The Project - improving financial wellbeing through tailored support to families with children with special educational needs and disabilities across Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and Cheshire

Many parents of children with SEND find themselves drawn towards (and below) the poverty line due to their inability to work and the additional costs of care. The PPC Parent Carer Guidance service provides specialist information, advice and support for struggling parents/carers of children with SEND. 

63% of the families we currently support are from Stoke-on-Trent which is now the 13th most deprived district in England out of 317 districts. A recent report from Staffordshire University shows that austerity is driving long-term cuts to health, benefits and public services in the area. Demand on foodbanks is now at unprecedented levels. And our families face, on average, extra costs of £975 a month because of their child having a disability. One of our mums recently told us 'I have only 2p in the bank right now and cannot even afford to buy nappies or toilet rolls. I have already maxed out my use of foodbanks this week'. At the same time those families who are slightly better off financially are facing new struggles not because our mainstream nurseries are some of the most expensive in the world, but because they cannot find appropriate childcare for their disabled child that can meet their needs. No childcare = increased risk of having to give up work to care for their child.

We know there is a need for this type of support. In the past 6 months we have seen a 700% increase in requests for help around finances including completing benefit application forms and living on a budget; 600% increase in support for housing; 133% increase in help needed around the Education, Health and Care Plan process.

If we were granted £10,000 then this would ensure we can continue our Peter Pan Centre Parent Carer Guidance Service throughout 2025 by funding staff involved in delivering activities and associated costs. Vulnerable parents and carers, often living in deprivation, will be equipped with the knowledge to support their young disabled children in the best possible way, especially around financial entitlements and navigating Education, Care and Health Plans. We use a person-centred approach to explore the strengths and support needs of vulnerable families to support and promote positive change. We offer advice, support and information over the phone, online and face-to-face, and it varies for each individual whether we look at Disability Living Allowance, budgeting, Education Health and Care Plans, understanding how to best meet their child's needs - no package is the same. 

We understand that sometimes our parents need support in the middle of the night or at the weekend, so at these times we still want them to be able to access resources from our website, which at present has little information available to them. We will use some of this funding to expand our website to have a 'Family Zone' where parents, carers, grandparents and more can access a wealth of resources at any time in any place to help them with caring for their child, improve their financial wellbeing and feel less isolated.

As a result of our service, financial and emotional wellbeing improves, resilience increases and isolation reduces. Parents who want to work CAN work, and those who can't can cope financially because of our help making sure they access what they are entitled to. The much longer-term impact is that parents understand better how to support their child and ensure their Early Years journey is a well-supported one that helps them progress as much as possible, defying expectations and being able to achieve more in life when they become adults, both financially and emotionally. The care given in the first 5 years of a child's life has more influence on a child's future than at any other time in their life, so we can influence these building blocks and lay foundations that help provide greater resilience and confidence for children to thrive.  

More about the Peter Pan Centre generally 

As a charity our vision is a world where we give every child their best chance in life. Our purpose is to provide exceptional, life-changing care and education for children with special needs aged 0-5, and the support their families deserve, across Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Cheshire. Originally established as a playgroup for disabled children and a support group for parents in 1969, the Peter Pan Centre today is a much-loved charity with an outstanding reputation for supporting children and families. We operate from a specialist centre offering a safe, accessible and welcoming environment for everyone who uses it, as well as various outreach locations to ensure we can be accessed by a wide range of families geographically.

The children we support have profound and multiple physical and learning disabilities, life-limiting conditions and challenging behavioural issues. Some have complex medical requirements and some require use of a wheelchair, standing or walking frame. All have communication delays and difficulties with social and interaction skills of varying levels. Their parents and carers come to us needing almost as much support as the children. They have nowhere to turn to, or they don't know where to turn to, for help. They don't know how best to support their child to help them learn and develop. They struggle to find a nursery place for their child. They don't know what support they are entitled to, or how to access it. They are fearful of how they will cope financially. They are often isolated from their local community and feel out of their depth. This then affects the wellbeing of the whole family. 

We equip the whole family with the skills, confidence, knowledge and resilience so they can achieve their full potential. We do this through a variety of services. These include our Early Education Service, Family Support & Outreach, Transition to Primary School and our Parent Carer Guidance Service, which this application is all about.

Testimonials

"It is so beneficial and important to be able to ask you questions as well as talk to other parents. I can offload to the team at Peter Pan and you all understand what I'm going through. When you have a child with SEND you haven't got a clue what to do! Staff are so understanding and professional. I've seen visible improvements fast in N, but for me personally as a parent I have been given direction and don't feel lost anymore. Being able to message you for advice at any time means a lot. I feel reassured about the options available to me, and have learnt so much about how to deal with a big family and not a lot of money. Peter Pan is amazing, it's so personal it's a family." 

"I really don't know how to feel at the moment, so many mixed emotions, but I'm so glad the fight is over to get K the support he needs and deserves, as well as what we need as a family. All thanks to you."

“You are all an amazing group of people and I cannot thank you for the amount of support you have given myself and T throughout his time with you. I don’t know how I would’ve got through the EHCP and school process or how to access Disability Living Allowance without the knowledge, support and advice that you have given me."

"You have been the tour guide to our journey.”

A quick show of the support we receive from amb