Together achieving better decisions and brighter futures for Manchester families of children and young people aged 0-25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

BECOME A MEMBER

Contact, the charity for families with disabled children, defines co-production as “about developing equal partnerships between the people who use services and their carers, and those who run them. It’s a subtle but effective methodology for engaging closely with the end-user from the beginning, on a basis of mutual respect. It can be used to overcome barriers, manage expectations and solve complex problems.”

According to the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), “co-production is about working in equal partnership with people using services, carers, families and citizens. Co-production offers the chance to transform social care and health provision to a model that offers people real choice and control.”

In March 2018, Manchester launched our own SEND Co-production Charter, which sets out how all the local partners will make better decisions for brighter futures for our children and young people with SEND.

You can learn more about co-production at:

Contact
Social Care Institute for Excellence

Below are some articles we published relating to co-production, including events co-produced with partners and opportunities for parents/carers to get involved.

Co-production – What’s that?

Co-production, what’s that? (A question I asked when I first heard the term.) It’s working together to get better outcomes. In Manchester co-production happens on many levels. Sometimes it’s strategic co-production that happens in meetings with service leads and commissioners; other times it can be

By |2026-07-08T16:04:34+01:00July 8th, 2026|Categories: Celebration, Parent Sharing|Tags: , |

Reflections on Co-production + My Report to the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee

I recently went to Manchester Town Hall, together with Tanya from the Parent Champions and a few service leads in Education and Social Care, to present the SEND Annual Report to the Children and Young People's Scrutiny Committee. I was given an opportunity to

Co-production in Manchester’s Wraparound Childcare Expansion Programme

To celebrate Co-production Week, Euan Loveridge (Manchester City Council's Project Manager for the School-age Childcare programme) sent us this article sharing the outcomes of the Wraparound Childcare expansion programme in Manchester and highlighting the importance of co-production in the development and implementation of the

SEND Co-production in Manchester – It’s Just “How We Do Things”

At the close of last week, we were delighted to receive this inspired letter from Maureen Howell, Manchester City Council's SEND Engagement & Young Carers Lead. In it, she writes about how working with MPCF and our wider network of parents and carers, as well

Co-production Week 2026

Co-production Week (running between 29 June to 3 July in 2026) is an annual celebration to recognise the benefits of co-production in shaping better, more inclusive services. In the words of NHS England, "the week will highlight the power of Co-production to design and develop

Manchester SEND Inclusion Conference

This event is exclusively for parents and carers of deaf, disabled or neurodivergent children (or those with undiagnosed Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities [SEND]) who live in the city of Manchester. It’s a chance to: Get an update on the North West Change Programme Partnership

Have Your Say on Healthcare Transitions

The young people’s mental health charity, 42nd Street, will soon be hosting some workshops to collect feedback from young people, their parents/carers and family members around transitioning between child and adult health services. The workshops are open to anyone aged 16-25 in Greater Manchester

The Most Amazing Team

With great pride, humility and gratitude, I am pleased to announce that we won the Disability Impact category of the very first Global Champion Awards! The Disability Impact Award recognises organisations or projects that champion the empowerment of individuals with disabilities, promoting accessibility, inclusivity,

Every Pair Tells a Story

We are aware that there is a silent awareness-raising movement arranged for tomorrow, the 3rd of November, led by The SEND Sanctuary, a parent-led national community that aims to bring together families of children and young people with SEND (Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities) to