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- Local Offer Annual Report 2021 - 2022
Local Offer Annual Report 2021 - 2022
The Special Educational Needs and / or Disabilities (SEND) Local Offer is a legal requirement. It tells you things and helps children and young people aged 0-25. You can find out more by reading the SEND Code of Practice.
Every Local Authority must say what help they expect to be available in their local area.
Lots of different people contribute to the Local Offer. These can be from education, health care, social care. Parents and young people also make important contributions.
You can find out more details on the Local Offer website.
This report is an overview of the Local Offer from 1st April 2021 – 31st March 2022.
During this time, the Local Offer service was provided on behalf of Wakefield Council by Barnardo’s Wakefield Early Support, Advice Information Liaison (WESAIL) service.
There was one part-time person employed as the Local Offer Lead. She helped put information on the website, Facebook and in the newsletter.
How have we got on with our targets from last year?
Target 1: We will increase our joint working with children, young people, parents, and carers. This is also called coproduction. We will do this by working with Kid Squad (the SEND Young People’s Advisory Group), Wakefield Parent Carer Forum and Wakefield Awareness Support Project. We will also work with our Local Offer Champions.
Please see our Engagement and Coproduction section for more information.
Target 2: Services will be encouraged to keep their information up to date. We will do this through our Local Offer Champions and Local Offer Together meetings.
We have developed new Easy Read forms to make it easier for services to keep information up to date.
We have used peer reviews to identify areas / services on the Local Offer that require updating and have contacted these services.
Target 3: We will develop more easy read and accessible information on the Local Offer. We will do this by working with a newly appointed Workshop and Accessibilities Coordinator and attending accessibility training. We will also use audits completed by parents, carers, children, young people, professionals and Local Offer Together meetings.
We have developed new Easy Read forms to make it easier for services to keep up to date.
We have attended accessibility training sessions run by Texthelp and Gov.uk.
We have developed several new Easy read sections on the Local Offer such as Autism and Feedback. Other sections are still in development. These have been audited by Local Offer Champions, the Local Offer Together (LOT) group and Kid Squad. Please see our Audits and Engagement and Coproduction section for more information.
We have also made information on education providers easier to read.
The Workshop and Accessibilities Coordinator has supported the auditing of the Local Offer website.
All education provider pages updated with contact information, links to SEND information, Google Street view link, setting logo and updated metatags.
Information displayed on search results is simpler and easier to read.
Creation of new Easy Read section on autism
Creation of new Easy Read section on feedback
Use of Easy Read format for Preparation for Adulthood
Recruited Local Offer Champions to support the development of the Local Offer
Added link to Facebook from the LO website
Created new Easy Read templates for groups, services and professionals wanting to join or update their information on the LO
Signposted to more local services and events via Facebook
The Local Offer website had 51,888 visits from April 2021 to March 2022.
This is an increase of 41% on 2020-2021.
The number of pages viewed this year was 169,514.
This is an increase of 76.5% on 2020-2021.
The number of new users on the website was 34,233.
This is an increase of 25% on 2020-2021.
The reasons for the increases could be:
- More advertising of the Local Offer website e.g., via Facebook
- More signposting to the Local Offer by parents / carers and professionals
- Development of the Easy Read pages and sections
- Updating of education providers page information and ease of search
- Directing users to the WESAIL page for updates on the service transfer
- People seeking information due to the Covid 19 pandemic. There is an increase of need for social, emotional and mental health support.
The most popular searches on the website are:
The most viewed pages were:
We have added several new services to the Local Offer this year. These have included Wakefield Inclusion Special Educational Needs / Disabilities Support Service (WISENDSS), several new short breaks providers and a range of distance learning packages.
“Thanks for putting this page together. I know how much time goes into it… we appreciate it.” - Useful links page
“I was pretty curious to read your page, you did it great! So, I scrolled to your resources to check them.” - Covid page
“Thank you for the pages you have created they are really clear.” - new Easy Read Autism Spectrum page
“Self-explanatory, easy to use site. “
“Easy to use page.” – Information Network application page
“Thanks so much for the update, it looks fab!” – DEX Deaf Youth Council page
“The website was easy to use, and the form was straight forward”
“Very clear to fill in online, fast.” – Information Network application page
The Local Offer website also has a contact button on every page.
