Key activity since July 2021
Listed in this section are a summary of key developments the Local Offer Team has worked on since July 2021.
5.1 The Local Offer Team have supported the development of the draft Southend SEND Partnership strategy 2022-2025. The team took the lead on the public consultation between 17 June and 29 July 2022 and have joined working groups to ensure that feedback from children and young people, parent carers and professionals are reflected in the key priorities and the proposed strategic actions. The team have produced consultation feedback summaries so that the Partnership understands the needs of the SEND community and what matters to them.
5.2 Two co-produced surveys for parent carers were finalised and launched in September 2022; one about the annual review process and another about the EHCNA process. See section 14 for details.
5.3 The Southend SEND Youth Forum was set up and meetings have taken place. See section 12 for details.
5.4 Through engagement with young people with SEND, a survey for young people about the annual review process has been developed and will be launched in January 2023.
5.5 A monthly SEND e-newsletter, `Peer into Southend SEND`, was launched in March 2022. Subscriptions have increased each month (currently 1,058 subscribers). The Local Offer team are active content contributors alongside other members of the Southend SEND Partnership. To promote the newsletter and enable people to easily subscribe, the team developed a QR code and a friendly URL (www.southend.gov.uk/SENDnews). These are included on SEND Local Offer promotional materials and regular social media posts are done. Users are also invited to subscribe to the newsletter from the Local Offer landing page.
5.6 A range of improvements have been made to the Southend SEND Local Offer social media channels which are managed on day-to-day basis by a member of the team with significant social media experience. Details can be found in section 9.
5.7 A Co-Production Charter has been drafted and will be finalised in 2023.
5.8 To increase community engagement, raise awareness of the SEND Local Offer and support local families, Your Local Offer Your Way sessions and SEND Surgeries have been introduced. The Local Offer team also regularly attend a range of local community events (see sections 13, 15 and 16 for details).
5.9 In November 2022 the team supported EHC Hub user feedback sessions for parent carers and professionals. See section 14 for details.
5.10 The SEND Local Offer team recruited a volunteer to support the work of the team with a focus on increasing engagement with young people and developing information for young people on the Local Offer. See section 3 for details.
5.11 An accessibility audit of all advice and guidance pages on the SEND Local Offer has been carried out, with some improvements to content already made and others in progress. Other improvements have additionally been made to information on the Local Offer pages. See section 8.1 for details.
5.12 SEND Local Offer design and branding has been improved on the Livewell website, social media channels and in marketing literature. See sections 8 and 9 for details.
5.13 In response to user feedback requesting video content, several animated and talking-head videos have been developed by the SEND Local Offer Team. See section 7 for details.