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    Together we thrive

    At the Together Trust, our vision is a society where people thrive because they are valued within their communities.

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    • Who we are
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    Get involved

    Whether it’s joining the team, becoming a foster carer or making a regular donation, your support changes lives.

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    • Ways to give
      • Make a donation
      • 50:50 lottery
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      • Give monthly
      • Recycling
      • Support our Christmas Appeal
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      • Volunteer
      • Campaign
    • Come to an event
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      • Community events
      • All events
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      • Start a fundraiser
    • Get involved
  • What we do
    Everyone deserves to lead a happy life – together, we make that possible

    What we do

    At the Together Trust, we deliver individual care, support and education services across the North West.

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    • Education
      • Ashcroft
      • Bridge
      • Inscape
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    • Helping families
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Contact us Contact us

Campaigning

As a leading charity in the North West, we work tirelessly towards a brighter future for all and to build communities where everyone feels valued and can thrive.

The people we support tell us that they face daily discrimination, hardship and barriers. Things must change.

Every day, we listen and learn from the people we support so we can work together for change. Join us.

What we're campaigning for

Our work on SEND reforms

We are campaigning for a SEND system that does not cut corners and is built around the needs of the child. 

Read more »

Keep Caring to 18

We believe that every child in care should be guaranteed care up to the age of 18 but new government legislation will leave thousands* of children without care every year.

Read more »
Person waiting behind the yellow line in on a train station platform. A train is approaching the platform.

Accessible travel across Greater Manchester

There are 96 train stations in Greater Manchester - and less than half have step-free access. We’re campaigning to make stations across the UK accessible – starting with Ashburys train station in Openshaw, Manchester.

Read more »

Mental Health work

We see increasing demand for mental health support through the high number of referrals the Together Trust receives daily.

Mental health is one of our campaigning priorities, and we will continue to fight for change where it is needed in the mental health system.

Read more about our work on Mental Health
Two boys smiling with their arms around each other. The text says: 'Help us fight for change. Join our mailing list.'
"It is an outrage. In this day and age, in the 21st century we have a lack of facilities…. Everybody should be able to access public transport, no matter who you are."
Nathaniel Yates

Where we stand

Care leavers

Care experienced people deserve the best possible life chances. But they tell us they continue to feel stigmatised and alienated from society. We're committed to challenging stereotypes and shattering misconceptions. Until communities value and support care leavers as they should.

We want to see long-term support in place for care leavers. Starting from someone's initial transition from the care system long into independence. We also want the age of care leavers moving into independent accommodation raised to 25, and appropriate ongoing support offered throughout someone's life, so they can truly thrive.

Children and young people’s mental health

The government’s prioritisation of children and young people’s mental health is a step in the right direction. But the investment doesn't go far enough.

Support services continue to be cut. CHAMS and the NHS strain under the weight of referrals. And young people are not getting the help they need. Early intervention is critical so young people can build resilience and get the right support to manage their mental health.

We're campaigning for critical early intervention services. So that young people can build resilience and get the right support to manage their mental health.

Children in care

The North West has some of the highest levels of looked-after children in the country. Unless we invest in early intervention and robust support for families in crisis, these numbers will increase.

Public perception of young people in care needs to change. We're working towards removing the stigma and barriers that looked-after children face. We want to see the care system transformed, with love at the heart and care-experience people making decisions.

Employment and lack of opportunities for people with disabilities

Employment can present real barriers for the people we support. Putting them at risk of poverty, marginalisation and lower quality of life.

Despite government initiatives, disabled people are still less likely to find employment than their non-disabled peers. Disabled people can also face workplace discrimination, lack of support and unequal pay. There needs to be a change in attitude.

So, we're calling for the government to take further action now. And to ensure that disabled people have the same rights as non-disabled people to access a secure, fair workplace.

