Keeping Carers Informed
Unpaid Carers' Rights and Services available - helping you through the maze!
We keep unpaid carers informed of their options by using a variety of means including:
- News and information bulletins
- Mail shots and newsletters
- Leaflets and flyers.
- Parent meetings.
- Workshops and, information events
- An online information guide to services called 'Where You Stand'
- A free information and signposting service
We listen to you then Campaign and Represent your Views
It is through the Parents Federation that the views of parents and unpaid carers, are officially shared with Local Authorities, Health Bodies, and the Voluntary Sector in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.
We gather the views and opinions of families through a variety of means. These include, workshops, social and formal meetings, consultations and online postings on Facebook and Twitter.
We have also commissioned independent surveys of our member's views.
We listen to your concerns and use them when:
- Working with Councillors, Assembly Members (AMs), Members of Parliament (MPs), and Members of European Parliament (MEPs) to ensure that the voices of disabled children and adults with learning disabilities and their families and carers are heard.
- Supporting parent representatives on Local Authority Planning and Monitoring bodies
- Working with other disability organisations.
- Campaigning on specific issues.
- Responding to consultations
- Attending strategic planning meetings or participating as part of any strategic policy group.
We Arrange Training for Parents and unpaid Carers
- We provide training and support to use IT and to participate in meetings.
- We support parents to speak on our behalf at meetings
- We arrange and promote specialist training skills such as communication tools, manual handling and coping strategies.
- We support parents to become trainers to ‘teach’ professionals
We Promote Positive Attitudes Towards Disability
- We organise the annual Understanding Disability Awards that celebrate examples of the successful inclusion of people with learning disabilities in ordinary life.
- We promote the needs of people with a learning disabilities and their families in equality forums and public meetings.
We Encourage and Enable Contact with unpaid Carers
- We encourage and enable contact between carers in similar situations.
- We co-ordinate carers social gatherings and other events for carers
Specific Services
- We maintain an online version of our popular Where You Stand guide
- We co-ordinate activities for carers to meet and share ideas and have fun.
- We support families with a relative on the autistic spectrum by offering information and signposting to sources of assistance.