As the saying goes 'time flies' and my oldest boy Sam leaves primary and goes to 'big school' next year. I can't quite believe how quickly these years have passed!

And at the ripe old age of 43 I'll be running my first ever marathon in Spring 2019 - the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon! Why? (given I'm quite the disaster area when it comes to running!). Well, I want to raise a few ££ to say thank you to Sam's school before he leaves.

Here's a little bit about the school:

"Pictor Academy caters for children aged 2 – 11 with special educational needs arising from a range of conditions. A large number of pupils have an autistic spectrum disorder. This means that they have difficulties communicating and interacting with others. They will also have difficulties with play and imagination. Some of our pupils have physical difficulties whilst others may have a language disorder or have a general developmental delay.

All our pupils have difficulties accessing education and need to work in smaller class groups with a high level of specialist staff from Education, Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and the School Nursing Service."

The school regularly raises money for causes like Children in Need but also towards funding specialist on-site equipment, resources, repairs and enrichment activities for all students. This year they are hoping to raise money towards a new sensory garden including outdoor music making, as well as starting to put aside some funds to replace the ageing minibus.

So I'm asking if you would kindly sponsor my run (well, plod/crawl more like!) and help me support this outstanding community school and their dedicated staff, who have been so important to so many children and families here in Manchester. I don't mind how little the amount is. Your simple act of generosity, encouragement and backing by doing this will be more than enough.

Thanks, Martin x