The latest news and updates for parents/carers 

and children and young people 0-25 years with special educational needs 

and disabilities (SEND) in the Manchester City Council area

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Schools White Paper - See updates below

SEND Community Offer

THE SPACE GROUP AND 4CT

For SEND families living the Manchester City Council area

Day trips

(All ages) Chester Zoo, Tuesdays 7th and 14th April, 10am

(All ages) Tatton Park, Fridays 10th and 17th April,10am – includes access to farm, hall and gardens

Three options to choose from:

1. Coach from The Grange Community Resource Centre, Pilgrim Drive, Beswick M11 3TQ.
2. Coach from St Nicholas Church, Kingsway, Burnage M19 1PL.
3. Make own way.

All trips are free for children. Adult charges: 

Chester Zoo + coach = £12.50 per adult / Make own way = £10 per adult

Tatton Park + coach = £10 per adult / Make own way = £7.50 per adult

Booking through Eventbrite in two waves: Thursday 26th March at 6pm - one Chester Zoo and one Tatton Park Saturday 28th March at 12 noon - one Chester Zoo and one Tatton Park   Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/48321347143?aff=ebdsshandroid

Easter panto

(3+) Sinbad, Wednesday 8th April at 4pm or 6pm, at North West Theatre Arts Company, Lightbowne Road, M40 5HQ. Minimum age 3.

Text booking: Booking opens at 6pm on Thursday 26th March and closes when full.   Send a text to 07749 116211, with PANTO (saying preferred time 4pm or 6pm); house number and full postcode; full name of adult participants; full name of children, date of birth, indicating which child has SEND (Y/N) and ethnicity.   SAMPLE TEXT: PANTO 6pm; 3 M22 7AQ; Jane Smith, John Smith; Peter Smith 01/01/2018 Y, Anne Smith 01/01/2019 N, both White British

Simply Cycling

(All ages) Four sessions with Simply Cycling for all the family:

Wythenshawe Park

Thursday 9th and 16th April, 12-2pm

Athletics track, Wythenshawe Rd, M23 0PH. Parking at the track. Car park What3Words: talent.pace.couple

Boggart Hole Clough

Monday 13th April, 2-4pm and Saturday 18th April, 12-2pm

Athletics track, Charlestown Road entrance, M9 7BR. Running track to your left as you drive in. Car park What3Words: encounter.leaps.drag

Text booking: Booking opens at 12 noon on Friday 27th March and closes when full.   Send a text to 07749 116211, with SOUTH 9th or 16th OR NORTH 13th or 18th; house number and full postcode; full name of adult participants; full name of children, date of birth, indicating which child has SEND (Y/N) and ethnicity.   SAMPLE TEXT: NORTH 13th; 3 M22 7AQ; Jane Smith, John Smith; Peter Smith 01/01/2018 Y, Anne Smith 01/01/2019 N, both White British

PARENT CHAMPIONS AND REGEN

For SEND families living the Manchester City Council area

Tubing at The Hill

(5+) Tuesday 7th April, session 1 at 11-11.50am and session 2 at 12-12.50pm. At The Hill - Rossendale ski slope, Haslingden Old Road, Rawtenstall, Lancashire, BB4 8RR. The thrill of sliding down a tubing slope on a a giant inflatable ring. Make your own way. The minimum age is 5+ but younger children may need help with getting the rings up the hill. 

Text booking: Booking opens 12 noon on Saturday 28th March.   Text HILL to 07305 064229 with your preferred time slot, saying how many child places with their names and postcode.

Dunham Massey trip

(All ages) A free trip to beautiful Dunham Massey by coach, including an Easter Trail. Thursday 9th April. Pick up at 11am from Gorton Monastery, Gorton Lane M12 5WF, returning at 3pm. Bring your own lunch and a picnic blanket (weather permitting) or there is a café. Suitable for the whole family.

Booking through Eventbrite: Booking goes live at 12 noon on Saturday 28th March.  Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/regenmeuk-90151170493

Easter Bunny hunt

(All ages) The Easter Bunny is lost in Boggart Hole Clough. Help find him and get yourself a treat. On Sunday 12th April, meeting at the Athletics Track at 10.30am, Charlestown Road entrance M9 7BR. Car park What3Words: encounter.leaps.drag. Suitable for whole family. Free brews for the parent/carers.

