You said, we did

Our Local Offer pages on Suffolk Infolink were hard to navigate

We launched this new Local Offer website in November 2023!

We'd like to thank all those who gave their time to helping us design and build it, including Suffolk Parent Carer Forum, the Engagement Hub, SENDIASS and colleagues from Education, Health, Social Care, Early Help, Early Years, Activities Unlimited, the Financial Inclusion and Advice Service, Suffolk on Board Transport, the SCC Digital Content and IT Teams and especially to all the parent carers and other volunteers who gave their valuable time to help test it and give us feedback (and encouragement).

As with any good website, it will continue to grow and develop, but if you spot anything you think we've missed do get in touch and let us know, so that we can make it as good as we possibly can for families.

Practitioners knowledge of SEND practice and procedures is not consistent across all teams

We created a new SEND Good Practice Guide for all staff to ensure access to the most up to date training and guidance.

Children with SEND who are not accessing full-time education find it difficult to re-enter the system.

In January 2023, Suffolk County Council were awarded funding through the Department for Education to create a new service that targets Short Break support to young people with SEND, who are:

• Not accessing full-time education
• In danger of placement breakdown or
• Presenting with Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA).

Eligible children and young people will range from age 5-25; with a particular focus on those aged 10-18. Funding has initially been awarded for 1 year, with the option of applying for further funding for a second year.

A newly created team of Inclusion Officers in the Specialist Education Service Direct Access Team and the Activities Unlimited Short Breaks team will work directly with children, families, schools and other key stakeholders, to identify potential barriers in accessing education. Users will be offered a personalised approach to re-engagement to education through activity-based, small-group Short Break activity sessions with known providers in both daytime and overnight options. At the same the children and families will have enhanced opportunities to engage with and attend Short Breaks. The project aims to support 180 children/families over the initial 12 month period.

This funding was awarded following a competitive application process in which we were supported by Define Fine, PACT (Parents and Carers Together) and SPCF (Suffolk Parent Carer Forum), and we thank them for their support.

Suffolk County Council are investing £1.9m in Felixstowe Centre to provide a 5-bed registered children’s home for children with complex additional needs and disabilities.

The agreement, supported by Suffolk Parent Carer Forum, will see a new building added to the existing site that provides day activities for children with additional needs and disabilities.

The new home will provide 3 permanent beds plus 2 ‘shared care’ beds (where the young person spends part of the week in care and part at home with their family) supporting up to a further 6 young people at any time. The new premises will provide: 

• “Shared Care”, where the care is shared between the LA and the parent/carer providing regular breaks for children and families. This will support both postponing, and avoiding, the need for long-term residential care. 
• Short-term residential care for disabled children entering care, while the most suitable long-term placement is found.  
• Short-term residential care that will provide the break necessary to enable reunification of children with their birth families.
• Long-term residential care where that is the most suitable placement.
• The children and families that will benefit are those with more complex additional needs and disabilities including SEMH/ASD/ADHD/LD/PD.

It is difficult to escalate concerns if provision within an EHC Plan is not being made.

Our experience when accessing mental health support for children and young people in acute hospitals in East and West Suffolk was not good enough.

We have employed trained, experienced Senior Mental Health Nurses to work Across A&E and paediatric/adult wards to oversee the development of care packages and programmes of care and ensure effective communication when working with young people who are experiencing mental health distress. We have also delivered the following training to acute hospital staff:

• Distress tolerance tools (DBT informed strategies for care)
• Enhanced therapeutic observations
• Mental health and risk
• Supporting people who self-harm
• The mental health act

When mental health crisis support is needed, the direct support available is not responsive enough and needs to span health and care to avoid being pushed from pillar to post. It should be a needs-led service and to move away from a medical model.

We co-produced a business case with parents/carers/young people and system partners to provide a new risk intervention offer called the CHRIS service (coordinated risk intervention service) The service went live in February 2022 and we now work with up to 30 young people and families at any one time. CHRIS is needs based, meaning that there is no expectation that a child or young person will require a formal psychiatric diagnosis to access support from the service. The service is accessed via existing mental health or social care and early help teams to provide intensive wrap around support. Clinical outcomes to date have been positive, as has feedback from young people and families. We have also worked with Green Light Trust, who will work alongside CHRIS to provide a longer term sustainable step down from the support the team offers for young people and their families, to further increase and support positive improvement in these young people's lives.

School staff don't always know how to access the right support teams at the council.

To help schools connect to the right support within Inclusion, in September 2022 we launched the Inclusion Support Line. In it's first year, the ISL took 586 calls from 171 schools. Feedback from practitioners who have called the ISL has been positive, saying that the ISL had become their "go-to" when they were unsure of what to do, that the line was 'useful', 'invaluable' and 'a lifeline'.

School staff do not always feel kept in the loop about strategic developments in SEND.

We ran 9 SEND Roadshows in the 22/23 academic year; one each term in Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Lowestoft. We used these to update SENCOs and other school leads about our progress to improve SEND provision in Suffolk, as well as answering specific questions that they had. Our summer 2023 roadshows had a particular focus on supporting students with mental health needs. You can read the slides from the Roadshows on the Suffolk Learning website.

The waiting lists for mental health support are too long.

We have invested an additional £2.5million investment into CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Support) to try and reduce waiting times.
We have invested in digital and third party mental health support systems (Quell, Kooth, Helious, Noise Solution) to increase the support available to families earlier in their journey.

We have delivered Mental Health First Aid training to schools across Suffolk, and are currently progressing STORM training (another suicide prevention training package) for SCC and NSFT, alongside a dedicated suicide prevention action plan.

We introduced a CYP Peripatetic Team in December 2022, providing short term and prompt mental health and emotional wellbeing support to young people, parents and carers in crisis situations.

Short Breaks for young people with learning difficulties and/or Autism with mental health needs were not available or difficult to access.

We have:

• Reviewed our current offer and arrangements, to better understand whether they were meeting this need and how to improve them
• Worked with our partners to co-produce different types of Health-funded Short Break which will provide support to CYP and families/carers in a range of flexible ways based upon needs
• Devised a plan for a range of offers which will continue to work with the Universal and Local Authority offers for Activities and Short Breaks currently in place
• Started to procure providers in Summer 2023 to have an offer in place as soon as possible.

We need closer inpatient Eating Disorder provision.

An Eating Disorder pilot has begun at the CYP Inpatient provision in Waveney, meaning that families should not have to travel as far.

It takes too long to access support for eating disorders.

