It’s our pleasure to share with you the final draft of Manchester’s Ordinarily Available Provision for Early Years document, which describes the support, strategies and activities that are available in early years settings to young children with additional needs, without the need for a formal diagnosis or specialist support.

Below is a message from Nuala Finegan, Manchester City Council’s Senior Quality Assurance Officer for Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND):

We are pleased to publish the first ever Manchester Ordinarily Available Provision for Early Years document. It has been developed from an Action Learning Set supported by funding from the DfE and facilitated by members of the Council for Disabled Children (CDC). The aim is to improve access to provision for our very young children with additional needs.

On behalf of the local authority I would like to thank all those who worked with us over the past year: Occupational Health, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language, Health Visiting, Manchester Parent Carer Forum, Early Years Quality Assurance, Rodney House Outreach Service for Early Years, Early Years Commissioning, Sure Start, Early Years SENCOs, Sensory Support, Virtual School, Information Advice and Support Service (IASS), Locality Team and members of the SEND team at the local authority. I particularly want to thank Philippa Stobbs and Chris Webb from the CDC for very ably guiding us through this huge piece of work.

In the spirit of an Action Learning Set, this is a working document: it is for immediate use by parents and professionals whose feedback over the next few months will inform further development. The current content describes universal provision. The aim is to include targeted and specialist provision and have a final document in the next 12 months.

Any feedback regarding the impact of this document, resources that could be added, or evidence of good practice, is very welcome. Please send all comments to me at the email address below.

Thank you,
Nuala Finegan Senior Schools Quality Assurance (SSQA) Officer for SEND
nuala.finegan@manchester.gov.uk

As Nuala described above, this document has been many months in the making, with numerous meetings and email discussions involving all the partners and parents. It was great to be part of a multi-agency process working towards a common goal and this document is testament that partnership working… well… works.

You can download the document here or from the Local Offer, or view it using our reader below.

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