Parents and carers are being invited to help shape the future of services for disabled children and young people in Cornwall over the next five years at this year’s annual Aiming Higher Conference which is taking place at the Royal Cornwall Showground Pavilion in Wadebridge on Wednesday, October 4.

This year’s conference - ’Building Better Solutions Together’, which is being jointly staged by Cornwall Council and Cornwall’s Parent Carer Council, also provides an opportunity for parents, carers and professionals to hear about the national picture and what is happening locally.

’The aim of this year’s conference is to enable parents and carers to work with the professionals who currently plan and deliver health, education and social care services in Cornwall to discuss how services can be shaped in the future to meet the needs of disabled children and young people,’ said Kay Henry, chair of the Cornwall Parent Carer Council.

Keynote speakers include Amanda Harvey, from the Council for Disabled Children, who will outline the national picture; Kay Henry, who will highlight achievements over the past ten years; and Jane Black, the Council’s head of learning and achievement, who will talk about the implications of the changing world of education,

Delegates will also hear from 20-year-old Mollie Watt who, after being born deaf and then losing her sight at the age of 14 after being diagnosed with the progressive eye condition Usher Syndrome, set up her own charity The Mollie Watt Trust to raise awareness of the condition and show sufferers that, with the right help and determination, they can achieve amazing things.

Mollie, who was chosen as the Sense Young Disabled Person of the Year in 2010 and is now a Sense Ambassador, is also a prolific blogger, campaigner, public speaker, writer and artist. 

There will also be a presentation from members of the GOT group. Originally set up with funding by the council to meet the needs of children and young people in Cornwall with sight and hearing impairments and dual sensory loss, the GOT Group has gone from strength to strength. Last year members of the GOT2ACT drama group performed in Perth as part of an exchange programme between national deafblind charity Sense and Senses Australia, a charity for people with disabilities.

There will also be a marketplace with stalls run by a number of local service providers and organisations offering advice and information.

The conference, which is free to attend, is taking place between 9.30am and 3.30pm.  For more information or to book a place please email [email protected] or phone 01736 336809.