Carers Leeds Parent Carer Page

11/06/2026

Apologies for the lack of posts recently! I’m on carers leave with my amazing son Lyall who has had surgery to correct scoliosis!

Apparently it’s Carers Week so a big shout out to all you parent carers doing your own version of extreme parenting on a daily basis! We are with you!

Lyall is 17 today and I couldn’t be more proud of him (or exhausted by him🤣)

Keep on being the parents your kids need you to be! 💪

13/05/2026

📣Parent Carer Event, Leeds

Join Leeds Parent Carer Forum and the Voice, Influence and Change Team for a welcoming morning where your voice really matters.

This event is aimed at support group representatives, but all SEND parent carers are very welcome to come along too.

Come and:
✅ Learn simple ways to share your views and feedback
✅ Take part in the Leeds PCF annual survey
✅ Find out about Short Breaks and fun activities in Leeds
✅ Learn about RADAR and share your feedback directly with services

📅 Monday, 22nd June 2026
⏰ 10am – 12.30pm
📍 Pudsey Civic Hall, LS28 5TA

Register here👉 https://surveys.leeds.gov.uk/s/PCFEvent/

We would love to see you there and hear your experiences.

09/05/2026

Evening session- we’ll be there 😊

09/05/2026

Steph and Rachel attended the protest in Leeds today about the SEND white paper.

We wanted to be there for all of you who couldn’t be! These was also a powerful speaker who had comments from over 200 parents who couldn’t be there which were all displayed on human placards-very moving!

We were a bit starstruck as we met Heidi Manvir who wrote the book “My child is not broken” which we’ve recommended to many of you.

04/05/2026

Here are details of the Save SEND Legal Rights event from the coordinators. Do share with any local families and groups:

At the Leeds demonstration we have a washing line & piles of clothing to help convey the sheer scale of a problem that is largely invisible. So much of the fight for support & the trauma families face happens behind closed doors, not visible to others.

This will demonstrate how many children are affected by SEND now, and how many may be affected in the future when they lose their legal rights.

We want to represent everyone, even if families are not able to be there on the day or those unable to stay who just wish to bring an item, have a chat and then go home.

Bring a piece of children’s clothing to the event for every child you want to represent - does not have to be school uniform – any item will do, even a sock!

After the event, parents can take their item of clothing back or we will use for future events or donate to charity.

Please come along, have a chat with some friendly faces who totally get it!

03/05/2026

Does your child have Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)? Join The Lightbulb Moment PDA Support Group for a friendly, informal coffee morning where families can connect, share experiences, and receive understanding and support.

📍 Where: The Community Hub, Hunslet Carr Primary School, Leeds (LS10 2DN)
📅 When: Every 2nd Monday of the month
⏰ Next session: Monday 11th May, 9.15–10.15am

✨ Meet members of the Lightbulb Moment PDA team
✨ Talk with other families who “get it”
✨ A relaxed, supportive space – no pressure to share

📌 Also available:
Online PDA Screening Training
• Wednesday 29th April, 11.30am–1.00pm
• Wednesday 20th May, 11.30am–1.00pm

🔗 More info: www.thelightbulbmomentpda.com
📧 Contact: [email protected]
Please share with anyone who might find this helpful 💛

03/05/2026

Love this!

“Just take something away.”

You mean—
light the fuse,
and wait for shutdown or detonation?

It’s 7am.

You’ve been up since 5:30.

You’ve already negotiated, prompted, waited, prompted again… and somehow you’re now 15 minutes from leaving the house with a child lying on the floor, refusing breakfast, rejecting the “wrong” food, and overwhelmed by every single demand the morning has thrown at them.

You adjust.
You adapt.
You pick your battles.

Because you know this child.

You know that pushing harder won’t fix it.
You know that “just do as you’re told” isn’t a strategy — it’s a spark.

So you get them out the door.
Not perfectly.
But out.

And then someone — well-meaning, confident, certain — says:

“Easy. Just take something away.”

And it lands.

Not because they’re unkind.
Not because they meant harm.

But because in that moment, it quietly translates to:

You’re not doing it right.
I would do it differently.
This is simple.

And suddenly you feel it all at once—

The doubt.
The judgement.
The exhaustion.
The voice that says:
You’re too soft.
You’ve failed this morning.
You should be better at this by now.

But here’s the truth they don’t see:

Some children don’t respond to control.
Some children don’t bend under consequences.
Some children escalate when you remove, demand, or push harder.

And the fallout of “just take something away” doesn’t end in that moment.

It lives in the aftermath.
In the dysregulation.
In the relationship repair.
In the hours that follow.

That part isn’t visible from the outside.

What is visible is this:

A parent who got up.
Showed up.
Adjusted expectations.
Kept things moving.
And got their child out the door anyway.

Even when it was messy.
Even when it didn’t look how others think it should.

That’s not weak parenting.

That’s informed parenting.
That’s responsive parenting.
That’s hard parenting.

And if you’ve ever walked away from a morning like that feeling judged, defeated, or not enough—

You’re not alone.

You’re parenting a child who needs something different.

And you’re still standing.

03/05/2026

Have your say on the SEND reforms. Links below. The consultation ends of 18th May

How Leeds parent carers can get involved with the government’s national consultation.