National Seminar on supporting fathers of young children with SEND

Welcome to the National Seminar on supporting fathers of early years children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Date: Wednesday 15th October 2025

Time: 11.30 AM - 1 PM

Funded by the Department for Education, via the Early Years SEND Partnership

Guest panellists -

Paul McDaniel - Senior Programme Co-Ordinator - Future Men

Paul works with Fathers in all areas of parenting, supporting couples to build healthy relationships, promoting fathers being positively involved in their child's life, whist encouraging, and promoting Positive Parenting, Healthy Relationships and Fatherhood, to expectant fathers, fathers, male carers, and families. Paul has also supported families with Specific Needs and Neurodiversity.

Nigel Nicholls - Male parent carer and patron of Contact

Nigel Nicholls has served since April 2023 as the General Manager (GM) for Northern European and Iberia for Egetis Therapeutics AB and in June 2023 added the Global Patient Advocacy Director to his responsibilities. He is a Patron of Contact, Chair of Adventist Special Needs Association and the BDFA UK. More importantly he is dad to Matthew and CJ and husband to Sophia. Matthew is 29 years old and lives with Peter’s Anomaly syndrome and is teaching Nigel what it means to be human every day!

Paul Meadows - SENDS 4 Dad

Paul Meadows is the founder of SENDS 4 Dad, a support network that has been running for over 10 years to empower and connect fathers of children with special educational needs and disabilities. As both a dad and an advocate, Paul has dedicated the past decade to creating a safe, supportive community where fathers can share experiences, build resilience, and find strength through peer support.

Adam Hindhaugh - Strategic Lead for Early Help and Family Hubs, Halton Borough Council

Adam has overseen systemic changes at Halton which have aimed to ensure fathers are seen and recognised more widely. He also has a daughter with additional needs and has experienced first-hand the difficulties for fathers with how services engage with them.

Hannah Jones - Fatherhood Champion, Halton Borough Council

Hannah is a Fatherhood Champion at Halton and has been involved in work within their services, to improve support for fathers of children with additional needs.

Attend this seminar to find out more about:

• Working together with father and male carers in early years services and settings, to improve outcomes for children with SEND.
• Reaching fathers as an under-represented and under-served group, with perspectives from parents and practitioners.
• To explore how services can better engage and support male parent carers of disabled children, specifically in the early years (0–5).
• Dads’ lived experiences in caring for a young child with additional needs.
• Identifying practical solutions, and inform service and system improvement.

This seminar is aimed at:

• Early years practitioners, specialist support staff and local authority representatives
• Male parents and carers of children with SEND, including emerging and undiagnosed needs
• Practitioners and parent carer forums wishing to improve access to services for fathers and male carers
• Anyone with an interest in improving outcomes for easrly years children with SEND
• Family Hub practitioners and Early Years staff
• Local Authority SEND and Early Help leads

• NHS early years practitioners including health visitors
• Parent Carer Forum reps