HPCI CIC Directors & Staff

I live in St Albans and have two sons, aged 19 & 20. The youngest was born with Down’s Syndrome and is also partially sighted.  Both my sons went to the same mainstream Primary & Secondary schools in St Albans. The oldest is now at university and the youngest is on a 2 year BTEC performing Arts course having previously completed a 2 year Landmark course at Oaklands College.

I am a trained Independent supporter and work for myself in a range of different roles including teaching Orienteering in schools and training students for their Duke of Edinburgh’s expedition.

I represent parent carers at Hertfordshire County Council meetings on the Post 16 (Preparing for Adulthood) work streams and am also involved in improving the Herts SEND Local offer website.

I live in Hitchin (North Herts) and have two children, one with Autism, learning difficulties and ADHD, who attended a Herts SLD special school, and one with ADHD, autism and Tourette’s Syndrome who attended a mainstream school. Both of them are now in college. I I have been involved in running Angels Support Group since it began in 2003. Angels is a parent-led support charity for families in North Herts and Stevenage who have children with ASD or ADHD. Through Angels I have met so many parents who inspire me with the way they tackle the challenges they face so positively, and I am passionate about getting across the parental perspective to service providers. By working together, we can ensure the services truly meet the needs of children with SEND and their families. I am one of the founding members of HPCI.

My name is Sylvia and I live in East Herts. I am mum to our two children, both of whom attend Mainstream school. Before I had my children I worked for 15 years, qualifying as a Chartered Management Accountant. I have first-hand knowledge of the challenges and constraints of Government funding, and I am a firm believer in value for money. I am delighted to have the opportunity to work as part of HPCI. By helping to strengthen parent carer involvement across the County, together we can make sure that money is spent effectively and that services provided by the Local Authority and Health best meet the needs of children with SEND and their families.

I am the mother of three children. My oldest has ASD, ADHD and an (undiagnosed) neuromuscular disorder and my youngest has complex health needs as well as an undiagnosed neuromuscular disorder which means he is a full-time wheelchair user. I sit on various advisory boards for disabled children’s charities and the NHS and I’m the SEND governor for a primary school in St Albans. I am also co-director of Special Needs Jungle.

My oldest daughter of three children is nearly 18; she was born with Down’s Syndrome and serious heart problems necessitating long hospital stays until repaired successfully. Mainstream school was a challenge for her until she was diagnosed with ASD aged 9 and switched to special school. She is now in a specialist Hertfordshire college contemplating ‘work’ and looking forwards to leaving home already!

I have worked as HR and training manager in retail and then at Watford Mencap for 11 years. I am now a freelance parent carer trainer on a number of disability issues and recently involved in writing and delivering national training for forums Reps with CONTACT. I also work for local charities Up on Downs and Playskill. I volunteer for Special Needs Jungle and set up SEND Friends, the Herts EHCP Appeals support group and Hertfordshire’s SOS!SEN Advice Centres which provide regular free legal advice clinics for local families.

I have represented parents on SEND Reform Steering Group and EHCP, workforce development including the new SEND Toolkit for SENCO’s and currently contribute on the Local Offer, Education Health and Care Planning and Early Years.

We live in Welwyn. Our youngest child, was born at 28 weeks, he spent his first two years in and out of hospital. At the age of 4 he was diagnosed with septo-optic dysplasia, a hormonal disorder, autism, learning difficulties, some physical difficulties and visual impairment. He is also charming and very happy! Managing my son’s needs, including many hospital appointments, led me to give up a busy career in sales & marketing to become a full time parent carer. I ran a local SANDS (Stillbirth & Neonatal Death) support group for parents for ten years, and have been a school governor since 2002, at two Hertfordshire schools.

We live in Brookmans Park and my youngest son has Cerebral Palsy. He is currently in a mainstream secondary school. He is involved with many sporting activities and at this time aspires to be a Paralympian.

I work in Local Government doing SEND Tribunals and Mediations . I am a qualified solicitor who deals with Education and Criminal Law and previously worked in Central government . I am also a Local Authority Governor of a Secondary school. Most importantly I’m a mum with a child with special educational needs and like many others , want to make things better, accessible and fairer for all.

Our family have been involved with a charity called Cerebra as well as part of the Disability Unit within the Cabinet Office.

I live in Berkhamsted and have four children, the youngest of which has Down’s Syndrome. All four attended the same local mainstream primary and secondary schools. At 18, my youngest is now off to residential college for her next adventure.

As well as personal experience of the SEND system in Herts, professionally, I worked for 5 years as a Children and Young Peoples Support worker in Dacorum. The role included ensuring best possible outcomes for children and young people by working closely with schools, families, agencies and the local authority. I have also worked as a volunteer and a TA in local schools. In addition, having close links to several parent support groups within West Herts, I believe I can represent the views and concerns of many parents/carers of children/ young people with additional needs in the area.

I live in Welwyn Garden City. We have two children the eldest of whom had autism and learning difficulties and attended Hertfordshire special schools and the younger one is Dyslexic and in mainstream education. Before becoming a parent carer, I had a career in teaching and then in Human Resources for a large UK business.  When I began caring full-time for my eldest I volunteered for 10 years for an autism support group. Our eldest child became terminally ill and we then became familiar with wheelchairs, hoists, medication and tube feeding among other things. Over the years I started to understand that, whatever the child’s needs or disability, the issues faced by families are very similar. I have been involved with HPCI since it began.

I am currently the Coordinator for HPCI.

I live in St Albans and have one child, with Autism, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorder, who attends a specialist ASD school.  From 2010 to 2020 I worked with Families in Focus CIC  and run their booking system for all their courses and maintained their website.  I am a CPD qualified Facilitator and used to run Parent Networks on behalf of Families in Focus cic.  I have a CPD qualification in ADHD and am currently working through ASD and SEND as part of this course. I am very passionate in helping parents navigate through the system of SEND and I have worked as a REP for HPCI on many workstreams the last one being the Local Offer workstream with HCC and I since joined HCC in 2019 into the website team working directly on the Local Offer website in 2020 I have since moved into working directly within the EHCP transformation programme where I hope to bring my passion for change and the voice of parents into that role.  I was also involved in VoCYPF (Voice of Child Young Person and Family) workstream.  My role within HPCI is on maintaining and updating HPCI’s website and existing Facebook page.

I live in Berkhamsted and have two children, one of whom has Autism, ADHD and learning difficulties and attends a special school. Before taking a career break to care for my son, I worked in government for sixteen years, mainly focussing on homelessness policy. More recently, I have worked with a local charity that helps vulnerable adults move on from housing difficulties towards independent living. I now provide administrative support to the HPCI Board and also work as a Parent Rep, feeding into Hertfordshire Council’s SEND Transformation project.