Parent Carers
Parent carers provide support to their children, including grown up children who could not manage without their help. You may be caring for a child or young person under the age of 18, or under the age of 25 if they have additional needs such as special educational, physical or mental health needs or a disability.
If you are caring for an adult child please click here for details of additional Suffolk Family Carers services available.
Parent Carer Assessment
The purpose of a Parent Carer Needs assessment (PCNA) is for you to have an assessment of your own needs, allowing you to discuss with a practitioner your caring role and how it affects your wellbeing, your feelings and choices about caring, what help you need to support you as a carer of a child/young person with additional needs and/or disabilities, and to find out what help and support may be available. The right for parent carers to receive a PCNA is detailed in the Children & Families Act 2014.
In Suffolk, eligibility for short breaks is assessed through Activities Unlimited, not through a Parent Carer Needs assessment. There are no funds attached to the assessment, however, having an assessment helps Suffolk County Council to understand the needs and wishes of parent carers locally.
To request a Parent Carer Needs Assessment contact Customer First on 0808 800 4005 or for more information please visit the Suffolk InfoLink Directory
Online Communities
A Space for Parents
Suffolk Family Carers Facebook and Instagram pages for Parent Carers sharing information, details of events, workshops, drop-ins and resources.
Winging It Parent Support
A page to share things in a safe space with other Parent Carers who are just doing the best they can. A space to feel heard, get peer to peer support and share experiences.
Suffolk Parent Carer Forum
Their aim is to ensure that every parent carer in Suffolk's voice, views and experiences matter and that they contribute towards developing and improving services.
Contact
Contact’s website has advice and information about concerns a family might have about raising a child with additional needs. They run a free helpline, produce a range of newsletters and parent guides.
Parent and Carers Together
Our vision is to reach as many parents and carers across Suffolk as we can who are in the isolating place of caring for a child or young person with mental health issues.
The SuperMama Space
Supporting parents of children coping with chronic and invisible illnesses in a non-judgemental way.
SEND Information and Advice Service (SENDIASS)
Local authorities are responsible for arranging Information, Advice and Support Services (IASS) to be available for children & young people with SEND and their parents and carers.
This means that every local authority should provide a service that is free, easy to access and confidential and that can help children, parents and young people take part in decisions that affect their lives.
SENDIASS Suffolk have lots of helpful information and resources available on their website
Local Offer
The Local Offer is an information directory where individuals with SEND aged 0-25, as well as their parents or carers, can go to find out what support or provision is available in their local area.
What should a local offer include?
The Local Offer must include eligibility criteria for services, where relevant, and make it clear where to go for information, advice and support, as well as how to make complaints about provision or appeal against decisions
You can use the Local Offer website to find:
> local schools and nurseries and read about the support they offer
> groups and clubs
> therapy and psychology services
> social work services
Activities Unlimited provide short breaks and leisure activities to disabled children aged 0-25 in Suffolk. Many of these activities are grant funded and can be accessed at subsidised cost. For details of the activities available visit the Activities Unlimited website
Activities Unlimited also provide:
- Behaviour safe courses
- Family Advice Team to help find suitable activities and provider general advice and support
- Personal budgets to some families who have children and young people with significant needs.
Funding
If you find yourself in hardship due to your caring role or have an unexpected expense, we may be able to support you with individual funding requests.
Funding is not able to cover items which should be provided by statutory services. Please contact us to discuss your situation.
Respite
Parents often ask us about respite opportunities. Occasionally we are able to offer funded respite activities which are advertised via our website and social media pages.
For more information about how you can create periods of respite please see our factsheet.
