Parents' and children's voices get louder in Rotherham

They've been at the forefront of the creation of a new Rotherham Charter for Parent and Child Voice.

The Charter outlines a new standard for schools and services to reach in how they involve parents and children in their work and how they can ensure honest and open communication with them.

Rotherham Parent Carers' Forum, representatives of a wide range of services, schools and Governors have worked together on the new Charter, which is part of an Innovative Practice Project funded by the Department for Education - one of just six in the country, and unique in being the only project informed entirely by the views of local parents and children.

The Charter was launched at an event in Rotherham today (Wednesday) where parents, schools, and representatives of services and interest groups gathered to find out about how the Charter could recognise their current good practice, as well as help them develop further their partnerships with parents and children. 

Jayne Fitzgerald, from the Rotherham Parent Carers Forum said: "Led by parents of children with additional needs, all parents at a school or involved with a service have an opportunity to have A VOICE."

"That means they can create, along with those schools and services, a Rotherham where inclusive practices are commonplace and where all families can spend more time celebrating the gift of their children and their achievements."

Councillor Paul Lakin, Cabinet Member for Safeguarding and Developing Learning Opportunities for Children said: "As public organisations and schools look to work even more closely with their communities it's important that parents and children know what can be achieved and how they can make their voice heard.

"This Charter will help us all share good practice and ensure that communication really is a two-way street in those communities."

The work on the Charter followed the publication last year of the Lamb Inquiry into Special Educational Needs and Parental Confidence. Initially the focus of the Rotherham Charter was the parents of children with additional needs. It is now recognised, locally and nationally, that the Charter applies to our work with all parents and children.

Brian Lamb OBE, Chair of the Lamb Inquiry, has enthusiastically endorsed the Rotherham Charter: "This project has been part of the ongoing work following on from the Inquiry into Parental Confidence supporting innovative approaches to the involvement of parents.

"Ensuring that parents have a real voice in the development of services and the opportunity to work closely in partnership with professionals is fundamental to improving parental confidence and outcomes for children with SEN.

"I am therefore delighted to see the Charter for Parent and Child Voice that has been developed through collaboration with parents, schools and Services. The Charter is a brilliant illustration of what can be achieved if parents are brought into the process and involved in decision making about their children.

"This is not only relevant for parents of children with SEN but should serve as a focus for Children's Services as it has done here."

Six schools have already piloted Charter support materials and have spoken positively about using them in developing partnerships with parents.  It is now hoped that all schools and services will commit to achieving the Charter, with outstanding practice being awarded 'Charter Gold'.

Those schools and organisations which use the Charter will be able to assess how effectively they communicate with parents and children. They can also use resources which include examples of good practice and training modules for staff.