Documents and information on this page are of general interest. PaCC is part of the National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF); some documents and information have been provided by one of the many parent carers forums active in England. If you need specific information and support around your child and your family’s needs please contact SENDIASS, Amaze’s advice line at [email protected] or call 01273 772289 (open Monday to Friday 9.30am to 2.30pm).
Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) would like to thanks everyone who responded to the recent engagement about Day Opportunities in the city. BHCC is recommissioning Day Services in the city for adults with learning disabilities who may be autistic and for neurodivergent adults without a learning disability, who may be autistic. To gather ideas,[...] Read More
A celebration of people and organisations who have helped SEND families in 2024 Our annual PaCC Awards celebrate and recognise the people and organisations who went that extra mile to be there for you. Huge thanks to all who sent in nominations – as ever the shortlisting panel had a difficult job choosing the winners![...] Read More
Social care update Short Breaks Holiday Activity programme PaCC recognise that Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) commissioners continue to look at developing the Short Breaks Activity programme that started in the Spring term of 2024. This provision was created in direct response to Extratime and Barnardos closing in Brighton & Hove. BHCC’s aims are[...] Read More
PaCC is changing We’re sharing some important updates about changes we’re making at PaCC. These changes are essential to ensure we can continue to support families in Brighton & Hove effectively, despite challenges such as increased demand for our work, and reduced funding. Why are we making changes? Increased demand: The number of SEND-related areas[...] Read More
Reflections from the OAP Co-Production Launch On January 20, 2025, Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) hosted the Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP) Co-Production Launch, bringing together schools, education and health professionals, PaCC, and key stakeholders to shape the future of inclusion in schools. The event, part of the SEND & Alternative Provision (AP) Change Programme, focused on how[...] Read More
Brighton & Hove City Council’s Secondary School Admissions Consultation – PaCC’s Report During Brighton & Hove City Council’s (BHCC) recent consultation on proposed changes to secondary school admissions, PaCC has worked to ensure the voices of parent carers are heard. During the consultation period, we facilitated two listening events alongside BHCC officers, receiving valuable[...] Read More
Autism in Schools (AIS) and Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) Update 2025 sees the start of the second year of the Autism in Schools programme in Brighton & Hove, a key initiative designed to strengthen understanding, support, and inclusion for autistic students in mainstream schools. Last month, PaCC, alongside representatives from BHISS (Brighton & Hove Inclusion Support[...] Read More
PaCC responds to Education Committee’s ‘Solving the SEND Crisis’ inquiry The government’s Education Committee launched a major inquiry aimed at finding solutions to the ongoing crisis in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision. The inquiry will focus on stabilising the system in the short term while working towards long-term sustainability and improved outcomes for children and young people. The inquiry[...] Read More
PaCC Awards 2024: the event takes place on 11 March 2025 Join us on Tuesday 11th March for the presentation of the PaCC Awards, celebrating those who helped you in 2024, to find out who the winners are and why they were nominated. The event will take place from 10am to 12:30pm in the Conference[...] Read More
Secondary School Admissions Arrangements: Local Authority Response Earlier this month, PaCC released a position statement in response to the Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) engagement exercise about secondary school admissions and you can read that position statement, here. PaCC have since met with BHCC Councillors and local authority officers to discuss our position statement[...] Read More
PaCC knows that Easy Read options are essential, which is why we are so pleased to announce that Brighton & Hove City Council has launched a new easy read information hub on their website to ensure that residents with learning disabilities and their parents, carers and support staff can access key information about council services. [...] Read More
SEND Short Breaks latest for October 2024 half term Following last week’s parent carer meeting, please see Brighton & Hove City Council’s statement about October half term SEND Short Breaks : “All Eequ listings for SEND Short Breaks are now live for activities to be booked. Providers running sessions this October are: Brighton & Hove[...] Read More
Autism in Schools PaCC is working on the Autism in Schools project in Brighton & Hove, as part of a national programme to try and improve the experience and outcomes for autistic children who attend mainstream schools. The project is running in three local schools; Cottesmore and Woodingdean primaries and Cardinal Newman secondary school. Here[...] Read More
Name: Anne Webster Role within PaCC: Representing the Parent Groups and Befriending (previously known as Face 2 Face). Parent Carer experience: I approached Amaze in 2011 and have received support and advice from them since then. Having attended parent-led support networks for years, I became a befriender in 2019. I have a work history of[...] Read More
All the latest documents on Short Breaks and Holiday Activities will be available here and will continue to be updated: 1st May Short Breaks presentation for parent carers PaCC questions following BHCC Mon 3rd June comms re Short Breaks Holiday Activities Direct Payments. Short Breaks – Agenda 10th June Short Breaks – You Said We[...] Read More
Short Breaks There continues to be a lot of meetings and activity around short breaks at the moment. Here is a brief update on the areas covered: Short Breaks and Holiday Activities. Parent Carers and leads from Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) attended a meeting chaired by PaCC on 1st May. The meeting was[...] Read More
Stronger together – PaCC and Amaze join forces to provide support groups and befriending for parents of disabled children in Brighton & Hove. Amaze’s Face 2 Face service for parent carers is changing. Rebranded ‘Parent groups and befriending’, the new service is a partnership between us, Brighton & Hove Parent Carers’ Council (PaCC), East Sussex[...] Read More
introducing pacc steering group member, Chloe Name: Chloe Willow Role within PaCC: PaCC Rep, representing the Parent Groups and Befriending or PGB, previously known as Face 2 Face. Parent Carer Experience: I have been really fortunate to access Brighton’s well-established parent-led support network, and I am really keen to contribute to this through my role[...] Read More