This allows users to contact the Local Offer to ask any questions they have or for support. The messages go to an inbox that we look after.
Here is the feedback we have received:
“Thank you for those” - information on behavior parenting courses early years
“Thank you! This is very much appreciated!” - providing application forms for summer holiday activities
“Cheers, thanks.” - Providing information on discount cards via phone
“Thanks.” - Providing IN form
“Thank you for your reply.” - Responding to request for support
“Thank you for getting back to me.” - MSP form information
“Thank you so much for your help, that’s great!” - Autism assessment details
“Thank you for providing further information.” - WASP details
“Thank you so much for being so helpful and coming back to me so quickly.
Much appreciated” - autism self-referral
“That’s lovely, thanks very much. Thanks for doing that, appreciate it.” - providing information on school application dates
“Thank you” - providing Max Card info
“Thanks for that. Will get in touch with them.” - Providing adult education details
“Thank you very much for your help. Thanks so much, I’d really appreciate that.” - Aspire card / other discounts etc.
“Thanks, I will try one of them” - Support for complaining about EHCP
“Thank you for your email. I really appreciate you sending this information over for me. Thanks so much” - anger management information links link to DLP on Managing Angry Feelings
This year, the inbox for this Contact Us button has been busier than last year. It is positive that more people are finding it a useful way to get support and signposting.
The Local Offer newsletter is called News & Views. It goes out three times a year. It has information on services, support, conditions, advice, and things to do.
It is sent out via email and post to those registered on the Information Network. There are around 1,000 families that receive the newsletter in this way. The newsletter is also sent out to professionals.
It is also signposted on Facebook and put on the Local Offer website.
Each newsletter has articles on different ages groups and topics as requested by users to meet their needs.
The feedback from surveys on the newsletter has been very positive, with people saying they find the articles useful or interesting.
What have people said about the newsletter?
“Absolutely brilliant and informative newsletter. Thanks.”
“I have just read issue 42 news & views for Wakefield Local Offer and would like to congratulate you on a really good read. It's full of useful and interesting bits of information and I really enjoyed reading it.”
“I found the whole newsletter useful and interesting.”
What do people want to see in the newsletter?
This graph shows what people would like to see in future newsletters.
This information was gathered after each newsletter was published. The findings for the whole year 2020 – 2021 are shown below.
Most of these requests were then included in the next newsletter after we received them.
Dyslexia, short breaks, and further information on Early Years will be included in the newsletters for 2022 – 2023.
The Local Offer Facebook page went from 1,019 to 1,250 followers this year.
Posts are put out around 3 times per week.
The most popular posts have been:
- Speech, Language and Communication workshop for parents
- WESAIL Service moving to Family Action
- WESAIL’s Distance Learning Packages
- Children’s Mental Health Week – Night Owls Service
- WESAIL’s Behaviour Support Workshop
- Preparing for Adulthood drop-in session
- ‘That Makes Sense’ free training course
- The Hut wellbeing events
- Max Cards
- Free Mental Health and Wellbeing conference
- Sensory Stay and Play sessions
- Family Fun Days from Hopeful Families
- Endorphins Group
- EHCP webinar from Witherslack Group
- New PfA section on the LO
- Health Visiting / School Nursing service survey
The reach of the Facebook page for the year April 2020 – March 2021 was 16,748
The Local Offer Facebook page continues to post a wide range of topics. These can be about support, information, or events. This year we have tried to increase the number of local services we post about. We have also increased the number of direct links to the Local Offer website.
Read our You Said We Did for 2021 - 2022
An audit is where another service, professional or group look at some information and say what is good about it. They can also say what needs improving.
They might use a survey or report to help them do the audit.
Peer Review
We were audited by another Local Authority in December 2021. This is called a Peer Review.
