• Maximum 30 seconds to 1 minute long
• Record in Landscape (using cinematic mode if your phone has this)
• Clear background with no personal, identifiable information on show
• This video gives an idea of the positioning of people: We are proudly diverse - reworked version

• Can you describe your experience of using the site (ie, navigation, usefulness of information)
• What type of support made the biggest difference for your family?
• Do you regularly refer back to the site for information?
• Would you recommend the site to other families?

1. Signed consent form
2. Recorded video (can send via Whatsapp if too big to email)

Coming up – three monthly opportunities to catch up with other parent-carers of children with SEND, in a relaxed and welcoming environment. No need to book – just go along. SEN Consultants join most sessions to offer their insights and guidance. 

Details of all the sessions can be found on this flyer. 

SEN consultants join most sessions to offer insight, guidance and support for you and your children. 

• Coffee and play mornings - first session Monday 9th March 9.45 -11.15 am at Playbox, Palace Exchange Shopping Centre, Enfield, EN2 6SN. These sessions offer a relaxed, welcoming environment for you to connect with others who truly understand the journey. You'll have a chance to share stories, exchange advice and talk openly about both the challenges and the triumphs in a supportive, non-judgemental space. These sessions are not just about information - they are about your emotional well-being. 
• Coffee and Well-being mornings- first session on Friday 13th March 9.30 – 11 am at Costa Coffee in Cockfosters EN4 0DN. These sessions offer a relaxed, welcoming environment for you to connect with others who truly understand the journey. You'll have a chance to share stories, exchange advice and talk openly about both the challenges and the triumphs in a supportive, non-judgemental space. These sessions are not just about information - they are about your emotional well-being. 
• NEW – SEN coffee and chat afternoons for parents supporting neurodiverse young people aged 14 plus – next session Wednesday 11th March 12.30 – 2 pm at the Dugdale Arts Centre, 39, London Road, Enfield EN2 6DS. These sessions offer a relaxed and welcoming space for parent carers of young people aged 14 and over with SEN to meet others who are navigating similar experiences and preparing for the transition into adulthood. The sessions are a place to receive support and to look after your emotional well-being. Discussions around your young person's post-14 transitioning journey, including sixth form, supported internships, college and supported learning, further education pathways, day services and post-education options. 

Cheviots Sleep Service offers drop-in sessions on the first Tuesday of every month, from 10 am to 12 pm at the Cheviots Disability Service in Cheviots Close. 

Full details are on the flyer here. 

You can also see some useful tips from Cerebra about supporting your child's sleep in this guide. 

You will probably have seen on the national news that the Schools White Paper has been published today. It includes proposals for reforming the SEND System in England, along with a public consultation. 

We will be providing more information about this as it becomes available, but in the meantime, we wanted to let you know that Our Voice will be organising updates, online sessions and an in-person event on what this important paper will mean for our children/young people and families.

It is important to note that the White Paper does not immediately change anything, and your child’s legal rights remain in place. 

A ‘White paper’ is a document produced by the government setting out its initial proposals for future changes to the law. There will be a 12-week consultation period, starting today, when families and organisations (such as Our Voice and other Parent Carer Forums) can respond and influence what happens next. Parent carers and their children and young people can highlight practical issues, concerns, unintended consequences and necessary adjustments.

Our events will take place over the 12-week consultation period, so families feel as informed as possible to complete their responses to the Schools White Paper. There is no need to rush to respond before you feel you know what you want to say, and there is plenty of time for you to consider available information from a variety of sources first.

The LA will attend some of our events, so parents are able to ask about the Enfield context and what this could mean for their children and young people.

Following the consultation, any proposed changes can move into draft legislation, which will then need to go through Parliament. During this period, the existing SEND Law will remain unchanged. 

Specific dates/timing of our events to follow, along with more information about the proposals.

You can read more about the background on the Contact website ‘Schools White Paper and SEND Reforms’ page.

You can read the White Paper here (note that there is an executive summary which may be useful) and the Government’s Press Release here.

There are easy-read and summary versions on the government website here, as well as instructions on how to access large print and braille versions

You can read the initial response statement from the National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF), of which Our Voice is a member, on the NNPCF News page here.

Positive Behaviour Support information and resources

Following our successful Positive Behaviour Support project last year, Our Voice ran an additional Introduction to Positive Behaviour Support workshop on 2nd October 25.  

The Cheviots Team (part of the Joint Service for Disabled Children) are continuing to run monthly Behaviour Support Drop-in sessions for families, giving you an opportunity to discuss individual questions regarding your child/young person's behaviour. 

The next session will be on Fridays 6th March and 1st May at Cheviots Children's Centre, 10 am to 12 noon. You do not need to book, but if you would like Cheviots to provide creche facilities and/or a translator for the session, please email them to confirm clare.redrupp@enfield.gov.uk, giving as much notice as possible. The flyer for the March session is available here.

There will also be a Makaton Taster session during this session, which will need to be pre-booked - see the flyer here.

