Annual Report 2020/21
Introduction
Welcome to the Local Offer Annual Report for 2020/21! After what has been another wild year the Local Offer continues to grow, as well as continue to be a useful tool to its community and beyond.
Without networking events taking place the number of comments, the Local Offer Officer has received has been reduced. Do not fret though as there has still been some excellent feedback that this report will discuss as well as some upcoming future changes to help improve the website for all its users!
Local Offer Year in Review
The Local Offer Snapshot
Many of you would have seen the development of the Local Offer Snapshot at the start of this year. With the addition of custom banner images, that showcase parts of West Sussex through the different seasons (courtesy of the Graphics Team here at the county council), and a greater amount of organisation to make it easier to read, the Local Offer Snapshot took some giant leaps forward!
On top of this is the addition of the Service Spotlight. This is a new feature to help showcase all the great services throughout our county and the work they do to help support the lives of those with SEND as well as those that support them. If you have a suggestion for a service to feature in the Service Spotlight, then let your Local Offer Officer know.
To find previous editions of the Local Offer Snapshot and to subscribe to it head over to the Local Offer Newsletter page.
Whilst not attending in person events has reduced the ability to gather comments and feedback on the Local Offer there has still been some useful feedback and some great comments! Below are some examples of the comments received and the actions taken from them:
Comment: Is there a way to open the Local Offer newsletter as a web page to share with parents? Action: There wasn’t… But there is now! Now at the top of every new Local Offer Snapshot there is a link which you can use to open the newsletter in a webpage to make it easier to share with friends, colleagues, and anyone else interested!
Comment: searching for dyslexia generates no results in the search! Action: Searching can still be problematic on rare occasions on the Local Offer and unfortunately this is not an easy fix for the Local Offer Officer. The good news is there is a big update planned for the Local Offer, which will enhance the searching on the website. You can read more about planned updates in the Local Offer What’s to Come section of this report.
Comment: Please add a link for where to find help if you have a question about your child's ehcp. Action: This request was for a page which informs parents about Educational Health and Care Plans and it now has a link to the SENAT service card which contains their contact details.
On a more positive note, one area that has received plenty of attention is the Emotionally School Based Avoidance information page on the Local Offer. Councils from across the country and a couple from even further afield have expressed how useful they have been in developing their own resources and informing staff and parents! These materials have been created by the Educational Psychology Service at West Sussex County Council.
Along with this feedback there has also been comments expressing broken links or smaller issues on the site. Having all types of feedback and comments make the Local Offer Officers job much easier as there is an ever-growing number of services and information pages! To find out more about how to leave comments and feedback there are videos you can watch on the Local Offer.
Incorrect address on The Butterfly Project Service card. Action: corrected address, emailed service provider to prompt them to maintain service card.
links on National Charities information page regarding Dyslexia were not working. Action: Fixed links and tied up page.
Special Support Centres (SSC) in West Sussex, is difficult to navigate and poorly laid out on mobile phones. Action: Added information on how to ensure the map appears best on mobile phones. This is currently the best way to present an interactive map, when a better method is found it will be used. Additional note: There has been a greater amount of information on Admissions to Special Support Centre’s in West Sussex added to the Local Offer.
A search for Dyslexia resulted in no results. Action: This seems to be an intermittent issue, as the Local Offer Officer was unable to recreate the problem and unfortunately the individual that left the feedback left no contact details
Can't even access site. Says password error but not what error. Action: This is a bug that occurred when trying to sign into an account with and incorrect email or password. The web developers rectified the problem when informed and now has a message that inform the user what the problem is.
The ‘What is Emotionally Based School Avoidance?’ page on the Local Offer received a 10/10 rating. Action: informed the team responsible for writing the page of the positive feedback.
Young People’s Section on the Local Offer
Over the course of the past year the Local Offer Officer, SENDIAS Service, and SEND Participation Lead have been working with Young Voices to develop a series of leaflets to help children and young people share the feelings and experiences on what it is like to grow up with SEND. These leaflets will then form the basis of information and sections on the Local Offer website. Follow this link to see the work completed so far
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Returning to In-person Events
With a fully vaccinated Local Offer Officer and a lessening impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Local Offer Officer is hoping to return to events! If you are planning an open day or networking event where you think it would be great for attendees to learn more about the Local Offer website and what it can do to help, then get in touch and I will be happy to attend!
That’s all for the 2020/21 Local Offer Annual Report! If there is anything within this report, you would like to discuss or any ideas you think the Local Offer will benefit from please get in touch.
Email: [email protected]