Transitions

The transition from children’s to adult services can be challenging and upsetting for young people and their families. Changes to education, health and care plans (EHC plans) should mean that there is no hard transition to adult services. But families are reporting that this isn’t the case.  

We want to see the appropriate support agreed years in advance. As well as support for children and young people to say what changes they would like to make to their plans. Everyone should have a voice in their care and the outcomes they want to achieve

People with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their families 

People who have profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) are among the most vulnerable in our society. Yet their needs and rights are frequently neglected.

One of the greatest barriers faced by people who have PMLD is the negative attitudes of others. These judgements can prevent people receiving more innovative forms of support or healthcare. Simply because someone else doesn't feel they will benefit, or that the costs are too high.

Such judgements show a failure to understand the contribution every individual makes to the lives of those around them. We want to make sure people with PMLD are fully included in society. And to make sure they have the same human rights as everyone.

SEND reforms

Despite the reform of the SEND system, parents continue to face unnecessary battles. The system is complex. And there is little guidance or support for desperate and vulnerable families.

As parents fight for the support their children need, local authorities continue to spend vital funds on needless tribunals. These decisions place unnecessary strain on families mentally and emotionally and on local authorities financially. We want to see the person-centred system that was promised in action, and the voice of families and their children respected.

We champion the rights, needs and ambitions of the people we support - they are at the heart of everything we do. We stand by them and we work together for change.

Our responses

Our response to Ofsted’s proposals on inspecting semi-independent accommodation

15 September 2023

Last week, we responded to the consultation on the new Ofsted inspection framework for semi-independent accommodation.

News
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Inspecting careless accommodation: Our thoughts on the Ofsted framework

24 August 2023

Ofsted is currently consulting on its framework for inspecting semi-independent accommodation. The consultation aims to gather opinions on inspection outcomes, notice periods for inspections and key elements of semi-independent (careless) accommodation. 

News
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We’ve responded to the Major Conditions Strategy consultation

3 July 2023

On 26 June, we responded to the Major Conditions Strategy consultation, sharing recommendations and concerns about the state of children and young people’s mental health in England.

News
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We’re campaigning to keep ticket offices open

4 August 2023

The government launched a consultation on 5 July with plans to close ticket offices in England. We believe that these proposals are harmful to disabled people and contradict government and rail industry commitments to improve rail access.  

News
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Our response to the government’s plan for children’s social care: ‘Stable Homes Built on Love’

5 June 2023

In February, the Department for Education published a consultation on Children's Social Care Reform. 

The consultation closed on 11 May 2023 and sought views on the following government ‘missions’:

News
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Did you see us at the SEND Summit?

5 July 2023

This week, we attended SEND Summit 2023, hosted by Children and Young People Now.​ The day was action packed with engaging workshops and lively discussion from across the sector, including teachers, SENDCos, social workers and public health professionals. 

News
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Mental Health Awareness Week 2023: #KeepCaringTo18

16 May 2023

Each year, 1 in 4 children entering the care system are aged 16 or 17. The majority have experienced either neglect or abuse in their home.

News
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Our response to the government’s plan for children’s social care: ‘Stable Homes Built on Love’

5 June 2023

In February, the Department for Education published a consultation on Children's Social Care Reform. 

The consultation closed on 11 May 2023 and sought views on the following government ‘missions’:

News
Read more »

Mental Health Awareness Week 2023: How public transport affects disabled people's mental health

15 May 2023

In light of Mental Health Awareness Week, we want to shed some light on how people's mental health is affected by their experiences with public transport.

News
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We responded to the accessible transport inquiry

22 March 2023

On 20 March we responded to the Transport Select Committee’s inquiry on accessible transport, which was set up to find ways to make different modes of transport, public and private, more accessible to disabled people and those with access needs. 

News
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No money, some ambition – our statement on the Government’s response to the Children’s Social Care Review

14 February 2023

This month, the government published their plans for reforming children’s social care, Stable Homes, Built on Love. Touted as a once in a generation opportunity to reset the dial and improve young people’s life chances, the opportunity to improve life for more than 80,000 children in care risks slipping away. It is not that there is no ambition, it is that there is no money. 

