We have heard from many of parents and carers that having to tell our story over and over, and repeatedly explaining how to support our child or young person, can be emotionally draining and upsetting. We feel that one great way to help with this would be to have a person-centred profile consistently available and used by professionals in all settings.

In Manchester, we have developed a person-centred profile for children and young people that will be universally recognised in Education, Health and Social Care services across the city. We are calling these documents About Me (AM); for children with more complex needs, the profiles can include a More About Me (MAM) page.

The purpose of the AM/MAM is to:

– Explain a child or young person’s needs clearly to anybody working with or supporting the child or young person
– Explain to less familiar carers/ support workers how individual children or young people express themselves
– Help a child or young person interact with their peer group and those around them
– Support people to understand the needs of the child or young person
– Help those working with the child or young person to keep them calm and safe

Over time, we expect professionals across Education, Health, and Social Care to be able to assist families in using the AM/MAM templates when creating their child’s first person-centred profile, or when helping them update an existing profile (e.g., One-page profiles, Health Care Passports). We also intend for the documents to be eventually recognised in universal services such as the police.

You can find more information and download the AM/MAM templates on Manchester Local Care Organisation’s website

Below are some articles and events relating to the “More About Me” (MAM) profiles: