Local Offer - Annual Report

The Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on every local authority to publish a SEND Local Offer, setting out in one place information about services and support available for children and young people in their area who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, including those who do not have Education, Health and Care plans. Local authorities and their partner bodies and agencies must co-operate with each other in its development and review. 

The Local Offer has two key purposes: 

• To provide clear, comprehensive, accessible and up-to-date information about the available provision and how to access it, and 
• To make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving children, young people, parents, carers and service providers in its development and review. 

Local authorities must publish comments about their Local Offer received from, or on behalf of, children with SEN or disabilities and their parents and young people with SEN or disabilities. 

Comments must be published if they relate to: 

• The content of the Local Offer, which includes the quality of existing provision and any gaps in the provision
• The accessibility of information in the Local Offer
• How the Local Offer has been developed or reviewed.

Local authorities are not expected to publish responses to every comment individually but can adopt a ‘you said, we did’ approach. Local authorities are also not required to publish abusive or vexatious comments or complaints about the service provided to an individual since there are established routes for such complaints. 

The SEND Local Offer is managed by Doncaster Families Information Service (FIS) and the website is hosted by the City of Doncaster Council. While FIS manage the content of the website, the accuracy of the information is a shared responsibility across the whole partnership, which includes education, early years, health, social care and our wide range of partners from the voluntary, community and faith groups.

Local Offer Website Statistics

We have had a total number of 60,454 pageviews between April 2022 and March 2023; a 63.8% increase from 2022-23.

The top 10 most visited pages (excluding the Local Offer homepage) are shown below:

• Early Years Inclusion
• Schools and Alternative Provision
• Assessment including Education, Health and Care Plans
• Specialist Education Support Services
• Graduated Approach Toolkit
• TIE Activity Discount Card for children with SEND
• Activities & Leisure
• SEN Service and FAQs from the SEND Code of Practice
• Short Breaks
• Graduated Approach Homepage

Below are some of the pages users spent the most time viewing: 

• Graduated Approach Toolkit
• Early Years Inclusion
• Portage Service
• Specialist Provision
• Activities and Leisure
• SEN Support

In addition to the website visits, there have been 500 searches made on the Local Offer Directory. The Local Offer Directory compliments the Local Offer website by allowing users to find services and information from national and local services through using relevant ‘keyword’ searches. This continues to be an underused feature of the website which we intend to promote more going forward.

Local Offer Facebook Analytics 

Data shows that our Facebook followers are increasing each month. As of 1^st April 2024, we have 2,187 followers; a 14.5% increase (277) since April 2023. The majority of our followers continue to be women aged 35-44 years. The average reach of our page is 6,410 a month and we average 303 page visit per month.

The top five performing posts on the Local Offer Facebook page, from April 2023 to March 2024 were as follows:

1. Post about a new SEND group, including poster, reached 17,027 users
2. Post about work to improve the SEND offer in Doncaster, including a survey link and poster reached 9,495 users
3. Post about an opportunity to join our team, with a graphic, reached 9,476
4. Post about activities taking place as part of the Short Breaks Holiday Activity Timetable, with posters, reached 2,033 users
5. Post about a SEND parent/carer coffee morning hosted by Doncaster Parents Voice, with poster, reached 1,980 users.

All of our top performing posts were accompanied by images, therefore, it would be fair to conclude that posts with images typically reach more users than basic text posts.

The Local Offer Website

The Local Offer website has also been updated to reflect the services that are available as a result of strategic assessments of local needs, consultations with parents and reviews of local provision.

Officers responsible for the publication of the Local Offer have been working with the local parent carer forum ‘Doncaster Parents Voice’ to improve the content, look and navigation of the Local Offer website. We have consulted and actively used the feedback received to make changes, which families suggest will help them to quickly find the information they are searching for.

Improved Navigation

Based on the comprehensive feedback we received from Doncaster Parents Voice, we have worked closely with colleagues in the Council to introduce an enhanced navigation system to improve accessibility to the Local Offer webpages. This works by providing a dropdown navigation system, which helps users to access key information faster.