News
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Zero Discrimination Day

23 February 2023

On 1 March, we celebrate Zero Discrimination Day: a day which aims to end all forms of discrimination.

News
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Ten-year mental health plan scrapped

30 January 2023

Last week, we were deeply disappointed to hear of the government’s decision to scrap proposals for a dedicated 10-year mental health plan.

News
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We want Ashburys train station to be accessible for all

27 January 2023

Last week, our campaigns team visited Bridge College alongside Nathaniel Yates to kickstart our work on making the local Ashburys' train station accessible.

News
Read more »

Care means having someone regularly around and being loved and protected, teenage survey reveals

23 January 2023

An online survey undertaken by the children’s rights charity Article 39, as part of the national #KeepCaringTo18 campaign, was completed by 355 teenagers aged 16 and 17 between 20 November 2022 and 1 January 2023.

News
Read more »

Our response to the government’s consultation on regulating semi-independent accommodation

16 January 2023

Today, we have outlined our concerns to the Department for Education about their plans to regulate semi-independent accommodation for 16- and 17-year-olds.

News
Read more »

We stand together

Everything we do is in collaboration with the people we support and people with lived experience.

We also partner with like-minded organisations at a national level to share practice and campaign for change. Because together we a brighter future for all.

Alliance of Children in Care and Care Leavers

The Alliance for Children in Care and Care Leavers is a a coalition of organisations that work to support children in care and care leavers. 

We're calling for a care system that promotes resilience and emotional wellbeing by helping children and young people to recover from past harm.

Our plan of work to ensure that every single child has the best possible chance to recover from trauma and realise their full potential focuses on three key themes:

1. The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Children in Care and Care Leavers

Mental health and wellbeing have long been central to the Alliance’s work. We have been successful in amending legislation to include specific arrangements for children in care and care leavers. The Alliance will work with policymakers to secure timely and tailored mental health support for all children from the moment they arrive into care. We will monitor the progress of existing government commitments and will seek to influence new policy in this area.

2. Stability

The Alliance believes that stability is crucial to recovery from trauma, and that the gaps in the system that undermine stability must be addressed. Stability of care placement, stability in relationships and of educational setting are central to the well-being of children in care. For far too long, there has been insufficient focus on the idea of stability, to the detriment of helping looked after children and young people recover from the psychological impact of abuse and neglect. The Alliance will continue to promote stability as key to supporting the resilience and emotional wellbeing of all children in and leaving care.

3. Eighteen Plus and Care Leavers

Some progress has been made by the Alliance and other organisations in making the case for softening the cliff-edge that sees children in care and care leavers losing access to support services and having to leave care placements as soon as they turn eighteen. The Alliance will continue to push for better funding for Staying Put and will monitor and seek to influence developments including Staying Close

Disabled Children's Partnership

The Disabled Children’s Partnership is a major coalition of more than 80 organisations campaigning for improved health and social care for disabled children, young people and their families. 

We believe that disabled children, young people and their families should have access to the services they are entitled to, when they need them. We are not asking for disabled children to be singled out or treated differently. We are asking for fairness. But in England today, this simply isn’t happening. Disabled children face four big challenges.

  • There are not enough services
  • Many of those that exist are not good enough
  • Families cannot access them easily
  • Services do not always work together and communicate well with each other

This leads to an unacceptable contrast between the quality of life and the opportunities available to disabled children and their families, compared to those without disabilities. Simple tasks such as visiting a park, going to school or doing the weekly shop are often extremely challenging and in some cases impossible. But this does not need to be the case. 

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Contact us: Together Trust Centre, Schools Hill, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 1JE | Tel: 0161 283 4848

Established 1870 | Registered charity No. 209782 | Registered in England 00301722 | Vat No. 611 4005 06