Coproduction and participation
The Compass Partnership
The Compass Partnership brings Bolton Parent Carers and Bolton Information and Advisory Service together under one umbrella — and now under one roof too, as we share offices at the Bolton CVS Hub!
BPC and IAS have worked closely together since 2014. Creating Compass has simply made this long-standing partnership more formal. It helps us share our skills, apply for funding and offer more support to families across Bolton.
The Compass Partnership does not replace Bolton Parent Carers or Bolton IAS. Each still has its own clear role.
Who runs Compass?
The Directors of The Compass Partnership are Nan Cooper and Cheryl Wyatt.
Nan is Chair of Bolton Parent Carers, and Cheryl is the Manager of Bolton IAS. Together, they bring many years of experience of supporting families, listening to parent carers and working with local services.
Compass is a new name, but the partnership behind it is not new. It is the next step in work that BPC and IAS have been doing together since 2014.
BPC is about voice, IAS is about advice and Compass is about support.
Bolton Parent Carers: your voice
Bolton Parent Carers, often called BPC, is Bolton’s official Parent Carer Forum.
We listen to the views and experiences of parents and carers of children and young people with SEND, aged 0 to 25. We represent parents and carers at a strategic level, working with Bolton Council and local health services to help shape and improve SEND support.
BPC also helps parents and carers take part in conversations and decisions about SEND services. This will be especially important as the Government’s SEND reforms develop and changes begin to happen locally.
Our role is not to speak for every family or represent individual families. It is to make sure that the different views and experiences of Bolton families are heard and understood by the people who plan and make decisions about local services.
Bolton IAS: Free and impartial advice and guidance
Bolton Information and Advisory Service, known as IAS, provides free and impartial information, advice and support about SEND.
IAS helps parents and carers, and young people, understand their rights, choices and the processes linked to education, health and social care.
Although IAS is part of Compass, it remains impartial.
Compass Partnership: support and opportunities
Compass is the umbrella that brings BPC and IAS together. It allows us to build on what we already do and create more opportunities for Bolton families.
Our workshops, information sessions and other funded projects are now hosted under Compass. This is because Compass receives and manages the funding for this type of work that Bolton Parent Carers and Bolton IAS can’t do individually.
Through Compass, we can:
- offer workshops and practical information for parents and carers
- work with schools and community groups
- create new resources and support
- gather the views and experiences of the families we meet
- use what we learn to help improve support across Bolton
Compass works with the same wide community of parents and carers of children and young people with SEND, aged 0 to 25.