Eating Disorder waiting times have seen significant improvements over the last two years, and adherence to seeing patients within the 4 week standard for routine referrals has greatly improved. Urgent referrals have also dropped drastically, which we believe is due to the support of the Community Eating Disorders Team and other partners - supporting care to a higher standard earlier on and preventing patient need escalating.

There is not enough careers information available for young people with SEND.

At the start of the year, we were looking to implement some improvements to the www.icanbea.org.uk website - a free, easy to use careers inspiration tool, focussed on helping 12-25 year olds in Suffolk and Norfolk.

We’d scoped some initial ideas about ways to help everyone get a better overview of the resources on offer, but we wanted to do more in terms of accessibility and needed some real feedback. As we were already working closely with both County Councils and West Suffolk College, we all took the opportunity to meet up and hear directly from a group of WSC students about their preferences and challenges when using services like ours. The students that we met with were from the SEND Young Person’s Network who took part in a fun and fascinating workshop, after which we had identified three areas for improvement: Navigation, Service Filters and Visual / Comprehension Aids

Firstly, we were able to begin with some of our own investment, switching to tile-based navigation on our homepage, which visually presents links to the website’s main features, as well as highlighting current news and events. This means that it’s easier for users to get an idea of what’s on offer, without having to process lots of menu items and text - unless they prefer that! (The ‘old’ navigation menus are still in place, as well as a new, simple text-based site map for those with this preference)

The young people that we spoke to (as well as those that support them) were also interested in being able to identify local employers who are signed up to the Government’s Disability Confident (DC) Scheme, and we are able to quickly set up a filter on our organisations index for this. Users can now filter the list of 650+ organisations that we work with to see those DC employers.

The rest of the work that we wanted to implement coincided nicely with a joint European Social Fund (ESF) project in which both Councils and us were already partners, The Youth Pledge for Employers (YPfE) project collaboration allowed us to add a Disability Confident filter for individual vacancies (which we are currently trialling with employers) as well as providing badges to identity the employers themselves visually - by the placement of the DC logo on relevant organisation profiles.

Finally, through YPfE, we’ve just recently been able to integrate a full-featured accessibility widget which is available across the entirety of the main site, via the circular person icon at the top of each page. This offers all sorts of spacing, alignment, text size, image and colour adjustments, as well as set profiles to improve the website experience for people with Dyslexia and ADHD. Among other features, it also contains an integrated Screen Reader and Dictionary.

The improvement project has been a great exercise in collaboration between complimentary organisations and projects, all working towards giving local young people the tools they want to further their careers, training and education.

-The Mason Trust, September 2023

You said

We did

During inclusive Suffolk week it was fed back though social media that young people would like to be part of the SEND YP network where their current educational setting wasn’t already involved

We organised a meeting in the Christmas break and will be holding another at Geek retreat in the February half term.

Young people have told us they would like access to supported part time jobs.

We are working with the icanbea team and invited them along to talk to young people and gain feedback on their website. Young people told them they wanted the to access supportive employment and for this to be evident on the website.

Young people created a what makes good support for autism document.

What makes good support for young people with Autism document.

3-year supportive internships steering group has now been developed to provide more internships to young people with SEND.

Young People told SEND Board they wanted more travel training – they wanted to travel independently in their local area

Young people told SEND Board wanted to have someone to help them when leaving college

Views from children and young people

Safe and Supported project

I want to be able to go out into the community where I live and feel safe and supported, just like everyone else.

SEND Young Person's Network told us they wanted to feel safe, welcome and included within their local communities, to celebrate those places within their communities where they did feel included, and to encourage more organisations to learn from these examples.

During the week 7-11 November 2022, we ran the first ever Suffolk Inclusion Week!

Our Engagement Hub team worked with them to build the “Anyone is welcome map” - a map of welcoming places across Suffolk and developed a “top tips” list to help businesses and venues become more welcoming to those with SEND. You can view the interactive map and top tips here.

We also shared lots of content created by content created by young people with SEND, their families and those working with them. 

What worked well?

• Young people were directly involved in shaping the content shared throughout the week
• It was a great opportunity for teams from Education, SEND, Early Years, Health and Social Care to work together and learn more about what each other do
• 7 more schools signed up to be part of our Inclusion Quality Mark Scheme
• 9 teams or organisations made pledges towards becoming more inclusive
• Families commented on our social media posts throughout the week; giving feedback and suggestions where information could be shared or suggestions for future improvements

Views from children and young people -

Providing access to mental health services

Young people need appropriate support for their mental health at the right time, in the right way, from the right person with the right response, in the right place.

No long waiting lists.

To be treated with respect, understanding and compassion from whoever they reach out to, e.g. school, GP, service provider. Ideal Worker.

Early help in schools is needed and a whole school approach where everyone (all staff) work to the same ethos and culture, i.e. Ideal Worker.

Provide ongoing support for as long as is needed.

Appoint a key worker from the young person’s support network to help them navigate the system and who they can build a relationship with. Should be someone they already know and trust.

Mental Health Transformation Programme is well underway and continues to be developed with young people in co-production.

Barnardo’s are providing support to the EWB Hub and waiting lists have reduced.

Ideal Worker is embedded in many areas of the transformation work but still needs to be in all job descriptions and staff training across NSFT

Whole School approach models are being evaluated and hopefully rolled out.

Approx 50% of schools across Suffolk have a Mental Health Support Team in place or are in the next phase to receive one.

Barnardo’s support families through the NDD pathway for as long as is needed.

Locality teams are being developed based on the key worker model.

Key Worker Function up and running in Suffolk supporting young people on the DSR.

Views from children and young people -

For us, the SEND strategy needs to address the things that are important to us. These things have been made into ‘I’ Statements to sit alongside and within the SEND Strategy 2020 – 2023.

‘I’ Statements are included in the SEND Strategy 2020-23.

The ‘I’ Statements have been divided up into the 4 Priority areas that they relate to and included in each of their action plans. They are reviewed at each Priority meeting and actions agreed against them.

The outcomes framework for SEND services is written to the ‘I’ Statements.

Young people feel that their voices are not always heard

We have published and shared content created by young people with SEND throughout the year, including top tips for employers, the ideal worker and more.

The Neuro-Developmental Disorders NDD pathway wasn't working

The new pathway service is a pilot and one of the key improvements of the pathway is that it is a ‘needs led’ approach with access to support with or without a diagnosis.

Find out more about the NDD Pathway here.

Annual Reviews weren’t being processed on time

We have recruited additional staff to specifically process the Annual Reviews and deliver termly training to SENCos at the SENCo forum

Education, Health and Care Plans aren't always consistent

We have designed and implemented training for all Family Services staff across the county

Being paid to transport my child with SEND to school is difficult / I am not paid enough to transport my child to school.