You can see the slides for the Introduction to Positive Behaviour Support workshop here, along with the 'Capable Environments reflection tool' that we use in the session. 

Links for services referred to in the session, and additional useful resources: 

• Enfield Advisory Service for Autism - Home
• What do we mean by quality of life? factsheet from BILD
• Managing Anxiety factsheet from BILD 
• The Impact of the Environment factsheet from BILD 
• https://eric.org.uk/advice-for-children-with-constipation
• Information sheet on spitting

• The National Autistic Society website has a useful section on Behaviour which includes: Information about distressed behaviour, Anger Management, Meltdowns, and Dealing with Change.

• The Educational Psychology Service offers a telephone support helpline  which you can use to book a call to discuss concerns or issues relating to your child
• You might also like to have a look at this video - on Supporting Children's Behaviour at Home. 

The 24-25 Positive Behaviour Support Project 

Our Voice ran a joint Positive Behaviour Support Project from April 24 to April 25, as part of the Empowering Families and Networks in Enfield Project, delivered jointly with the Joint Service for Disabled Children (Cheviots team): 

• We ran six Introduction to Positive Behaviour Support workshops - you can see the presentation from these sessions here. 

• We co-delivered Positive Behaviour support drop-in sessions, giving parents a chance to discuss individual questions relating to their child/young person's behaviour. All the joint sessions between Our Voice and the JSDC have now been completed. 

Our Voice are proud to announce ' Our Voice Presents: Get to know Health and Therapies' - which will be on Monday 16th March.  

In this mini-conference event, we will be joined by key professionals from across Health and Therapies

The event will be from 10 am on Monday 16th March 

It will include a panel Q&A session, a workshop and the opportunity to request a one-to-one meeting with a choice of professionals from across Health. 

Numbers are strictly limited and all places will need to be pre-booked. Booking will open shortly via Eventbrite and details will be added to this page. 

See also our Save the Date Flyer. 

Overview

Children's Social Care is changing. 

What is happening:

• The Government wants to make children's social care better:  Supporting families earlier, before problems get worse
• Creating stronger multi-agency teams that work together to keep children safe. 

Why is this changing?

• To give every child a safe and secure start in life
• Better chances to achieve and thrive.

What will change in Enfield?

• A new Family Help Service will be created using existing universal and community-based early help offer.
•  Early help professionals and social workers will work together in one team.
• One single family assessment and one plan instead of multiple referrals.

New Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPTs)

• These teams will include: social workers, police, health professionals, education professionals.
• Work together to investigate statutory child protection and interventions
• Make joint decisions quickly and fairly
• Provide local expert support.

 Support for Parents and Families

• Families will have meetings early on to help plan what changes are needed
• Parents will be offered an independent advocate to explain things and support them at the point of an investigation being initiated.

Benefits for Children and Families

•  Help will come earlier and feel less stressful.
• Professionals like social workers, mental health workers, and domestic abuse experts will work together to support and address the diverse needs of families
• One lead worker will support each family
• Fewer handovers between different services.
• Families will understand the process better with the help of an advocate.
• Families will help create and agree their own support plan.
• Stronger relationships between lead workers and families. 

This information is explained in an Easy-Read format in 'Children's Services are Changing: Easy-Read' 

Update from the Our Voice Parents' Conference - Children's Social Care: How does it help our Children: Mon 15th Dec

On Monday 15th December, Our Voice ran an event for parents in conjunction with the Local Authority and Health, exploring the issues around Social Care for children and young people with additional needs. 

You can see resources from the conference below, including our Q&A from the event. 

•  Social Care Families First Reforms presentation 
• Audio recording of parents' experiences of the child protection system
• Transition to adult services: What parents have learned presentation
• Preparing for Adulthood booklet
• Information about Preparing for Adulthood, including events available to support you through the transition.
• Q&A from our panel session and 'Social Care Families First Reforms' presentation  

Further information and Background 

The Government is proposing to transform children’s social care to rebalance the system towards early intervention through family help and strengthened multi-agency child protection.

The aim is to offer every child the best start in life with safety, security, and opportunities to achieve and thrive.  This means over the next 12 to 18 months, Enfield’s Children's Social Care will change how they operate and deliver services to local children and families. Key components of this reform include building on the strengths of the existing universal and community-based early help offer, to create an integrated family help service, with early help practitioners and social workers in the same team working to a single assessment and plan. In addition, child protection reform will be introduced by establishing local Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPTs). These multi-disciplinary teams will include a minimum of social care, police, health, and education professionals making decisions about statutory child protection investigations and interventions, offering a local and accessible centre of expertise. A focus on supporting families through family group decision-making will also be embedded and parents who are undergoing child protection investigations will be offered advocacy.

