Local Offer annual report 2021/2022

This section has details about usage of the SEND Local Offer section of Livewell Southend for the period 1 August 2021 to 20 December 2022.

Because the SEND Local Offer pages sit within the Livewell website, we are not able to get segmented Google Analytics data for the Local Offer pages, so the following information is based on data for the whole Livewell Southend website.

8.1 Developments and improvements

Updates and amendments are made to information pages and directory records on the Local Offer as part of our day to day `business as usual` work. Additionally:

8.1.1. In May 2022, a new friendly URL for the SEND Local Offer channel of Livewell was created, www.southend.gov.uk/SENDlocaloffer to:

• provide direct access to the SEND Local Offer pages.
• respond to user feedback that some people find the connection between the SEND Local Offer and the wider Livewell Southend site confusing.

8.1.2. SEND Local Offer branding has been improved. A new landing page image depicting a family has replaced the previous image of the pier train, with a bolder shade of green and pink surrounding it, retaining the colour palette that was chosen by service users in the original design. This image has also been used on the social media channels and the Local Offer flyer for consistency. Because we know that many do not immediately identify with the term `Local Offer`, the wording on the logo was changed from `Southend-On-Sea Local Offer` to `Southend SEND Local Offer`. The colours on the logo have also been sharpened so they look better online and on printed material.

8.1.3 Old information was removed from the carousel on the landing page of the Local Offer and information about surveys and SEND Surgeries added.

8.1.4. An accessibility audit of all information and landing pages on the SEND Local Offer (158 pages) has been undertaken by the Local Offer team. This identified:

• Broken links: 24 pages had broken links. All of these were fixed. This was in addition to broken links on 20 pages that had already been fixed.
• Spelling and punctuation errors: 20 pages had errors. All of these were corrected.
• Instances where contractions had been used rather than full words, for example, `don't` rather than `do not`: 14 pages had contractions. All of these were amended.
• Use of bold and italics. 28 pages contained bold text and 6 pages contained italics. These were all changed to standard text.
• PDFs: 28 pages had PDFs. Where possible, these were replaced with links to the original documents online, and unnecessary PDFs were removed. This enabled us to remove PDFs entirely from 15 pages and partially from a further 5 pages.

We also reviewed:

• Opportunities for simplifying information through use of bullet points.
• The reading ease and reading age of information (using the Flesch-Kinkaid Scale)
• Usefulness of information on the page

For reading ease, good practice is for written information to have a Flesch-Kinkaid score of 60 or above. Our starting point for Local Offer information pages is:

• 62 pages have a score of under 50.
• 33 pages have a score between 50 to 60.
• 34 pages have a score of 60 and above.

To bring the majority of our pages to a score of 60 or above, revised, simplified text has been drafted for all pages and we will now start work on making changes. In doing so, we will also continue to review the quality of information on the pages. Due to the official language used on some pages, it may not be possible to bring the score of all to 60 or above.

24 pages have been archived. Some of these contained out of date information and some pages were merged with other related pages to streamline information.

8.1.5. An audit of Local Offer directory records has begun and will continue. Some records have been re-categorised to make them easier to find and removed from incorrect sections. Some information pages have also been recategorised so that they appear in the most relevant sections of the Local Offer.

8.1.6. To make the site easier to use on a mobile device, we have embedded links to other relevant documents or pages within page text and expandable sub-sections so that people do not have to scroll down to `related advice` or `downloads` section boxes. This has been done for 52 pages, and will be completed for a remaining 19 pages. We have also added expandable sub-sections to a number of pages to break lengthy text up.

On a number of pages the words `please see xx on the right-hand side of the page`, had been used. This had been written from the perspective of someone viewing the site on a non-mobile device and did not translate to mobile device use so this wording has been removed.

8.1.7. A review of the `I am a young person` page and associated information has also been undertaken by our young person volunteer and amended text suggested to make the information more user friendly. This has also been the subject of a Your Local Offer Your Way session. Improvements will be implemented.

8.1.8. Amendments were made to the `I am a parent/carer` page following a Your Local Offer Your Way session. This is important as data shows us that this is our most frequently visited page after the Local Offer landing page.

8.1.9. Parent carers told us that they wanted a `route map` to help them find their way through the `maze` of services. Work has begun with parent carers on creating a route map for neurodivergent conditions through Your Local Offer Your Way sessions, and information has been provided by a parent carer relating to support for dyslexia from which we will develop Local Offer information.

8.1.10. To make information easier to find we have highlighted on each area landing page how people can find advice and information pages relevant to that particular section.