We increased the mileage rate we pay for Parental Agreements in 2022, from 25p to the HMRC business mileage rate of 45p. This was implemented earlier than planned (May 2022) due to the high cost of fuel, a decision which was supported by the Contract Management Board. In November 2021 we had 59 parental agreements around SEND transport in place; in December 2022 this had risen to 158 agreements. Following feedback from Suffolk Parent Carer Forum that some families found the old payment system difficult to access/use, we now automate the way we pay parents.

It is difficult to find contact details for the Family Services Teams

A contact sheet is published on the website giving these details along with which schools they support. We have also made the information more prominent on the webpage.

Schools reported they weren’t always sure on where to find information and guidance

We created SENCo Central, an area dedicated to schools providing all the helpful resources in one place.

We launched a new Inclusion Support Line to assist education settings and setting based staff source advice, guidance and information.

Schools told us it was difficult to find information on how to access training on SEND and inclusion

Schools now have access to Suffolk CPD and can access eLearning and some face to face learning. The SEND training and development brochure has been updated and shared widely.

The website is difficult to use on mobile phones

The SEND Young Person's Network told us about places in the community they have visited and felt safe and supported

The chance to meet with the leaders of SEND Services in Suffolk

To meet the needs of children and young people in Suffolk new projects and initiatives must be co-produced with parent carers

We have now included a section on the SCC CYP Leadership Team template to ensure all future projects are co-produced before being signed off

Too many children with SEND were being excluded and/or not supported back into school

Created the Education Access Team to support schools and families with children and young people who are facing or have been permanently excluded

You asked us to publish the minutes and documentation from the SEND Programme Board and Accountability Board

You asked for us to share consultations from schools with you when you ask for them rather than having to get them through a Subject Access Request (SAR).

You said

We did

Views from children and young people - The attitude and approach of the people that work with us and support us makes all the difference, so we have developed the ‘Ideal Worker’ which sets out our expectations.

‘Ideal Worker’ is now included in all Job Descriptions and Service Specifications across CYP services and in SEND induction training. Young people with SEND are involved in the recruitment of staff, basing questions on the Ideal Worker, and tender panels in the commissioning of services. The Ideal Worker is embedded across services including SEND, Children’s Mental Health, Care experienced Children and Young People.

Watch the video on YouTube.

We want Travel Training so we can be more independent

We have now passed 500 students successfully competing Travel Training. 72% of students were in Years 11 and 12, 19% in Year 13+ and 9% in Year 10 and below

Can we have a SEND newsletter with regular updates

We are creating a newsletter for parents and carers, you can sign-up to our mailing list here.

You can also follow us on social media:

Facebook
Twitter

It would be useful to have information in different formats i.e., video

We have created animations for:

• What is the local offer
• Parent Carer Needs Assessments
• Early Help Service

We have further animations planned, these include:

• EHCPs
• Activities Unlimited / short breaks
• Preparing for Adulthood

The website can be difficult to use on mobile or tablet

We are working with our contracted supplier to improve the responsiveness of the site on mobile devices. We expect this work to be completed March 2022.

Parents would like the opportunity to meet with SEND leaders

We have restarted our Time To Listen events which were paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It is difficult to find information regarding Alternative Provision

We have added information to our Specialist Education page, including a link to all registered AP providers on the Local Offer.

You said,

We Did

You were not aware that the High Tariff Needs process had changed.

All changes regarding High Tariff Needs are communicated via Suffolk Headlines. All schools are invited on a termly basis to submit their High Tariff Needs termly spreadsheet. Read more on our High Needs Funding page 

Collate all information into one email

SENCO News includes all updates regarding SEND in one place

Communication returning phone calls and emails in a timely manner or at all

We are working hard to address this. IMPOWER completed a Capacity Analysis and identified a staffing gap of 33 new members needed, 24 of these are in Family Services. With the injection of £1.1 million, we have started to recruit new staff to add capacity to ensure we provide timely responses.

Processes create repetition of form filling.

We are reviewing forms in light of this feedback and aim to reduce duplication. In reviewing our SEND Decision Making Panels, a focus area is to ensure that information is carried through the process to reduce duplication and re-referrals.

Training for class teachers would help

Specialist Education Services provide a training offer for all schools including class teachers. A survey for feedback has been sent out. Inclusion Services Training Survey – Suffolk Learning

Make the Local Offer website clear and easier to navigate.

We are currently in a procurement process for a new platform for the Local Offer website, the design and accessibility will be coproduced with children and young people, parent/carers and schools. This should be live in December 2022. The Local Offer has been amended, in light of feedback relating to ease of access for information, mental health services and clarity around contact information.

Key allocated staff for schools from Family Services.

As we increase staffing levels in Family Services, we will look to allocate staff as a point of contact for schools.

SEP/SAP referrals need to be better

A review of all SEND Decision Making Panels has been completed, a new process is being coproduced.

Timely support for schools if they need help.

The Specialist Education Service offers support via the SENCO Support line on a daily basis and Inclusion Support Meetings, the new Inclusion Support Line will be launched in September which will enable school staff to access information, advice and guidance and this will link and sign post to existing support, which will enable quick access to support.

Schools need help to support children to receive a diagnosis to get the right support.

Children do not need a diagnosis to receive support. Please see link below for further information.

Frequently asked questions (SEN Support) - Suffolk SENDIASS

Suffolk (County Council) needs to work with schools

Suffolk County Council wants to work with schools. The Assistant Director Inclusion and the Head of Family Services are joining meetings with schools wherever possible including, Special Heads Network, Suffolk Primary Headteacher Association, Suffolk Association of Secondary Headteachers and Chief Executive Officers Network. A number of head teachers have also met with the Assistant Director Inclusion and Head of SEND Services on an individual school basis and in groups. We are listening to your views and making steps to learn and work with schools, including schools being able to participate in SEND Decision Making Panels in the near future.

Use social media when changes are made on the Local Offer website

Our communication team are sharing updates to the Local Offer via social media and sharing with SENDIASS and Suffolk Parent Carer Forum to further share the communication.

SENCO Support line is great, but I rarely get through as it is only open once a day

A new Inclusion Support line will open in September which will be open all day and be open to any professionals/practitioners across Schools, Social Care and Health. These officers will be available for schools to call all through the day to help schools, navigate the local offer, assist in improving the content of the local offer, signpost school-based colleagues to Inclusion Support Meetings, Solution Circles and arrange a call back from the SENCO support line.

More meetings, less emails.