The main positive things they found were:
- A range of clear accessibility options
- Clear information on education providers
- Good information on the directory for in area health services
- Information on Identifying, Assessing and EHC Needs Assessment quick and easy to find
- Clear Preparation for Adulthood section
- Local Offer information all available in one place with just a few external links
The main things to develop are:
- Use of specific filters for out of area education providers
- Update the Home to School Transport policy
- Information on transferring between phase and transition
- Making the SENDIASS service information more obvious
- Information on what the Local Authority expects education settings to offer
- Ensure service users know how to use the website
Local Offer Together (LOT) Group
Our LOT group is made up of parents, carers, and professionals. Representatives from WESAIL, WPCF, Wakefield Council, Wakefield CCG and education attend each meeting.
The LOT group spends part of every meeting auditing sections of the Local Offer website.
The group has focused on the Common Concerns section this year. The group have agreed to use an easy read style to make the information easy for everyone to understand. They have also talked about topics that are relevant and important to them. The group’s ideas from each meeting have then been included in the new Common Worries section of the website. This section is still in development and is not yet live.
Wakefield Awareness Support Project (WASP)
This year, we have worked with WASP to develop better information on Autism. We talked about what information was important to parents and carers, what were useful places to signpost to and how we could break down this information into different sections.
The sections that WASP requested were:
- Social Communication
- Sensory Processing
- Wellbeing
- Sleep
- Behaviour
- Health
- Services
- Support for Parents / Carers
- Resources
- Days Out
The new Autism section went live in May 2021. We received a lot of positive feedback about this. People liked the Easy Read format and felt it was clear to understand the information.
LOT meeting
For more information, please see the Audits section above.
Local Offer Champions
LO Parent /Carer Champions were recruited in Summer 2021 after a social media campaign. LO Champions tell us what they think and help us to make the Local Offer better.
We worked with the LO Champions to improve the new Autism information and for information on benefits for the newsletter.
Kid Squad
Kid Squad is the name of the young people’s advisory group that was formed by the Barnardo’s Inclusion Worker in 2021.
We worked with them to create an Easy Read article on being healthy and happy.
This was published in the Summer 2021 newsletter.
They have also contributed quiz questions and jokes to the newsletter.
In December 2021, we worked with Kid Squad again. This time, they audited the new Common Concerns information that was being co-produced. Their feedback has been included in the You Said We Did section of this report.
The Local Offer is highlighted as one of the key priorities for Wakefield Council in the SEND Strategy for 2020-2024. The aims are to:
“…reduce gaps in services by strengthening joint commissioning. Improve communication with key partners, children, young people, and their families and ensure clarity of the support available.”
From 31st March 2021, Family Action will take over the contract for the WESAIL service from Barnardo’s. There are likely to be changes to the way the service is staffed and structured.
To build on the positives from this year the SEND Local Offer will be:
Even better if… There is a smooth transition of providers when the contract changes from Barnardo’s to Family Action. We will do this by ensuring all Local Offer information is transferred promptly. We will work closely with Family Action to ensure they have a good understanding of what the Local Offer is. We will use any support available to staff involved in maintaining the Local Offer.
Even better if… We develop and coproduce the Local Offer website, focusing on making information easier to read and access. We will do this by involving parents, carers and professionals in any website refresh projects. We will make use of surveys and consultations to get the opinions of others. We will continue to use the Easy Read format. We will encourage services who apply or update their information to use an easy read style.
ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
CAPS – Children’s Advocacy and Participation Service
CCG – Clinical Commissioning Group
DEX – Deaf Ex-Mainstreamers
DLA – Disability Living Allowance
DLP – Distance Learning Package
EHC – Education Health Care
EHCP – Educational Health Care Plan
IN – Information Network
LO – Local Offer
LOT – Local Offer Together
MSP – My Support Plan
NHS – National Health Service
PDA – Pathological Demand Avoidance
PfA – Preparation for Adulthood
SENART – Special Educational Needs Assessment Review Team
SENCOs – Special Educational Needs Coordinators
SEND – Special Educational Needs and / or Disability
SENDIASS – Special Educational Needs and / or Disabilities Information Advice Support Services
WASP – Wakefield Awareness Support Project
WESAIL – Wakefield Early Support, Advice, and Information Liaison Service
WPCF – Wakefield Parent Carer Forum