Highland Children's Forum

Highland Children’s Forum is a registered charity incorporated in 2000, created by the parent carers of children with additional support needs to attempt to ensure that the voice of these children was heard in the design and provision of services in the area. The Forum membership encompasses both individuals and many specialist groups that represent the concerns of specific conditions.

The Forum concentrates its activities on developing ways to hear the voice of children in need and to relay this to central policy authorities. It seeks to influence changes in policy so that the investments create services that better meet the needs and aspirations of young people. The Forum now acts as the consultee on a number of local authority and statutory bodies providing services to special needs children in Highland.

In summer 2004, HCF hosted the Voluntary Sector Consultative Conference on “For Highland’s Children 2” the Children’s Plan for 2005 to 2008. This document will establish the Joint Committee on Children and Young People’s priority programme for the coming years and will be used as an example of best practice by the Scottish Executive. HCF made a major contribution to the recent Quality Improvement Scotland’s peer review of services to patients in Highland with Learning Disabilities and is completing a report on children’s experience of Inclusion in Education and Leisure in Highland.

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