FACT Bucks is a charity set up and funded by Buckinghamshire Council to collect the views of parents and carers of SEND children and young people. Read on to learn more.
Background
The Children and Families Act 2014 required all local authorities to set up a “Parent Carer Forum” in their area. FACT Bucks is the Parent Carer Forum for Buckinghamshire.1 It was set up by the then Buckinghamshire County Council in 2011,2 and became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in December 2013.3 FACT Bucks receives nearly all of its funding from the Department of Education and Buckinghamshire Council. In 2020/21, its income was £20,750, and it had cash reserves of £14,822 of which £7000 is formal reserves.4
Charities are legally run by their trustees, and FACT Bucks has 5 trustees.5 However, unusually, the trustees have delegated all their responsibility to a Steering Group with 4 members. The Steering Group is as follows: Andrew Howard (Chair and Secretary), Phil Ogley, Ena Smale (Admin Officer), and Penni Thorne (Treasurer and trustee).6 It is important to note that 3 of the 4 members of the Steering Group are not trustees, and therefore do not have the legal responsibilities of trustees. It is unclear how the trustees (all of whom appear to be parents) can fulfil their legal duties and exercise influence over the activities of the charity.
FACT Bucks claims on its website to be “a group of parents and professionals who meet to discuss real issues that affect children and young people with additional needs and disabilities in Buckinghamshire.” However, there are no further details of those involved, and the numbers and status of those involved with FACT Bucks remains unclear.
Local Offer for SEND Joint Inspection – March 2022
FACT Bucks was one of the principle witnesses in the recent Local Offer for SEND joint inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).7 Although FACT Bucks have said in their ‘Inspection Updates’ that “FACT Reps” were engaged with the inspection,8 there are no further details about who these representatives are or what they said.
Because FACT Bucks has such an important role in SEND education in Bucks, BuDS has conducted a poll asking parents and carers how well represented they feel by them. You can find the results of that here.
References
[1] As reported in 2021 by https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search?p_p_id=uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet&p_p_lifecycle=2&p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view&p_p_resource_id=%2Faccounts-resource&p_p_cacheability=cacheLevelPage&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_objectiveId=A11525203&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_priv_r_p_mvcRenderCommandName=%2Faccounts-and-annual-returns&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_priv_r_p_organisationNumber=5041627
[2] As recorded by Buckinghamshire County Council: http://www.buckinghamshirepartnership.gov.uk/media/1024693/AHDC_programme_Evaluation.pdf
[3] As recorded on the Charity Commission website: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5041627/governance
[4] From https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search?p_p_id=uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet&p_p_lifecycle=2&p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view&p_p_resource_id=%2Faccounts-resource&p_p_cacheability=cacheLevelPage&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_objectiveId=A11525203&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_priv_r_p_mvcRenderCommandName=%2Faccounts-and-annual-returns&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_priv_r_p_organisationNumber=5041627
[5] From https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5041627/trustees
[6] From https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search?p_p_id=uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet&p_p_lifecycle=2&p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view&p_p_resource_id=%2Faccounts-resource&p_p_cacheability=cacheLevelPage&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_objectiveId=A11525203&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_priv_r_p_mvcRenderCommandName=%2Faccounts-and-annual-returns&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_priv_r_p_organisationNumber=5041627
[7] From http://www.factbucks.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Inspection-Update-2.pdf
[8] Ibid.