Amid ongoing lockdown restrictions in summer 2020, Manchester City Council (MCC) set out to ensure families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) were making full use of their local universal offer.
Working with parents/carers, children and young people, and community partners, the council co-produced a new summer offer, designed to ensure local families had opportunities to build networks and friendships, access excellent quality information, and build confidence in exploring and using the offer. The project also enabled universal services to build their skills, knowledge, and confidence when working with disabled children and young people, children and young people with special educational needs, and their families.
As a result of this work, there has been a significant increase in take up of sessions by families year on year (498 sessions in 2020 to 6708 sessions in 2025), over 60% of the offer is parent-led provision, and there has been a 150% increase in young people-led commissioning of provision. The council received positive feedback from families regarding peer-to-peer support, improved accessibility, and an increase in young people’s confidence, independence, aspirations, skills, and sense of belonging.
The SEND Effective Practice Evidence Framework considers that the “strength of evidence” of this case study is promising – the work has been evaluated internally and has been shared, and has been sustained for two years. The “breadth of impact” of this case study is promising – there is evidence of impact in two of the four broad areas of impact considered by the Framework.
This case study was originally published in March 2024, it has since been updated in September 2025 to reflect the latest data.