About Us

About Oxfordshire Family Support Network.

Oxfordshire Family Support Network (OxFSN) is a not-for-profit organisation run by and for family carers of people with learning disabilities – both children and adults.

We were set up in 2007 by family carers who wanted to use their experience to help others in the same situation, based on our belief that family carers are experts by experience.

We are managed by a board of trustees, some of whom are family carers of people with learning disabilities. We provide information, advice, support and training to:

• family carers of people of all ages with learning disabilities.
• healthcare and social care professionals.

Our Aims:

To support families of people with learning disabilities through independent information, advice and training, and to ensure that their voices are heard by those who provide services.

We do this by providing the parents and family carers of people of all ages with learning disabilities with:

• accurate and up-to-date information about the issues that affect them;
• training and support to become effective advocates for themselves and those they care for;
• a platform to ensure their voices are heard by those responsible for designing and delivering services.

Working in partnership with professionals and service providers to:

• improve their understanding of the needs and aspirations of people with learning disabilities through the expertise of family carers, who are “experts by experience”;
• improve their understanding of the needs and aspirations of the families of people with learning disabilities at all stages of their life.

Our Values:

Equality: We believe that people with learning disabilities and their families should have the same life chances as everyone else. They are entitled to self-determination, choice, control, equality of opportunity, and inclusion in all aspects of mainstream society.

Rights: However, we also believe that in order to exercise choice and control, people with learning disabilities and their families require good quality information and advice so that they understand the choices available to them and their legal rights as equal citizens.

Person Centred: OxFSN services are strongly rooted in person centred thinking and approaches, based on a holistic view of each individual’s quality of life rather than one aspect of their needs.

Participation: As an organisation led by family carers we take our lead from families and everything we do is based on what families tell us they need. We believe that active family participation and involvement is the key to improving services and we actively seek to ensure that the voices of families are heard by the people who develop and deliver services.

Partnership: We strive to work in partnership with family carers and the many other organisations providing quality information, advice and support to people with learning disabilities and their families.