We know what it’s like to do this alone, that’s why we’ve built FLOC.
Why FLOC exists.
The system is overloaded. Families face up to 5-year diagnosis waits while experiencing genuine overwhelm and isolation.
Co-founder Katie waited 18 months for her child’s diagnosis, then another 18 months for their EHCP. It nearly broke her.
Co-founder Amelia knew the system inside out but still, when navigating it with her own child, she found herself doing it alone.
We both did it alone for far too long. We know what that costs.
FLOC bridges the gap from the start of the journey to the end. Providing community and connection to people who feel isolated. Nothing moved us from doing it alone to feeling genuinely supported.
So we built it.
How FLOC Started.
Founded May 2025, after hundreds of conversations with parents and carers across Somerset.
Katie and Amelia connected through their shared SEND journeys - both raising children with SEND, both knowing the isolation that follows diagnosis, both believing connection changes everything.
We started monthly meet-ups in Bruton. Then online. Then Frome. 60+ families found their FLOC in the first 8 months.
We created The Reframe Project - a 7-week rebuilding framework - because we recognised that once families stop firefighting and have some capacity, they need structured support to rebuild.
We built the 7 Pillars methodology from what helped us and the families we've worked with.
We're not trying to reinvent the wheel. We're connecting with existing organisations such as parent carer forums, town councils and other CICs and charities as referral partners.
They're the HEAD - doing essential work around knowledge, rights, advocacy, systems navigation.
FLOC is the HEART - the emotional counterpart: connection, processing what you're going through, perspective reframing, community.
We work together with our clear differences defined.
Meet the team
Meet Amelia
Amelia co-founded FLOC as a single mum from Frome, 6 years into raising an Autistic child with multiple needs.
After navigating the isolation that followed diagnosis, she discovered what made the difference wasn't more resources - it was connection with people who got it.
Amelia brings 15 years of experience in the SEND sector across a range of education settings, along with a Master’s in the Psychology of Education. She leads operations, programme delivery, and facilitator training. Amelia also facilitates FLOC Frome, FLOC Online, and The Reframe Project.
As a qualified Children’s Wellbeing Practitioner, Amelia brings thoughtful, skilled therapeutic practice to everything we do. And, like every parent in FLOC, her deepest expertise comes from lived experience.
Meet Katie
Katie co-founded FLOC because she spent years doing this alone before discovering that connection changes everything.
She brings experience in social enterprise and community building. She co-created The Reframe Project's 7 Pillars methodology, facilitates meet-ups and Reframe cohorts, and handles strategy, partnerships, and fundraising for FLOC.
Like every parent in FLOC, her real expertise is lived experience - 4 years raising a child with SEND, reframing what's possible.
Meet Kim
A word from Kim: “I’m mum to two children, raising our beautiful family alongside my husband, Bruno. Our younger child has additional needs (including autism, nystagmus, and global developmental delay), which has shaped our family in profound and ongoing ways.
When I came to FLOC, I was lost and deeply dysregulated inside myself. My nervous system was in constant overdrive, cortisol levels at an all-time high and I was carrying unprocessed grief while trying to survive day to day.
The Reframe Project took me through grief rather than around it. By facing everything head on, I learned how to regulate my nervous system, meet myself with compassion, and move from survival mode into something steadier and more grounded.
This work didn’t change my circumstances, it changed my capacity to live within them. Reframe gave me tools, language, and safety, and it’s why I believe so deeply in what FLOC offers.”
Kim has completed The Reframe Project and now facilitates our Bruton meet-up. She’s an inspiration.
What we’ve built
We're building something together. Every parent who joins makes this stronger.
88% reduction in isolation
75+ families across Somerset and wider
100% feel supported after a meet-up
Join our Community
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Welcome to FLOC.