Family Services staff are being supported to arrange meetings with schools and families wherever possible to coproduce Education, Health and Care plans.

Online portal where we can access information

We continued to explore how we can use portals for access to information, using our current database. Next year we will move to a new database, and this will have portal access.

The writing of EHCP’s needs to be improved

We are currently in the process of reviewing the training for plan writing.

Insufficient school places for children with special education needs and disabilities.

We have completed phase 1 of the SEND capital programme which has created 825 places. We are committed to deliver phase 2 of the SEND Capital Programme which will create a further 72 places. Work is ongoing to review the demand for Specialist Education through our sufficiency planning.

A termly CPD calendar would be helpful

SENCO Central was launched in April 2022, including a SENCO calendar, 

We (schools) have to jump through hoops to sort out provision for children and are given no reason as to why decisions are made.

We are committed to ensuring our processes are transparent and want to ensure that everyone is aware of how we make our decisions. Schools will be party to SEND Decision Making Panels soon.

You Said

Response and changes as a result of the feedback:

Some schools are using fixed term exclusions inappropriately and not considering the child’s additional needs when making that decision

Since academisations, Suffolk County Council does not routinely receive fixed term exclusion data from all schools, and this makes it difficult for us to monitor the way in which exclusions are being used.

From September 2021 all schools will be asked to share their fixed term exclusions data in a timely fashion. A Whole School Inclusion Team as part of the LAs Specialist Education Services is being established. Specialist teachers will support school leaders and SENCos in implementing whole school approaches to SEND. Inclusion Practitioners will offer support where it is identified that more bespoke support is needed for a learner. This will include working directly with the learners, their family and other services, ensuring a joint up and multi-agency approach. The team will be increasingly interrogating fixed term exclusions as part of their remit.

These links provide a guide to the legislation that governs the exclusion of pupils from maintained schools

Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Changes to the school suspension and expulsion process during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In response to the number of fixed term exclusions and a rising number of permanent exclusions in the period to March 2020; Suffolk County Council undertook a deep-dive review of permanent exclusions including looking in detail at 15 case studies. Half of pupils who were permanently excluded had an identified SEND need.

An action plan following the deep dive review is being implemented:

• Support education providers to develop good practice and become an inclusive education organisation.
• Specialist Education Services to enable the development of best practice in identifying need and ensuring effective support for children with SEND across all settings.
• Develop an expert team of practitioners to support the development of and disseminate best practice across Suffolk settings in meeting the educational needs of children and young people who exhibit persistent disruptive behaviour.
• Establish a Suffolk wide co-produced protocol, regarding the use of part-time timetables in mainstream schools for any pupils and seek the support of all academies and maintained schools in its implementation.
• Routinely gather fixed term exclusion data so that pupils who need additional support can be identified more quickly.
• Develop and implement Suffolk protocols for the transfer of information / communication regarding managed moves and placement following PEX in co- production with school leaders and parents/carers.
• Develop a wellbeing and support offer for pupils who are subject to a PEX and for their parents and carers.
• Undertake a review of the current IYFAP process in consultation with school leaders to identify further steps that can be taken to strengthen the process and secure active participation from more schools.
• Communicate and share the latest information about the support offer, systems, and provision in place to assist them in meeting the needs of pupils with additional needs.

For more information regarding permanent exclusions please visit Exclusions from school | Suffolk County Council

This link from Suffolk SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service) provides further support for parents/carers: School exclusions- Suffolk SENDIASS

Some education providers have not offered sufficiently tailored learning materials to meet the needs of pupils with SEND during remote learning

Suffolk CC has used the feedback to raise awareness of this concern with school leaders and to develop further guidance for schools and families regarding personalisation of remote learning. Suffolk CC worked directly with alternative provision to develop policies and processes for tailored remote learning offers. We have also advised schools to consider the Oak National Academy materials developed by DfE where appropriate access here. This site offers resources for children of all ages with features to enable a range of adjustments that make them inclusive to children and young people with a wide range of additional needs. The Suffolk CC outreach specialist education team have supported schools throughout the last twelve months to adapt learning materials to meet individual needs and will continue to do this for both face-to-face and remote learning.

Suffolk CC will support the development of provider feedback to record the impact that the support in policies and processes have had on pupils who have directly received tailored remote learning.

We know that a number of children that previously did not engage in education have successfully participated in an education learning offer via outreach remote learning.

Some parts of children and young peoples’ EHCPs have not been fully implemented during lockdown periods

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed huge pressures on all public services, and a range of logistical issues which has meant that no service has been able to operate “normally” during the pandemic. Restrictions on face-to-face activity, staff shielding and illness and increased demand for some services have all affected what can be offered and this has meant that it has not been possible to deliver some parts of some EHCPs. In response to the concerns raised by families in the first lockdown, Suffolk CC reviewed the situation regarding the offer being made to every child and young person with an EHCP through completing three separate EHCP cycles of provision review and risk assessment, the most recent in January 2021 at the beginning of the third lockdown. We have worked to strengthen this process each time and as a result the third review had an increased focus on ensuring that parents and carers had been involved in the planning of the provision during lockdown.

In January 2021 there was an increase in responses as Local Authority Officers contacted every setting to seek the status of every CYP with an EHCP. Based on specific answers to our questions, some were then requested to submit a risk assessment. We followed this up by continuing to contact until we had spoken with everyone, we could prior to the 8 March back to school expectation.

The full implementation of EHCPs as part of return to school in September 2020 was very mixed. Some parents/carers raised concerns about pupils with SEND not having access to their full EHCP learning offer because of COVID limitations, and some schools said they could not meet all aspects such as:

• bubbles, staffing challenges meaning lack of 121 support or usual staff teams
• schools not providing access for visiting specialists/therapists.
• Part time timetables

The return to school in Autumn 2020 saw each education setting needing to develop a whole school dynamic risk assessment for children and young people and staff to return safely to school. This alongside children and young people’s individual risk assessments saw the need to make adaptations to ensure the safety of all.

Any aspects of the EHCP that have not been adhered to because of the risk assessment should be monitored and a suitable forward plan put in place. If parents / carers remain concerned we would advise parents and carers to contact their education provider and ask that together a risk assessment is completed to find ways to meet the pupil’s needs.

Parents and carers did not feel confident that there is an effective process for raising a concern and get a response when an EHCP is not being fully implemented

It is important to Suffolk County Council that we receive feedback and know when a child or young person is not receiving services as outlined in a child’s EHCP. 

If a parent or carer has a concern about the implementation of provision in their child’s EHCP we would encourage them to talk to their school and/or Family Services Officer to raise it. Our Family Services teams are very busy, but they will do their best to respond in good time.