We have also done a significant amount of work to redesign the webpages, so the information is organised around the needs of children and young people as opposed to being service led.

Improved Information about Local Health Services

We have worked closely with local health services and the Designated Clinical Officer to ensure that the Local Offer website is representative of local health services and that we have direct links to service leads to ensure that our information is updated and timely. The content is now displayed in the ‘needs led’ format which parents and partners alike agreed would make the content easier to navigate.

Promotion

In response to comment from parents and partners that families were not aware of the Local Offer website and in some instances find it hard to navigate, we used funding from ‘Developing Better Values’ to employ a dedicated ‘Local Offer Officer’. The Officer is responsible for outreach work and promotion of the Local Offer.

We have also:

• Attended the area SENCO network meetings to promote the Local Offer and to encourage professional partners to ensure that parents are aware of the Local Offer website
• Attended local school cluster meetings in-house training events
• Attended coffee mornings in schools
• Commissioned a radio commercial which is played every hour in all of our local leisure centres
• Worked with SENDIAS to make sure that the team promote the Local Offer website to all families they are supporting.

In addition to making changes to the Local Offer website, there has been a great deal of work around SEND as a whole in Doncaster, which included identifying areas of strengths and weaknesses to allow us, along with partner agencies, to improve and develop services for families.

Online EHCP Hub

The EHC Hub is an innovative digital platform supporting engagement, contributions, and collaboration on EHC assessments, plans and reviews. The platform also allows parents to complete an online form to request an EHC assessment as well as monitoring the progress of an application made. This launched in April 2024 for new requests and assessments.  It will also be used for statutory Annual Reviews in the near future, once existing data migration is completed.

Social, Emotional, Mental Health Hubs

In response to the increasing rates of Social, Emotional, Mental Health (SEMH) needs across the borough, alongside parental comments, The City of Doncaster Council (CDC) have opened 3 new local SEMH Hubs to support pupils with mental health needs. A 4th SEMH Hub is planned to officially open in September 2024, although staff are already in place and work is already being undertaken in the locality. Further SEMH Hubs are proposed as part of the Sufficiency Plan to increase the number of children and young people who will receive locally based support for their needs.

Doncaster Autism Service (DAS)

The City of Doncaster Council and the Integrated Care Board (ICB) acted on parental feedback requesting an increased in pre and post diagnosis support for children and young people. From this Doncaster Autism Service was set to support families and was for children of all ages through funding from the Integrated Care Board.

Doncaster Autism Service has been hugely successful in offering pre and post diagnosis workshops, 1:1 post diagnosis support, community-based activities and support groups and working with other local services. As a result of their success, they have received increased funding from the ICB to sustain and increase their current offer.

Family Hubs

Family Hub staff have consulted with parents of children with SEND for feedback of their experiences of accessing their services. This led to the development of a SEND specific booklet for parents, which provides information and advice about accessible buildings, local groups and resources. Family Hubs have also employed two workers on a temporary basis whose remit is to enhance the SEND provision. This will include recruiting parent champions, setting-up social groups and completing audits of our all our buildings to ensure they are inclusive, and families feel welcome.  

Family Hub staff have also initiated a pilot scheme in Edlington, which is a community led group for parents and their children with SEND. This is helping to shape service and direct support where is it most required. All staff have attended a deaf awareness training course and some staff are trained in using Makaton. Family Hub staff also work closely with a BSL interpreter to offer information, advice and support to our families in a local community centre.

Joint SEND Commissioning Strategy

We have published the Joint SEND Commissioning Strategy to improve knowledge and understanding of the current position in Doncaster, what services are available, where any gaps may be and how we might address these.

SEND Handbook and Toolkit

The SEND Handbook and Toolkit has been launched and links closely to the Local offer website which ensures greater consistency of approach and delivery of the graduated approach within settings. This includes guidance for all staff for working with all SEND need types and the templates required for use within the new EHC Hub (IDOX EHCP System). This also includes details of useful tools to aid support within schools, leading to increased focus on inclusion as a result of greater understanding.

