meetings on the dates and times below:
We can go through the questions with you and add your answers.
It is important that as many people as possible complete the survey so please share this page within your networks! If you have any other queries, please contact us here
Do you want to make a difference in the lives of families who have children and young adults with additional needs? Join our positive, dedicated team and help make a meaningful impact. Your time and support could make all the difference!
PCAN is a registered charity and as such requires Trustees to be in place to oversee the charity’s activities and spending.
Being a Trustee is not too onerous and can be fun – you would need to attend around 4 meetings per year to help decide PCAN’s activities, monitor our progress and make decisions about how we spend our funding. If you are interested, please drop us an email and we will get back to you. Most of our Trustees must be parent carers, however, you can be a Trustee if you have special skills that would be of benefit to the Charity.
Volunteers are really helpful to our families: you can volunteer at events, doing meet and greet, assisting with refreshments, helping people find information, support us with publicity/social media/newsletters/website – all sort of things! Again please email us with your details and we can arrange a chat.
PCAN’s Annual General Meeting is taking place on Tuesday 5th November at Northorpe Hall, Mirfield starting 9.30 am. We will have a guest speaker, lunch will be provided, and we aim to finish around 1 PM.
Agenda
9.30 Arrival and refreshments 10.00 Share PCAN Trustees Report 10.30 Guest Speaker Jo-Anne Sanders 10.50 Q & A 11.15 PCAN Financial Report Appointments/resignations Any other Business 12.00 Lunch and chance to chat with other parents 13.00 Close
The PCAN AGM gives us chance to tell you about what PCAN is doing to support families of children with SEND across Kirklees. Our guest speaker Jo-Anne Sanders is the Service Director for Learning and Early Support. She will be talking about the changes that have been made within Kirklees to improve systems and answer questions (please note that she will not be able to respond to queries about individual cases at the event).
The following organisations will be on hand to offer support and advice:
KIAS (Kirklees Independent Advice and Information – Education issues)
Kirklees Local Offer: The Local Offer provides information for all families of children with SEND aged 0-25. Colleagues from the Local Offer team will there to offer help and support to find information you might need.
Carers Count is the support service for all carers in Kirklees and can offer lots of valuable advice and information.