The Local Authority says that the benefits for children, parents and carers will be:

• Interventions will be more timely and non-stigmatising without the need for multiple referrals or assessments, with one family assessment and plan.
• Professionals from various disciplines, including social workers, alternatively qualified practitioners, mental health specialists, and domestic abuse experts, will collaborate more to address the diverse needs of families.
• One lead practitioner will work with the family, and transfer points between teams and services will reduce.
• Families will understand more fully the child protection process through the independent advocacy service offered at the point of an investigation being initiated.
• Families will be integral to creating and owning the plan for change through early family decision-making meetings at the point of referral.
• Improved parental engagement and positive relationships with lead practitioners.

Further information can be found by reading the government statement Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive, DfE, November 2024. Your experience and insights are essential in helping shape the future of family services in Enfield. You can share your views and ideas by emailing the Local Authority at: StrategicSocialCare@enfield.gov.uk

The Local Authority and the Department for Education have produced some Easy-Read materials to explain what is happening:

• 'Children's Services are Changing: Easy-Read' 
• Children's Social Care National Framework: Easy-Read
• An Illustrated Guide to the Children's Social Care National Framework
• Families First Reforms - Transforming Practice: What will change and what will stay the same

Additional useful information: 

The Children's Society has a useful explanation of what Children's Social Care means

During February 2026 half-term holidays there are a number of inclusive schemes for children and young people, and we will add details to this page as soon as we can. Events we are already aware of include: 

• EYPS will be running their Teenscheme for ages 11 - 17 on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th February - information on their Teenscheme flyer. (Please note that there is an error on the flyer and the dates shown above are correct). 
• Slightly outside our area, but open to Enfield Residents 'Community Focus' are running a 'Magazine of Me' two-day creative workshop for ages 10 - 18 with additional needs, on 17th and 18th February from 10:30-15:00 each day at Community Focus, N20 0NR. Each day costs £46.50. Details on their 'Magazine of Me' Flyer. 

If your child has an EHCP and is now in year 9 or above, it is important to start thinking about what will happen when they get to the age of 16 and become legally responsible for making their own decisions, and perhaps start to think about their future in terms of getting a job or living more independently. We know that this can be a worrying time for parents and carers, and it is important to start thinking about the transition as early as possible so that you will be well-informed and ready to support your young person through the changes.

The Local Authority's Preparing for Adulthood booklet is a key document to help you understand the process and support. You can see this booklet on the Local Offer here and there is  additional information about the process here

We recommend that you should attend as many of the Preparing for Adulthood events as you can. It is worth starting as soon as possible, and you may wish to repeat some of the sessions over the next few years.

You might also like to have a look at the Our Voice presentation on our top tips for Preparing for Adulthood, from our Social Care conference on 15th December 2025 - a practical overview of some of our team's real-life experiences of going through the process with their young people.

Preparing for Adulthood events

The Local Authority run a series of Preparing for Adulthood events and the full programme is available here. The programme will run from 9th January 2026 to 26th June 2026. 

These events are part of a series about different aspects of the Preparing for Adulthood process.  If you have been unable to attend a session, or you would like to look at the presentations from the previous year, the presentations are added to the Local Offer Preparing for Adulthood page here shortly after each session. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see links to each presentation. 

Most sessions are held online or at the Integrated Learning Disability Service, Carnegie Building, 258a Hertford Road, Enfield, EN3 5BN. 

The next PfA event is Health Services and Keeping Healthy on Wednesday 25th February, 10.30 am - 12.30 pm, which looks at the different ways in which Health Services are delivered once your young person becomes 18. Find out about:   

• The Community Nursing Team 
• the Annual Health Check
• how the Hospital Passport can help to make visits to the hospital run smoothly
• vaccinations and decision making
• what help there is in the community to help young people stay healthy

Drop-in sessions

On the first Friday of every month, parents and carers of young people aged 16 and over can join the monthly drop-in sessions 10 am - 12 pm at the Integrated Learning Disability Service in Hertford Road, where you can talk to a member of the ILDS team, and Jane Richards from Families in Transition to Adulthood. More information on the flyer here. If you would like to attend, please book an appointment by noon on the previous day. If this day does not work for you, please contact Jane to discuss an alternative timing.

You are welcome to bring your young person along with you. 

Following our conference in December about Social Work Reforms, the Local Authority would like to seek your views about the proposed ‘one assessment and one plan’. 

This is a new set of documentation that has been developed for use across all areas of Early Help and Social Care, including things like assessments for short breaks, as part of the transformation of Social Care Services. The vision is that you will only need to tell your family story to Social Care and Early Help once.

There are two documents: 

• The 'Single Assessment' will be completed by a Local Authority professional (for example, a social worker or Early Help practitioner) jointly with you and with input from your child/young person as appropriate. 
• The  ‘One Plan’ will be completed by the professional using the information drawn from the ‘Single Assessment’ document.

 Once your 'One Plan’ has been completed, this will remain on your records to be referred back to in the future (with updates as needed) so you don’t have to keep repeating the information.

The Local Authority would like your feedback about the structure of the documents, the language used and any recommendations that you may have. 

Please email your feedback to Mirjan Dhamo, Head of Service for Disabled Children at   mirjan.dhamo@enfield.gov.uk by Friday 13th February.