The Handbook and Toolkit expands upon and replaces the Graduated Approach Toolkit. Some new additions in the Handbook include the Ordinarily Available Provision guidance and SEND Funding and Needs Descriptors.   

Following the positive response to the SEND Handbook, a new Parent Handbook is in the process of being developed and will compliment the information on the Local Offer.

The SENCO Charter

The SENCO Charter was launched in the Autumn Term 2023 with a key focus on providing SENCOs with the time and appropriate space to undertake the role.  A key part of this was more time to interact with families and provide tailored support.

Inclusion Charter

The SEND and Inclusion Charter has been developed and is currently being reviewed by a number of children, young people and families to ensure that this meets their requirements before formal launch. A new performance measure for schools is also in development called the “Inclusive8” and this will underpin the SEND and Inclusion Charter.

The Mainstream inclusion team commenced in January 2024 and has started to work with schools on their own SEND and inclusion progress. This team will focus on inclusion within schools and will both support and challenge schools to improve inclusivity.

Launching the Co-production Charter

Working with the Making a Difference Group, we have recently launched the Co-production Charter, highlighting the Ladder of Co-production and creating an outline for further working together going forwards.

Further information about the feedback which came from the Making a Difference Group can be found in the Feedback and Co-production section of this report.

Completed a SEND Local Parental Consultations

A parental survey undertaken in December 2024 which gave following key results, all of which will be used to help inform our ongoing strategic plans:

• Timeliness and Pathways (Needs identified in a timely way)
  • When asked “What support from health services could be better?” 32% said quicker diagnosis times.
  • When asked “What support in their education and/or training could be better?” 25% said quicker identification of need / diagnosis.
• Access to the Community / Activities Outside of School (Valued visible and included)
  • When asked “What support in their activities outside of school / social life is working well?” 36% of parents said they were unaware of what services were available
  • When asked “What support in their activities outside of school / social life could be better?” 36% of parents said accessibility.
• Training on SEND for all Professionals Who Work with Children and Young People
  • When asked “What support in their education and/or training could be better?” 23% said knowledge and skills i.e. more training and awareness raising on SEND for professionals.
• Help and Support (Right Help at the Right Time & Prep for Next Steps)
  • When asked if they received the right help and support from services 29% said no to healthcare, 28% said no to Education and training, 58% said no to social care and 47% said no to prep for next steps.

All local authorities must publish feedback and comments on the Local Offer and demonstrate how the feedback has been used to shape services and information to ensure they meet local needs.

There are multiple ways users can give feedback and get involved in the co-production of the Local Offer in Doncaster. These include:

• Giving feedback on each page of the Local Offer website
• Using the Local Offer feedback form
• Contacting Families Information Service to give feedback
• Giving feedback in person at outreach events.

Employing an additional officer to work in the team has meant we will be able to increase our presence in the community and secure feedback from families to help us improve the Local Offer website.

The following feedback is an overview of what you told us over the last 12 months:

Community and Website Feedback

Making a Difference Group

Shadow SEND Board

Doncaster’s Young People's SEND Shadow Board has been reformed and the group is working to ensure that the voice of children and young people with SEND is heard and represented at the Local Area SEND Board and in the wider partnership. Below are the current priorities and actions taken to address the issues raised.

We are dedicated to improving the Local Offer to ensure that the information is up-to-date and relevant and meets the needs of Doncaster residents and professionals working with children and young people with SEND in our community. To do this we will:

• Continue to engage with members of the community, to ensure their voices are heard, as they form a crucial part of the co-production of the Local Offer
• Further promote the Local Offer, including the Local Offer Directory, across Doncaster to ensure more people are aware what support available is available
• Continue to partake in the Yorkshire and Humber Local Offer Group to learn from the experiences of other local authorities
• Work with more young people to review the Local Offer and find ways to improve access to information.

Local Offer Annual Report - 2023-24

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