As part of the co-produced draft SEND Strategy for 2021/23, we will review, in partnership with our parent/carer representatives, feedback, compliments, comments and complaints, mediation, and tribunal outcomes and processes and learning from this to improve our customer experience.

Digital poverty needs to be addressed. Where services know that families do not have access to the internet, there needs to be alternative ways of communicating with them.

Digital poverty is a national issue and as a system we are committed to working with system partners to collectively prioritise this agenda. During the pandemic, schools and communities made tremendous efforts to provide computers locally. From Suffolk County Council, over 1300 computers (and WiFi dongles where needed) have been provided to children with a social worker and care leavers through a DFE scheme and Suffolk County Council’s own resources. We are also supporting community schemes to re-purpose donated computers.

While remaining resources are limited, Suffolk County Council may be able to provide a laptop, where a child is being supported by Social Care or Early Help Services and does not already have adequate access, to a device to support engaging with education and keep in touch with services. A request for a laptop can be made via a Suffolk County Council Practitioner that is a case worker for your child (a Social Worker, Early Help Worker, Youth Justice Worker, Leaving Care Personal Adviser). In other circumstances your school may be able to help.

We will ensure that all services continue to utilise other means of communication with families when they are aware that the family does not have access to the internet.

Parents and Carers have said they would like to see a ‘You Said, We Did’ Culture that focuses on outcomes for families, children and young people.

As a system we are already committed to this approach and we will continue to develop this further.

New services and service developments have been designed services based on “You Said, We Did”

The Local Offer website has been developed and content has been co-produced with SPCN for Education, Health and Care services. This work has included peer reviews from other local authorities to identify improvement areas & future development. The Local Offer Navigator has been launched, who families can phone to help identify what services are available, as well as our SEND Support Wheel, allowing families to use a simple tool to identify which services may be helpful.

The new Neurodevelopmental pathway (e.g. Autism & ADHD) has been co-produced and additional Voluntary Community Services support commissioned as a result of feedback from families.

The Mental Health Crisis Outreach business case and pathway has been co-produced with families and young people following feedback regarding poor outcomes when young people are in crisis.

The SEND Strategy 2021-23 was informed through co-production and a public consultation.

Project Manager for SEND Strategy will be working with key stakeholders to ensure that the ‘You Said, We Did’ captures the lived experience of children and young people and will report this via the Local Offer website and other channels.

Again, as a result of feedback, we are developing a new ‘Outcomes Framework’ that will better help understand, and act on, children and families lived experiences and progress towards outcomes.

We have broken down the health services by age under the health segment. Criteria to access each service will be included within their record, along with contact details.

The record has been tagged within the relevant age groups in the Health segment of the wheel.

Different lists have now been created within the School, College or Alternative Education segment.

A separate list is also available for alternative provision.

A dedicated feedback form has been created to feedback on the support wheel. Click the orange tab on the right-side of the page.

If you wish to feedback on a service, a link to our feedback and escalation routes has been added to every resource list.

I wasn’t aware of the local offer, how are you promoting it

We have sent postcards and posters to schools, colleges, providers, GP’s, health colleagues and council teams to ensure awareness and help with promotion.

Social media, newsletters,
Events and meetings, including SPCN family fun day, emotional wellbeing event, SENDIASS annual conference, Send Zone – international festival of learning, Suffolk Show, School coffee mornings and provider events.

SPCN ambassador have been visiting providers and voluntary & community groups, parents and carers across the county promoting the local offer website and the need to co-produce records and offering the services of SPCN to do this.

Website feedback form, email, SPCN

Difficult to find service records when searching using keywords

I looked for 'schools, autism, learning difficulties in Ipswich' - the first two search results were: Martin Limb Speech & Lang & Children's Community Medical Team - then 'The Bridge',

Never gives what I am Searching for it’s not fit for purpose

Never seems to give hardly any search details or local

Very hard to navigate.

Looked at site but just couldn't find anything relevant for someone not in mainstream

We are continuing to add keywords to service records to ensure the results are as accurate as possible and are using our analytics to see which terms parents/carers are using to ensure search returns are improved.

A co-produced guidance document has also been sent to all registered providers, detailing the type of information to include on their records to aid with searching.

We’re planning to offer a webinar on using the local offer and searching successfully. We will then publish this on our help page.

This piece of work will be added to our comms plan to ensure families are aware it is available.

We are creating saved searches to help families with finding service records. These can then be filtered by location to ensure more accurate results are returned.

Website feedback form, email, SPCN

The website can be difficult to navigate as there’s lots of information

It wasn’t very good. It wasn’t created by parents of send children.

The information is very vague & doesn’t explain properly what to do or who to contact when you have an issue

We have purchased a support tool which will help users navigate through the website.

We are co-producing this work with SPCN and hope to launch in 2019.

Content it continuously being co-produced to improve the information that is available to parents.

A co-produced guidance document has also been sent to all registered providers, detailing the type of information to include on their records and this includes contact details and who to speak to if there’s a problem.

SPCN

Not sure what the local offer is and how it can help us

We have visited internal team meetings and circulated information to help staff with using and being confident in promoting the local offer to families.

Please email localoffer@suffolk.gov.uk if you would be interested in us attending your team meeting / event.

Website feedback form (professional)

Not all service records provide the specific local offer information I am looking for

The provider I’m looking for isn’t registered

Our co-produced guidance document will help with ensuring the correct information is being added.

We are also planning to make changes to our sign-up form for providers – this will be clearer regarding what to add in each field.

One of our focuses for 2019 will be ensuring individual services records include all information as required in the SEND code of practice.

We are working hard to extend our reach and ensure providers in Suffolk have information on our directory. There are now almost 1,700 service records available.

The SPCN ambassadors have also been sign-posting providers to our website and supporting them to register.

Please notify us of a provider who isn’t registered by emailing localoffer@suffolk.gov.uk

SPCN survey

Website feedback form

How can I access the local offer without the internet

As part of our commitment to accessibility, our website includes a “share via SMS” tool.

This feature allows any professional to share information with a family, straight to their mobile phone. On every service record, you can type in the recipients’ mobile number and hit “Send SMS”. This will send contact information to the family.

Families can also call the Local Offer advisor for information, this has been distributed to schools in a book bag campaign to reach families, plus the SPCN ambassador.

Email

The feedback form isn’t clear, and the star rating isn’t relevant if you just want to leave a comment

The form has been simplified and comments can be left without rating the website. The form is split into two parts: feedback on “website or “service provider”, you will only see relevant questions.

