Dear Parent / Carer
I hope this letter finds you and your families well and safe.
A bit about me:
My name is Carol. I have lived in Blackheath
for 27 years but was born in Plumstead 60 years ago.
I am the proud mum of two grown up children Lizzie and Jon and live with my husband and Jon who lives with Asperger’s and mental health needs.
I trained as a nurse in 1978 for people with learning disabilities which took me on a wonderful journey throughout my career always working within SEND and families.
I was proud to be the Director of Children, Youth, and Family Services working for a large voluntary organisation for 22 years before deciding to take semi-retirement in 2016.
Since 2016 I have worked as a freelance consultant working directly with families and parents. I come to this role with personal experience of living in Greenwich with a child/young person who is now an adult, and working my way through the maze of services to support him. My professional background helped me understand some of the language/ jargon but did not prepare me for the array of feelings and lived experiences that I am sure we all have had to varying degrees.
My role:
I
am delighted to have been asked to work with the Royal Borough of Greenwich to
support the development of a new Parent Participation forum in Greenwich
I hope to learn from you as parents and hear about your lived experiences and to further develop the wonderful work and the solid foundation that Greenwich Parent Voice have left us.
We now find ourselves in a ‘new’ world following the impact of COVID 19 where different ways of meeting and reaching you all will need to now take place.
I will be spending the next three months getting to know all the different parents’ groups and to hear about parents’ experiences of having a child/young person 0-25 with SEND living in Royal Greenwich.
I will also be spending time getting to know more about the services for children and young people with SEND 0-25 within education, social care, health and within the community so when you tell me about your lived experiences I will be better informed .
I am aware that as parents you may be facing stress and worries on top of the everyday things you deal with because of COVD 19 so would I like to set up an online meeting with you to introduce myself and find out how you are? I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at the next Coffee and Chat session on Wednesday 15th July 2020 -see attached flyer
I will also be hosting weekly coffee and chat sessions every Wednesday from 29th July 10:30 - 11:30am - see attached flyer (keep on your fridge the link will be the same every week)
I would also like to find out how families have managed during the recent Lockdown and what the Local Authority and Health services locally need to know to be able to support you and your families as we move to the next stage of this ’new’ normal ways of living.
Please find a link below to a survey which I would be grateful if you could take 15 minutes out of your busy day to complete by Monday 20th July 2020. The results of the survey will be fed back to key officers in the Locally Authority and Health and allow me to think about topics for forthcoming sessions
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PCF-RGB
How
can you get hold of me?
If you would like to be kept up to date with any news or development – please complete the attached contact form and I will add to our membership data base.
I will be working 2 days a week with some flexibility. I can be contacted on 07852101492 - please leave a message with your name and contact details if you do not get hold of me straight away.
I am looking forward to getting to know you all, sadly virtually to start off with!
With best wishes
Carol Foyle
SEND Participation &Project Officer
Royal Greenwich
carol.foyle@royalgreenwich.gov.uk
carolfoylesendparticipation@gmail.com
07852101492
