Frequently Asked Questions

Our main school takes young people aged 11–18 (secondary and post-16). Our separate Alternative Provision programme supports young people aged 11–25.

We specialise in SEMH (Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs), autism (ASD), ADHD, EBSA (Emotionally Based School Avoidance / school refusal), anxiety and a range of additional learning needs. Many of our pupils found mainstream school overwhelming and thrive in our small groups and calm farm environment.

Both descriptions are used. Our site at Nursery Farm, Carrington (M31 4BH) sits within the borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester. We accept EHCP placements from Manchester City Council, Trafford Council and local authorities across Greater Manchester and the North West.

Our pupils learn alongside horses, dogs and small animals on our working farm. Caring for animals builds confidence, empathy, emotional regulation and routine — and for many young people it is the reason school finally "clicks". Animal sessions are woven into the timetable alongside English, maths and vocational subjects, and pupils can work towards BHS Challenge Awards in our equine programme.

Monday to Thursday 9:00am – 2:30pm, and Friday 9:00am – 12:00pm. We follow standard UK term dates — see our term dates page.

Pupils work towards AQA Unit Awards, ASDAN, Open Awards and BHS Challenge Awards, with subjects offered from Entry Level through to GCSE depending on each pupil's starting point. See our curriculum for details.

Yes. Placements at Changing Lives are EHCP-led and commissioned by your local authority. If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan, you can ask your LA SEND caseworker to consult with us — or request that we are named in Section I of the plan. See our admissions page for the full process.

Placements are funded by the placing local authority through the EHCP process — there is no cost to parents. We cannot accept privately funded placements for the main school. Our Alternative Provision is commissioned by schools and local authorities at £160 per day.

We work with SEND teams across Greater Manchester and the North West, including Trafford, Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Bury, Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham, Wigan, Cheshire East and Warrington. If your local authority isn't listed, ask your caseworker to contact us — we accept consultations from any LA.

We welcome visits from families and local authority professionals. Come to one of our open evenings, or contact us any time to arrange a private tour — call 0161 969 5853 or email admin@changinglivessen.co.uk.

Home-to-school transport for pupils with an EHCP is usually arranged and funded by your local authority, depending on your circumstances and distance from school. Ask your SEND caseworker about travel assistance when discussing a placement — we're happy to support the conversation.

This is one of the most common reasons families come to us. Many of our pupils arrived after months — sometimes years — of school refusal and Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). We have a dedicated EBSNA Lead, build gradual reintegration plans at each young person's pace, and our farm setting simply doesn't feel like the school environment they've come to fear. Parents tell us their children now attend happily, full-time, after years of struggle — read their stories on our testimonials page.

We teach in small groups with high staff-to-pupil ratios — a fraction of the size of a mainstream class. Our team of 36+ specialist staff supports a maximum school roll of 40 pupils, so every young person is known well by the adults around them.