Parents and carers no longer need to sign in / create an account to leave a review for service records. They can submit this anonymously if they wish to

It has also been updated to ensure we are GDPR compliant, you will need to confirm you are happy for us to share your feedback, if you wish.

SPCN

What happens to my feedback, who is it shared with?

Your feedback will be shared with the relevant service or provider/setting if you wish for this to happen.

You can also submit feedback anonymously if you wish to.

SPCN

Webchat – is no longer available

Following discussions across Education, Care, Health and SPCN, we have decided to remove the webchat facility from the local offer as the uptake was very low. We have continued to promote the local offer advisor helpline, families can call this, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm for information and advice.

What support groups are available for parents?

We have created a saved search for families to easily view all of the groups on our local offer.

This button is on the homepage of the local offer website. Further work is taking place to ensure that it functions effectively.

This can be filtered by location and disability to find a local group.

Education landing page isn’t clear

We a currently updating this section of the website in co-production with SPCN.

We will circulate a draft of the content for parents and carers to provide feedback before publishing the information in early 2019.

There is very little information I can see about making an application to a SEND school. I understand that you try to put most SEN pupils in mainstream with support, but this is just not an option for my son. Finding any information about how I actually go about securing him the education he has a right to is impossible

If your child has an EHC plan. the Annual Review would be the ideal time to discuss provision, and appropriateness of school. You can request an early review if you have concerns.

Our Special schools and colleges in Suffolk page lists information on what schools are in Suffolk.

From a school's perspective it needs to be much, much easier to navigate and find which services are appropriate to refer SEND or vulnerable children to. There is one good flowchart but more of this sort of thing is needed. It also needs to be far clearer which services are free and what exactly the costs are for traded services so that schools can budget and pitch for services that they can actually afford.

We have endeavoured to make services easier to find and have created the Inclusion Service Brochure for schools to get this information.

The brochure has been emailed out in our SENCo newsletter.

Assessment and EHC Plans page isn’t clear

How to apply for ehcp plan

Correct contact information for moving into adulthood team for those with an ehcp living on the west side of the county.

Where are the ehc templates?

How to appeal refusal to assess

what to do when EHCP isn’t being implemented

The landing page has been co-produced and updated.

The page now includes contact details for each team and individual staff member. A further document is included outlining each Education setting and which team supports them.

A service record has also been added for the SEND Family Services team – detailing their offer to families.

All documents are downloadable from our Education, Health and Care needs assessment and reviews documentation and guidance

Information is available on our Independent Support and Advice Page

A downloadable EHCP form that can be filled out electronically would save time and be easier to access.

This is something we have been looking into principally through the new EHC Hub, which will speed up the referral process and break it down in a more user-friendly way.

Still references Statement of SEN instead of EHCPs - noticed it on the page for enhanced provisions

Following the 31 March 2018 deadline to transfer Statements of SEN to Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCPs), we have reviewed information on the website to ensure that there isn’t confusion as Suffolk County Council only issue EHCPs now.

References to old systems are removed from our information sources, along with updates to team structures following the Inclusion Service redesign also carried out in March/April.

Struggling to find relevant Health information and services

Emotional/mental health support

Therapy for anxiety and low self esteem age 12/13 not available.

The local offer website is the weakest link. The main problem is it seems to me to be all about people with learning disabilities which is not relevant to my intelligent, anxious, sad son.

Mental health services, clubs and support services, support for me as a parent,

How to get help for my son with his OCD and Anxiety

The Health landing page has been co-produced with SPCN, the page is now split into universal through to specialist services. This includes saved searches to ensure families are directed to relevant service records which they can then filter by age, location, disability etc.

A “roles of health professionals” page has also been added, describing the different roles in Suffolk and when each professional may become involved with your child /young person

We are aware further work needs to completed on some individual provider records e.g., CAMHS and we hope to complete this by summer 2019.

You can search our directory for services that support children and young people.

Links are included throughout the site to Suffolk’s Emotional Wellbeing Gateway, which also provides advice and guidance pages, plus information of services that can provide support.

Clearer information for Early help and Social care and what help / support is available

How to get a Carers Assessment and help from social care

OT assessment for dyspraxia. GP wrote to the address on local offer website being written back it's out of date pointed to outreach team which only schools has to refer to, not GP. Then said it's only for children under year 7

OT provision through local authority

We have updated the early help and social care content to provide clearer detail on what support is available.

We have published the threshold for the disabled children’s team and the link to the portal for individuals to self-refer.

For CYP who don’t meet this threshold, we need clearer guidance on what’s available and how you access it.

Further work to take place during 2019.

Preparing for adulthood

and employment – more information needed

We have co-produced a guide for families with young people in transition. 

Hard copies are also available, and we will be mailing these to schools, colleges and service providers to help us distribute. Families will also receive a copy when completing their annual review for an EHCP, and will be available through the SPCN ambassador.

Updates have also been made to the landing page in co-production with SPCN.

Independent advice and support – Mediation and Disagreement resolution and SEND Tribunal

Following the 2017 review of disagreement resolution arrangements, this section has been updated to include the Young Person’s guide to disagreement resolution, Plus, the two year trial for extended powers in SEND Tribunal in relation to health and social care.

Better information regarding travel and transport

Information on Wheelchair Services and School transport

We have updated the website with the new pre-& post-16 transport policies.

Further co-production is planned for this section in early 2019.

Short Breaks and Leisure Activities

Is this the activities unlimited website that I’m thinking of?

There is a lack of anything for young people with PMLD, other

than the AU budget, no activities suitable etc.

I was looking for an activity my daughter could do and be supported by trained staff. Unfortunately, there was nothing to suit her.

Activities suitable for a 10-year-old with asd and anxiety who is high functioning.

I was looking for local social groups my son could try, there doesn't seem to be anything suitable in our town

No, the Local Offer and Activities Unlimited have separate websites. We have tried to make this clear within the text provided on the Leisure Activities and Short Breaks website.

Activities Unlimited commissions short breaks for children and young people in Suffolk. These breaks cover a wide range of disabilities and locations in Suffolk.

The AU website is currently being redeveloped and will help families find services that are available, and suitable for their child / young person.

We will ensure this includes better sign-posting and links to the local offer and vice versa – 2019.

Records within our directory should include information on what training staff have undertaken and how they can support your child. Further work planned for 2019 will help to address information in records.

If Health diagnosed quicker without having to fight, we could perhaps get refereed to the various services quicker'

More Sensory Integration Assessments and therapy

How do I get a Sensory Integration assessment funded?

Autism Diagnostic Services in Suffolk? What training have they got in diagnosing girls presenting with anxiety and depression?

