We received an invitation from a University of Manchester researcher who is looking for parents and carers to join a focus group to discuss the different factors that affect Manchester families’ ability to access an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for their child or young person with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).

Please see Imogen’s letter below and download the Participant Information Sheet at the bottom if you wish to learn more about this study.

Hello, I am Imogen and an undergraduate student at the University of Manchester, studying Sociology. I am doing my third year dissertation at the moment with a research question of ‘What factors affect families’ abilities to access Educational Health Care Plans (EHCPs) for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities children in Manchester?’.

I am aiming to discover real life experiences when interacting with the system. It is a mixed methods dissertation so this will be paired with data analysis of the Department of Education on what demographics are accessing EHCPs.

My interest in this research is informed by my summer internship working at Manchester City Council in the Performance, Research and Intelligence team. During this role, I looked at different trends in EHCPs currently. I was able to develop an understanding of how EHCP processes operate locally and the real-world impact they can have on children, young people, and families, and want to explore this further through my own research.

I am looking for a group of 10-12 parents who are above 18 and look after a child/children with an EHCP to partake in a focus group. A focus group is a group conversation, structured and guided by me. I will ask a series of questions to stimulate conversation on parents’ experiences of the system; from whether they think it is providing the support required, to any unexpected experiences.

The focus group will either take place online over Zoom/Teams, or on campus at the University of Manchester, depending on what works best for the majority. The focus group will be recorded for analysis and deleted after transcription with all names pseudo-anonymised and personal identifying information removed.

I would be very grateful if you could consider taking part. If you are interested, please email me at Imogen.ellis@student.manchester.ac.uk for more information, any questions you have and the official participant information sheet and consent form.

Many thanks for your time in considering this request.

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