Text booking:  Booking opens at 12 noon on Saturday 28th March.   Text BUNNY to 07305 064229 saying how many child places with their names and postcode.

Lancaster Park and Farm

(All ages) Monday 13th April, 9am. A visit to Lancaster Park and Animal Farm where there’s lots to do. Make your own way, meeting at the entrance - Middleton Road, Chadderton, Oldham OL1 2TG (Opposite Mills Hill Train Station). Suitable for the whole family. The early start is due to a lamb feeding session at 9.30am.

Booking through Eventbrite: Goes live at 12 noon on Saturday 28th March.  Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/regenmeuk-90151170493

MPCF

Eventbrite bookings with Manchester Parent Carer Forum go live on Friday 27th March - half released at 12pm and the other half at 6pm.  (If you struggle with Eventbrite and need help with booking, ring the Local Offer team on 0161 219 2125.)

For SEND families living the Manchester City Council area

Cineworld Didsbury

(PG rated) Relaxed Cinema Screening of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie with munch boxes (popcorn, drink, sweets). On Tuesday 7th April, 3-5pm At Cinema World Didsbury, Parrs Wood Entertainment Centre, Wilmslow Rd, M20 5PG. Book through Eventbrite – find out more.

Easter Party

(All ages) An inclusive Easter Party on Thursday 9th April, 11am-1pm at Martenscroft Children's Centre, 33 Epping Street, Hulme, M15 6PA. Book through Eventbrite – find out more.

Horrible Science

Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos on Wednesday 15th April, 3pm start, at the Science and Industry Museum, Liverpool Road, Manchester M3 4FP. Book through Eventbrite – find out more. Due to go live on MPCF list of events. 

Creative session

(All ages) Relaxed Creative Session  on Friday 17th April, 11am-1pm, at Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street, M2 3JL. Book through Eventbrite – find out more.

Power up

Power Up on Sunday 19th April, 3pm start, at the Science and Industry Museum, Liverpool Road, Manchester M3 4FP. Due to go live on MPCF list of events. 

Family bowling

(All ages) At Tenpin, Harpurhey M9 4DH. Bowling sessions in the company of other Manchester families with children with SEND. Due to go live on MPCF list of events. 

Relaxed cinema

Relaxed Cinema on at Cultplex (part of GRUB), 50 Red Bank, Cheetham Hill, M4 4HF. Popcorn included. Due to go live on MPCF list of events. 

All MPCF Easter events are listed here

Sensory rooms

For SEND families living the Manchester City Council area

(All ages) The Sensory Room at Benchill Community Centre has been completely refurbished! There are free slots from Tuesday 7th to Friday 17th April at the centre on Benchill Road, Wythenshawe, M22 8EJ. Each slot is for 45 minutes and on the hour. Drop in to the community centre or call 0161 946 9520 to book. 

(All ages) Families can spend time in the Sensory Rooms at Redbank House, 4 St.Chad’s Street, Cheetham Hill, M8 8QA, over Easter. There are slots available at various times between 9am-4pm (on the hour for 50 minutes) during weekdays from Tuesday 7th to Friday 17th April. Book directly with Redbank House on 0161 214 5959.

Community Kitchen

(All ages) The Community Kitchen will be returning for Easter on Mondays 6th and 13th April, 2.30-5.30pm. It’s for young people with SEND and/or social emotional and mental health needs (SEMH), living in the Manchester City Council area. Come with the family and cook (and eat!) together. The theme is based on traditional Caribbean and a mix of other cultures, including drum-smoked BBQ salmon, BBQ Chicken, Dutch pot lamb, vegetarian/vegan and homemade drinks. All food and tuition provided. Sessions at Proctor Learning Centre, Hulme Street, Off Jackson Crescent M15 5EF. Please arrive on time. Parking available. Booking essential - call Roger on 07970 922132.

Other stuff to do

Limitless biking

(12+ and 7+) The National Cycling Centre has new monthly Limitless Track Sessions welcoming disabled people aged 12+ into an inclusive, supportive, and fun environment to discover (or rediscover!) the joy of cycling. Book via the Better UK app or speak to a member of the reception team (no more than 28 days in advance). Find the session, and others, on the Limitless webpage. These are in addition new Limitless BMX session on Sundays 4pm to 5pm, open to riders aged 7 and above with physical or learning disabilities and additional needs. Bookings can be made through BMX Indoor & Outdoor | Manchester | National Cycling Centre or by downloading the Better app. If you need help with bookings, contact the Centre on cyclingcentre@gll.org or 0161 233 2244.

PLUS - See the centre's holiday activities, including sessions (paid) in balance bikes and Trybikes, open BMX and learning to ride. 

Easter in libraries

(All ages) There are free Easter holidays crafts and activities from Tuesday 7th April to Saturday 18th April at various libraries across the city. Manchester Central Library has two weeks of school holiday fun, with child-friendly gardening, storytime sessions, Lego, STEM clubs and much more. Check out Library Live for what’s on.

Loads to do

(Various ages) Check out Loads To Do for what's going on in your local area and across the city during Easter. There's plenty on offer in parks, sports, libraries, galleries and more to keep you and your family entertained without breaking the bank.

Over Easter, there are lots of places where kids can eat for free or for a £1. Check out Money Saving Central.

See the Stuff to Do Highlights in our SEND Information Hub for more to do over half term. 

Schools White Paper

The Schools White Paper and the SEND Reform consultation document were published at the end of February. We understand that families are anxious about the proposed changes and will be keeping you fully informed at every stage. Please be assured, your child’s legal rights to support remain in place.

Your questions

We have received a detailed response from the Department of Education (DfE) answering your questions:

Helpful overviews

• This Council for Disabled Children (CDC) information webinar supports different audiences to understand what is most relevant to them in the SEND Reform.

• There is also this CDC summary of most parts of the full version. CDC have chosen parts of the White Paper that they think most young people will be interested to know about.

Update from Contact

Since its publication, the charity Contact’s policy and helpline teams have been looking in detail at the Schools White Paper:

• In this article, they focus on two main policy areas: Independent Support Plans (ISPs) and education health and care (EHC) plans.
• In this second article, they address reports that the government plans to reduce the role of the tribunal, sharing their position on the matter and the conversations they have been having. 

How you can have a say 

We will be sharing more about this in future newsletters. Until then, here is a link to the consultation, plus this information about the consultation, including alternative formats. The consultation runs 8th May 2026.

Manchester Local Offer: The Schools White Paper - all the information in one place

Other news

MPCF coffee morning

The next coffee morning with Manchester Parent Carer Forum (MPCF) is on Monday 30th March, 10am-12pm at Martenscroft Nursery and Sure Start Centre in Hulme, 33 Epping Street, M15 6PA. It’s an opportunity to meet and chat to fellow parents and carers of children and young people with SEND in a relaxed and friendly setting. Book through Eventbrite. 

Have your say - THIS FRIDAY!

If you are a parent/carer, share your thoughts about the draft referral form for the new Neurodevelopmental Pathway (ADHD and autism assessment). You can also find out more from the Autism Navigator team about the upcoming changes. The event is on Friday 27th March, 12-2pm at the North Star Centre, City View House, 5 Union Street, Ardwick M12 4JD. Find out more on MPCF’s website and book your place.

SCP workshops - UPDATE!

The Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) has opened the Social Communication Pathway (SCP) workshops to all City of Manchester parents and carers or those who have children who are registered with a Manchester GP. Your child does not have to have a formal diagnosis for you to access these free workshops. See a list of the workshops, including an Early Years programme. 

PIP review

You can now share your views on the government’s review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the main benefit for disabled adults. See Contact’s information. The Call for Evidence closes on Thursday 28th May.

Our next drop in

Our next SEND Drop In is on Wednesday 22nd April at Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre, Portway, Wythenshawe M22 1QW. This free event is aimed at parents/carers and young people with SEND up to 25 in the Manchester City Council area. It offers a chance to talk to a range of services and get support. Look out for the drop in bulletin!

Future drop ins, 10am-12pm

Wednesday 20th May, Moss Side Powerhouse

Wednesday 17th June, Manchester Youth Zone, Harpurhey

localoffer@manchester.gov.uk / 0161 219 2125 Welcome to Manchester Local Offer  Local Offer SEND Information Hub

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