Sendiass Conference SEND Moving Forward

March 2017

Have Stanton CP school had the County Inclusion Support Service presentation?

Sendiass Conference SEND Moving Forward

March 2017

How does County Inclusion Support Service intend to define between higher and lower level of intervention if behaviour is not the main issue?

Sendiass Conference SEND Moving Forward

March 2017

How will County Inclusion Support Service service manage yo-yoing of those young people who might be on the cusp of higher lower tier?

Who makes the decision as to higher / lower support County Inclusion Support Service or school? If no behaviour issue but ASD why would entitlement lessen?

Sendiass Conference SEND Moving Forward

March 2017

Currently it is very difficult in Suffolk to access high quality services, especially regarding mental health and SALT therapy. This causes issues when you need support for a student within school as sometimes trying to get support can be extremely difficult.

The emphasis on emotional well- being in young people needs much more focus and resourcing, including strong preventative approaches eg: raised presence of Primary Mental Health Worker (PMHW) role in the primary sector.

In relation to mental health – The Emotional Health & Wellbeing Gateway is now live for families to access information. The Hub will go live for families to contact in new year.

Suffolk’s Special Education Needs & Disability (SEND) Strategy

May 2017

We desperately need more services for our SEND pupils. There are huge gaps in provision for pupils with behaviour difficulties, ASD FASD, Speech and Language at Key Stage 2 and above, SCC provision for Key Stage 3 and beyond…

GYWCCG have recently presented a paper regarding ASD to the GYW HOSC which has demonstrated significant improvements in the ASD Diagnostic pathway following a community paediatric service review. GYWCCG are also having their first parent carer forum regarding community paediatric services in the GYW area on 11 September 2017 and this forum will be key in ensuring co-production going forward of any services changes etc.

Would be good if professionals as such did work together

We actually need to work together as teams. Some of us endeavour to do this but this doesn't always seem to be the case for some of the teams we work closely with

How can Suffolk be claiming to be working in partnership when they let down so many of the people they are there to help? Nothing changes

It needs to be clear who is working together with families and communities? Should education and health be included in this vision.

On the whole yes, although I would like to see more emphasis on partnership - perhaps "Working in partnership with…" the client voices need to be acknowledged up front.

I think integration is particularly important for SEND children with complex needs as they cross over different sectors and have multidisciplinary and multi-agency involvement throughout their lives.

Good event, was glad I could make it. Interesting to hear about new EHC ideas and looking into Local Offer and how to navigate.

Brilliant very helpful was shocked about the amount of great information in different areas. 5* Thank You

Found information received helpful and positive. Look forward to receiving extra info via email, thanks.

Would have preferred presentation as advertised.

It was really lovely to see and speak to so many people who are hopefully going to make improvements after the recent Ofsted. Changes need to be made as children and families' needs are not being met and as an SEN parent it’s a really hard and exhausting place to be.

Found this event very helpful. It has been great to gather information and learn new outcomes. Worth coming and found everyone very helpful. I hope all the new online improvements take hold and all changes look exciting.

Great to be able to access those people in the know directly

Has given me more confidence that my son is entitled to help - Just needed a bit of guidance to access it.

Thank you for holding this in Lowestoft. We do often feel a bit forgotten up here.

Children, young people, young adults should feel confident in their Local Offer and have a range of options and choice.

The current system does not have the resources available within education, health and social care to support their needs. There is a mismatch between what is needed and what is available which needs to be addressed.

I’m not completely sure what it means to identify through the Local Offer, but having access to services and support to achieve their aspiration is good.

The Local Offer should be advertised more so that families and young people with SEND know exactly what it is and how it can help to inform them to help achieve their full potential.

The Local Offer should be clear for all parents and carers. There should also be clear links to professionals in the voluntary and statutory sectors who can assist the parent, child or young person to access these services and access advocacy where needed.

Improving the Local Offer would be preferable to communicating it. No point in communicating something that doesn't work.

The Local Offer needs to explicitly show what is available. If you don’t know what is available or what it is called you don’t know what to look for. I think we need a directory of services for specific areas of need. I also think that the above priorities should be and need to be delivered timely and not time limited.

As part of our response to the SEND inspection, the Inclusion Service has reorganised the way it works and now has a new management team in place. The service is now organised into three separate aspects:

SEND Development and Delivery led by Georgina Green, includes all aspects of provider relationships and development of specialist provision; family services, including EHCPs, managed moves and alternative provision, assessment and pupil progress

Specialist Education Outreach Services led by Jan Welsh, bringing together all our specialist services that support settings including the County Inclusion Support Service, Dyslexia Outreach, Sensory & Communication Service and our Alternative Tuition.

SEND Strategy and Operations currently a vacancy for the lead, leading on strategy and policy for SEND, commissioning and contracting, high needs funding and finance, local offer communications and SEND data and intelligence.

Work has been extended to incorporate a full review of panel processes within SCC Inclusion Services, and in part with inform the funding consultation scheduled for Autumn. Guidance to providers will now be published following consultation. However, the implementation date remains aligned to the opening of the multi-agency assessment centres.

There has been progress made in establishing the framework for key working practice in Suffolk across E, H & SC. The investment in front line staffing and key working will be at the heart of a reformed family key working team to oversee e, H & SC in the future.

SCC realise that it is important to meet with parents/carers face to face. SCC held a number of engagement events across Suffolk and from this learning we will continue to meet with parents / carers at pre-arranged events / coffee mornings. We are also going to be trialling a Webinar which we will be on specific SEN topics. A Local Offer Newsletter is also in development stages.

SEND Training developed for Health Professionals. 156 staff trained

to date.

For parents / carers who are unable to find their way / navigate their way around the Local Offer website. There is a Local Offer Navigator in post since August 2017 and dedicated phone line and a web chat facility to help and assist families in finding services within Suffolk.

Suffolk’s Special Education Needs & Disability (SEND) Strategy

May 2017

I think the first priority should be to ensure that the Local Offer meets the needs of children and young people and that provision is consistent across the whole of the county. Families should not have to fight to get the provision their child needs. Our experience of the EHCP process has identified that this needs serious improvement. There needs to be long term planning for provision across all stages of education, our experience has been one where there has been the correct specialist provision in the primary phase and nothing thereafter.

Online EHC Portal is in live testing and will be up and rolled out early 2018. An online system to enable families to take more control of their EHC Plan and increase transparency and improve timescales.

Suffolk’s Special Education Needs & Disability (SEND) Strategy

May 2017

I think the Local Offer is incredibly confusing: I think it would help to send of copy of it by email or such like to parents who have their children registered as disabled in the county.

