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 connect, share and be heard.

Whilst we as a Parent Carer Forum are restricted from campaigning activity, we respect the right of families and individuals to express their views in this way.

You can find the details here if you wish to participate: https://www.sendsanctuaryuk.co.uk/every-pair-tells-a-story/

Please take note of the following guidance from the organisers if you wish to get involved:

  • Authorised list of local authority locations – “These are the only approved and supported sites, so please only attend at the authorised buildings listed on the map.“
  • Safeguarding and data protection – “For safeguarding and data protection, please only include your child’s first name, age and story.
    No surnames, school names, locations or identifying details please.“
  • Shoe Collection – Please collect your child’s shoes before the event ends (1pm). Any shoes left after 1pm will be donated to charity.

Other Ways to Share Your Voice and Get Involved

Having heard from thousands of families over the years, and being parent-carers of deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people ourselves (with some of us being neurodivergent as well), MPCF is very much aware of the challenges, struggles and barriers to support that many families face in navigating the SEND system.

As a Parent Carer Forum, we are committed to co-production as a way of improving services. We constantly work and meet with local partners from Manchester City Council, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), Manchester Local Care Organisation, schools, the SENDIASS, the Carers Manchester network, other voluntary organisations and support groups, the National Network of Parent Carer Forums, and the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, amongst others, to help improve services for families of children and young people with SEND in Manchester and beyond.

There will be plenty of opportunities to get involved and share your voice over the coming months but here are some of the currently available ones that you may wish to join:

  • Neuroprofiling Workshop (10 Nov, 6-7:30pm, Online via Zoom) : Learn about and help develop Manchester’s neuroprofiling tool that could help improve support for neurodivergent children and young people. Booking required – bit.ly/neuroprofiling-workshop-2025-online
  • “Forward Together” Community of Practice (18 Nov, 10am-2pm @ Irish World Heritage Centre M8 0AE) : Meet support services for people with learning disabilities. More info – bit.ly/forward-together-ld-2025
  • Neurodiversity in Education (NiE) : This project aims to improve support for neurodivergent children and young people in mainstream schools. If your child or young person goes to a school that’s signed up for the NiE, please contact your school SENCO or reach out to us for information on future parent group meetings at the school. Please visit bit.ly/neurodiversity-in-education-mcr for more information.
  • Family Resources for Early Development : We need your help to develop accessible ways to share information about services that are available for families of Early Years children. Visit bit.ly/family-resources-for-early-development to learn more.
  • Dingley’s Promise Early Years Inclusion Project : We are looking for volunteer parents and carers of children in the Early Years (age 0 to 5) to join our Early Years Inclusion parent representative team to join some local and national meetings relating to this project. Please visit this page or contact us for more information.
  • Family Wellbeing and Social Support for Autistic Caregivers : A fellow parent-carer is doing research together with the University of Lincoln – focusing on family wellbeing and social support for caregivers of autistic children. Visit bit.ly/family-wellbeing-and-social-support-blog if you wish to share your views.

If your young person (age 14 to 25) also wants to share their voice to help improve local services, please encourage them to join the Manchester Changemakers. The group aims to ensure that young disabled people’s voices are heard across Manchester. They hold sessions every Thursday, 5 to 7pm, at Greater Manchester Youth Network (GMYN), Greenfish Resource Centre (M4 1LE).

There are lots of positive efforts and initiatives ongoing but we know that there are lots of work left to be done to ensure that all families of deaf, disabled and neurodivergent children and young people are supported in the right way and so that nobody feels left behind. We can’t do this on our own so we invite all of you to keep advocating for your children and yourselves, keep sharing your voice, and get involved with our (and others’) activities where and when you can.