Published: 06/08/2026
South Manchester developed the Early Years Social Communication Pathway (EYSCP) to address long-standing pressures in its Early Years system, including high volumes of children under five referred for social communication needs, long diagnostic waits and fragmented support across services. Post-pandemic increases in developmental and social communication needs further exacerbated demand, highlighting the need for earlier identification, needs-led intervention and more coherent pathways for families. The EYSCP model introduced integrated assessment and intervention, high-quality screening and a comprehensive programme of evidence-based parent support, underpinned by strong multi-agency partnerships and system-wide workforce development.
The pathway delivered significant system impact: assessment waits reduced from 26 to 14 months, the waiting list halved, and families reported improved confidence, wellbeing and understanding of their child’s needs. Early Years settings and health partners also demonstrated increased confidence and more inclusive practice due to training and co-delivery. These changes created a more consistent and connected system, ensuring children and families received support earlier.
The SEND Effective Practice Evidence Framework[1] considers that the “strength of evidence” of this case study is emerging. The pilot launched in 2022, is now fully embedded within Manchester’s wider neurodevelopmental transformation work and has routine internal evaluation processes in place. The “breadth of impact” of this case study is promising – there is evidence of impact in terms of the lived experience of children with SEND[2] and their families and positive feedback from professionals.
[1] The SEND Effective Practice Evidence Framework uses two “signal strength” indicators to present the strength of evidence and the breadth of impact of a case study. Each indicator has four bars – emerging, promising, good and robust. The “strength of evidence” indicator is based on how the project has been evaluated and the length of time it has been sustained. The “breadth of impact” indicator is based on whether the case study can demonstrate impact in four broad areas – the more areas of impact, the higher the signal strength indicator.
[2] For ease of reading, we use the term ‘SEND’ to refer to disabled children and young people and children and young people with special educational needs.