Commenting on Services and Leaving Feedback on our Local Offer
You are able to comment on services on the West Sussex Local Offer. Please see video tutorial below:
- If you already have an account, sign in if you do not have an account create one now.
- Click on the 'service' tab above.
- Then enter the name of the service you wish to comment on within the search bar.
- Scroll down to ‘comments’ and type your comment.
Please find advice from a parent about commenting on services on our Local Offer:
The purpose of comments is to help other parents to make informed decisions about which services they may choose to use, so think about what would be useful for them to know.
The Local Offer is not the place to vent your anger. If you are having problems with a service we recommend you speak to them directly to try and resolve the situation.
Your comment should be factually correct and not make reference to any named individuals, unless you are praising them and then it would still be polite to have got their permission first. If you commenting on an event or activity you may find the following format useful:
What I liked....
What I didn’t like....
What I would need in the future......
Please include a date and/or location so the service provider can be clear as to which event/activity you are commenting on.
Having posted your comment this will be sent to the Local Offer team and the service itself. Services are not required to reply to your comment but some may choose to do so. If the service does reply please note that a further comment from you regarding the same issue will not be posted on the Local Offer. In some instances the service provider may contact you directly.
Please note that all comments are subject to moderation. If they include inappropriate language they will be removed from the site.
Guidance to services responding to comments on the Local Offer
We recommend someone in your organisation has responsibility for your listing on the West Sussex Local Offer. This would include keeping your summary card up to date, responding to comments and posting events on the events calendar. Once a comment has been made an e-mail is sent to the organisation and to the Local Offer team. Whilst there is no obligation to respond, it would be seen as courteous to do so and could enable you to resolve a user complaint or to acknowledge and respond to a suggestion. Please be aware that your response is published on the Local Offer and will be seen by all those viewing the site.
Once you have received a comment:
General advice:
We encourage you to respond to comment(s) in a timely manner, if you have received a complaint you should follow your own procedure for responding to these;
Please use jargon-free language that is easy to understand and under no circumstances include any inappropriate or offensive words or phrases. Any such instances, whether from a user or a service provider, the comment will be removed from the site;
Any comments that contain complaints should be passed to an appropriate manager so, if necessary, they can investigate further and provide appropriate information for a response.
Whilst it is natural to be upset if you receive a negative comment, you could always encourage other service users to leave comments about their experience. This would ensure a balanced/more representative view of your organisation/service.
Specific advice:
if the comment is negative start with an apology, if the comment is positive start with a thank you;
reassure the user that you welcome their comment(s) as they enable your service to improve;
keep your response to the point and unless you feel it necessary do not try to address each individual issue;
if appropriate refer the person who left the comment to someone in your organisation who can help them further to resolve the matter privately.
What we have done to help ensure comments are constructive:
We have worked together with the Parent Carer Forum to promote suitable use of the Local Offer for comments
We have produced clear guidelines for parent carers as to what is acceptable and in what circumstances their comment(s) will not be published.
Produced a video link explaining how to make a comment
Decided not to publish a further comment made in response to your reply.
Please note that the Local Offer will not remove any published comments (other than if it contains abusive language, is a further reply to an original comment, or if it can be proved that it is factually incorrect), as the site needs to reflect the views of all users whether their experience has been positive or negative. Over time comments may be used to inform decisions made by commissioning managers so how you respond is important.
