LPCF Trustees

Lewisham Parent and Carer’s Forum has a board of 7 trustees who are all parent carer volunteers. The Trustees set the planning pathway for the work of the Parent Forum and engage with the local services on behalf of parents and carers. The Parent Forum is facilitated by the Parent Participation Officer (PPO).

The Trustees and the PPO meet every 6 weeks to discuss Forum business. Information, advice, events and activities are shared with the wider Parent Forum members. The wider membership is invited to all consultations and surveys to encourage participation and engagement in gathering the views of parents and carers.

Trustees attend national events, London region cluster meetings and National Network of Parent Carer Forum events. This enables Lewisham parents to learn from and have a voice within the larger network as well as supporting parental engagement within Lewisham.

My name is Nalan Salih, I have lived in Lewisham all of my life, and I have 4 children and 4 grandchildren.

I am currently chairperson for Lewisham Parent and Carers Forum, the Children and Young People’s Forum, Contact. I give a great deal of my spare time freely in a volunteering capacity, especially around young people in general but also those with additional needs and disabilities, and their parents and carers.

I live in Lewisham with my husband and two boys, and my eldest son is on the Autistic Spectrum. I have volunteered in the past for many years and I have been the PPO for Lewisham Parent and Carer’s Forum for 4 years.

I am very passionate about supporting parents and carers in Lewisham so that their children and young people can receive the best possible support and have fulfilling lives in the same way that everyone is entitled to.

I am a parent of a young woman with  a diagnosis of Autism.  Until recently when I retired to look after my grandson I worked for the Drumbeat Outreach Service.  As a parent I have found it difficult to navigate the world of SEN even though I have worked in the field for a long time.

Parent carers gave me support and helped me in terms of my own family.

My job gave me the opportunity to meet lots of different families and I wanted to continue to offer support and in turn learn from the families in Lewisham as together we can support each other and make a difference for all our children  with SEN in our community.