NNPCF Conference - Sheffield -Feb '26

Back from a trip to Sheffield this week for the National Network of Parent Carer Forums and Contact joint conference.

It was a really valuable opportunity to meet up with other parent carer forums from across the country and to spend time with representatives from the Department for Education. This included Claire Burton, Director for SEND and AP, and members of her team, who joined us for the full day and took part in workshops to hear directly from forums. Claire spoke about the current SEND landscape and reaffirmed her and her team’s commitment to improving outcomes for children and young people.

The afternoon session was opened by Georgia Gould, Minister for School Standards, who recognised the dedication and hard work of parent carer forums and the NNPCF in representing lived experience. The Minister remained for a workshop on SEND reforms and reflected positively on the focused and constructive feedback shared about the challenges families are facing.

There was no further update on the publication of the SEND White Paper, other than confirmation that there will be a 12 week consultation period once it is released.

Watch this space for information about how you can get involved with the consultation when the White Paper is eventually published.