Delamere Charitable Trust has established a special fund of £75,000 to finance projects that improve the education of Jewish children with special needs in Greater Manchester.

The money was from a major benefactor, the late Gershon Rothman, and schools and organisations can bid for amounts from £5,000 to £20,000.

A formal launch will be held next month and interested parties will have until mid-January to submit projects, which will be assessed by an independent panel.

Malcolm Joels, Delamere's chairman, said children with special needs required "individual support for their education to enable them to overcome serious barriers to their learning and to help them acquire the vital life skills other children take for granted.

"At the same time, we're very pleased to give this public recognition to the late Gershon Rothman, an exceptionally decent, principled and generous man."