25/09/2025
💛I don’t often share about my volunteering role here, but this feels important and I need your help.
Alongside my business and being a mum to 3, I’m proud to be Co-Chair of Derby SEND Voice: the official Parent Carer Forum for Derby City.
Our role? Simple but vital:
👉 Bringing the lived experience of Derby SEND families (0–25yrs) into strategic discussions across health, education & social care.
👉 Making sure services are shaped with families, not just for them.
👉 Creating genuine co-production, not tokenism.
In just our first year we’ve:
✨ Run a SEND Marketplace with 300+ families & services
✨ Delivered free parent workshops on EHCPs, finances, sleep & transitions
✨ Hosted social events like cuppa & chats and even a silent gig!
But here’s the thing ⬇️
Right now, most of our voices come from parents of neurodivergent children - which is awesome as we do make up the majority of ‘need’ across our city. It’s vital but SEND is broader. It includes hearing & visual impairments, physical disabilities, complex health needs and more.
Here in Derby we even have the Royal School for the Deaf, yet our Forum has almost no representation from the hearing-impaired community. Without this diversity of voices, services risk being shaped by too narrow a picture of SEND.
💛 Membership is FREE.
💛 Open to any Derby City (not Derbyshire sorry) parent carer (no diagnosis needed).
💛 You can be involved as much or as little as you like.
So here’s my ask:
➡️ If you’re a SEND parent in Derby — join us!
➡️ If you’re a professional or service provider — please share so we can reach more families.
Because every SEND journey deserves to be represented. 🌈
📩 For more info or a membership form, email: [email protected] or head to our page.