Speakers
Claire-Marie Whiting
Claire is an Educational Psychologist and Area Specialist for Participation and Engagement with Rotherham LA. She is also the Strategic Co-Lead for Genuine Partnerships together with Jayne Fitzgerald. Claire is the parent of two young adults and her eldest son is 25 and has additional needs. Claire’s youngest son is 20 and seems to spend a lot of time not doing university work and instead pursuing his next enterprising dream! Claire was a young carer and sees herself as now a parent-carer in two senses, as has opted for a multi-generational household including two aging parents with health needs. Claire was previously the Head of Religious Studies in a large secondary school and introduced Citizenship to the curriculum and has also worked for the Behaviour Support Service.
Jayne Fitzgerald
Jayne’s most important role is as Mum to 6 amazing young people and adults, two of whom have additional needs and a foster carer to an incredible little boy with complex needs. Jayne is the Strategic Lead for Rotherham Parent Carers Forum, working alongside an incredible team and various families to share lived experience in order to shape policy. Jayne is also a national rep for the National Network of Parent carer forums, contributing to the wider parent carer forum family. Together with Claire, Jayne is a Strategic Co-Lead for Genuine Partnerships. Jayne is passionate about inclusion, celebrating the gifts that our children and young people with additional needs bring and reducing the isolation so often experienced by families living with SEND, through working alongside services for better outcomes. In her free time Jayne loves to be with family and friends, play the guitar and has recently discovered a love for painting and art.