As part of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision (SENDAP) Change Programme Partnership (CPP), we have been asked to test a national standardised Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) template by the Department for Education (DfE).

To help with the testing in the North West, the Change Programme team in Manchester will be hosting a number of focus groups with parents/carers, young people, Health partners, educational psychologists, Social Care partners, and SENCos.

We currently have three focus group sessions scheduled for parents and carers. Please click on the buttons below to book your place.

We are keen to get your thoughts on the proposals so that we can provide valuable feedback to the DfE. These Change Programme activities will help shape the way the EHCP template is implemented nationally in the future.

Book for North Manchester Session (11 July)
Book for Central Manchester Session (19 July)
Book for South Manchester Session (24 July)

About the Change Programme

The Change Programme is a national project that aims to test and improve some of the policy changes that were proposed in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan that was published in March 2023.

The government’s proposed reforms to the SEND and AP system are categorised into four reform areas:

  • Enablers: These reforms are focused on establishing the foundations to  enable the SEND and AP system to work.
  • Ordinarily Available Provision: These reforms are focused on ensuring and extending access to provision which should be ordinarily available, so that needs are identified and support is provided as early as possible.
  • Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP): We want these reforms to improve the quality of EHCPs, improve the experience of getting an EHCP and improve outcomes for children and young people with EHCPs.
  • Standards and Commissioning: These reforms focus on making structural changes to the system and setting out national standards.

The reforms are being tested by Change Programme Partnerships (CPP) in nine regions of England, including the North West partnership that is being led by Manchester and also includes Oldham, Rochdale and Trafford.

You can find more information by visiting Manchester City Council’s Local Offer website or go to our Change Programme Information Hub for news and other upcoming events relating to the Change Programme.