Have only a vague idea that this is where we go to access appropriate support services for our family needs. Have not directly accessed any via this site. Have now bookmarked the website and will investigate further.

I have no idea what it means for my family. This is where families who are not receiving support or input miss out and left to try and understand what it actually is and for me I have no clue.

A little confusing to use sometimes

There has been a Local Offer Navigator in post since August 2017, a dedicated phone line and a web chat facility to help and assist families in finding services within Suffolk. You can also email localoffer@suffolk.gov.uk with any queries.

Activities Unlimited Customer Survey

Sept 2017

There needs to be updates and feedback opportunities for SENCO's, in order for provision to continue to improve, especially as it is likely that further changes/improvements are likely. Maybe a SENCO forum could be set up so professional dialogue between schools and LA can take place with the aim of reflecting and improving provision.

The SENCO Newsletter was launched in October 2017 - 3 weekly information bulletins are now going out to all SENCO's in Suffolk schools providing updates and articles regarding current research. SENCO's are encouraged to give feedback and share good practice examples from their own schools with the ultimate aim being that the bulletin will be proactively owned and led by the SENCO's.

Professional

Oct 2017

Identifying more precisely where the gaps are and a triage plan to fixing them would be useful.

We desperately need more services for our SEND pupils. There are huge gaps in provision for pupils with behaviour difficulties, ASD FASD, Speech and Language at Key Stage 2 and above, SCC provision for Key Stage 3 and beyond…

The key focus needs to be developing services and provision.

"A Stakeholder group has been established to agree and sign off education, health and care data sets, so this is a collection of information about current services and provision available which have informed the development of the SEND Sufficiency Plan. The plan will detail actions and priorities to enhance and develop provision and services."

A data presentation delivered by the intelligence hub provided an initial evidence base for the projected demand of a range of needs. However, this will need to be combined with the health data and post 16 data before any firm conclusions can be made.

A strong focus is required on the developing of services available for students moving into adulthood. Students often struggle when services are reduced once turning 18.

Transitions/Moving into adulthood - good to include help and support the young person to become more independent. Appropriate career advice should be given by qualified professionals. All staff in mainstream schools are trained and accept SEN and don’t treat them differently which can lead to bullying.

Transitions from school to college are so important and this is an area which is really letting our students down.

Involvement and input from children, young people and young adults especially young adults with plans and parent’s views can be listened to over the young person at times.

Work is being undertaken to contact providers of 16-25 years old to ensure they have the same contact and communication process as all other providers. A consultation was held on a transition planning tool which included a workshop with stakeholders which included young people. The group have committed to completing a test of the planning tool. Methodology for 'Training in Transition' has been written by workforce development, this will include training of SENCO's and Post 16 settings, Health, Social Care and Family Service Co-ordinators. Task & Finish arranged for November 2017 to develop and implement awareness raising campaign of LD checks for 14 - 25 year olds. GAP Mapping has been completed for specialist provision across Suffolk for 16 - 25 year old, from that this has been shared with providers for their response of proposals and ideas for development. Work is ongoing to develop best practice transition models for Post 16 learning to share with providers.

Suffolk’s Special Education Needs & Disability (SEND) Strategy Consultation

May 2017

Improving the early intervention and support as part of the Local Offer should be a priority.

Workshop was co-presented by Education, Health, SPCN and Senior Leaders from education, CCG and care were present, can commissioned health and education providers attended.

Outcomes:

• Identified members of core assessment centre team
• Identified possible reporting structure based on CDC model
• Identified referral routes and some of the criteria for referral
• Identified some of the functions
• Flexibility of delivery

First workshop attended by health, education, and early help have identified ASD pathway to focus on initially with the County Inclusion Support Service service and early help attending monthly health ASD referral meeting. This will reduce duplication and joining up three services. Workshops have continued to develop the model.

You said

We did

Parents, carers, children and young people should be more involved with the development of the new website.

Included parent representation throughout the development of the new local offer website and provided links to the test website through our social media channels to gain feedback.

Information on Post 16 providers is not up to date.

We are in the process of updating these records, as part of the change over to the new local offer website.

This was an improvement however was still unclear whilst searching particularly if you were unaware of Access Unlimited or were directed to Suffolk Infolink first.

Worked with our partners to promote Access Unlimited as the home for the Suffolk Local Offer & tried to establish clearer links between the websites and where to find the correct information

Difficult to find information about the local authority’s transport policy

We have reviewed our website and launched a new platform. A separate Transport section which includes the Transport Policy has been created on the new site.

Not clear how to request an assessment for an Education, Health and Care plan

We have reviewed our website and launched a new platform. A separate page for Assessments and EHC Plans has been created on the new site, making information easier to find.

Searching for the Local Offer was still too confusing, with information being returned from too many websites.

Consulted with parents and purchased a new website URL - www.suffolklocaloffer.org.uk and began a plan to ensure all information is clear available in one place.

You said

We did

The quality of certain information was poor / needed improvement

Conducted a full content review on the Access Unlimited website as we prepared to move this to the new website

That the information held on Access Unlimited was helpful however the directory of services is listed on another website.

We added a widget to the Access Unlimited website allowing you to search the database of services held within Suffolk Infolink

Searching doesn’t always display results

Amended the filters allowing you search more accurately and ensured services providers are listed under the correct categories.

We also added keywords provided by parents and carers to match up our key word search.

Difficult to find information about the eligibility criteria for the local authority specialist education service for deaf children, arrangements for referral and so on

We have amended the website so that individual records have a section to include their eligibility criteria. We have asked services already listed to update their records to include this.

Difficult to find information about specialist education provision for deaf children outside the local authority

We have links to our neighbouring local authority’s local offers on our website. Deaf provision outside Suffolk would not fall under our Local Offer. The SEN Team is happy to discuss local and national provision with you, either through your child’s Annual Review (if they have an EHC Plan) or by telephone. (SEN Team Link)

Lack of information on access to auxiliary aids and how these are provided

We have contacted our health colleagues and requested information is added to the local offer.

Unclear what families can do if they have a complaint or concern about provision

Please see this page which explains how parents/carers can raise concerns about education settings (https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/schools/making-a-complaint-about-a-school/)

Lack of information on social care services for deaf children

A record has been created by our Sensory and Communication service. If you have a specific question you can speak with an advisor from social care on the Suffolk County Council website.

No reference made to the National Deaf Children’s Society as a VCS body that provides support to deaf children and young people in your area

We have made contact with the National Deaf Children’s Society requesting a record is added to the site. We will continue to make contact until this is added.