Your views are important to us and we welcome your feedback on how we can improve services and information for families.
You don't need to be a lone voice. There are a number of local forums and groups you can join or feed into to share your views, meet others and be heard.
Give us your feedback - We're always developing the Local Offer to make sure it has the information you need and that it's easy to find and welcome your feedback. Contact us at localoffer@bcpcouncil.gov.uk ,call us on 01202 093131 or complete the feedback form.
We'll keep this section updated with details of feedback and what we've done.
Time to Talk sessions
4 Time to Talk sessions were held between June 2018 and July 2019. The sessions were attended by parents, carers and young people and BCP Council SEND senior managers, SEND teams and health colleagues.
Click on the links below for further information on topics covered and responses to feedback received at the sessions.
November 2018 - 'The Role of the SENCO'.
March 2019 - `EHCPs, the role of Health and the Graduated Response'.
July 2019 - 'Transition to Adulthood'.
Development of the Preparing for Adulthood section of the Local Offer
The Preparing for Adulthood section of the Local Offer has been developed in partnership with parents, carers and young people.
In November 2018 a workshop was held with members of the Learning Disability Partnership Board to hear their views on what information needed to be included. Lots of feedback was given including useful websites and details of services that help young people. The ideas were written down and used when the section was built.
A number of other parents and carers and young people were spoken to to find out what information they need to help them prepare for adult life and how they want it presented on a website. This included young people from the Chatterboxes Youth Group and SPACE LGBTQ Youth Project. Here is a summary of responses.
SEND survey - August 2019
A SEND survey was conducted in August 2019. 160 people responded. See the summary of comments and our responses here.
Feedback used to develop the BCP Council SEND Local Offer
Prior to the formation of BCP Council in April 2019, feedback had been given on the separate Poole, Bournemouth and Dorset (Christchurch) Local Offers. This was used when developing the new BCP Council Local Offer. A summary of feedback and responses can be seen below.
Feedback about website layout Bournemouth You Said “Too many words, Too wordy” “I find the website difficult to use” “The Layout is confusing” The Bournemouth Local Offer Web pages are too complex, difficult for everyone to navigate and not Youth Friendly. Christchurch (Dorset) You Said We find it difficult to locate information. The amount of information can be overwhelming, so it’s difficult to find the most relevant information to meet my family’s needs. Poole You Said We want the Local Offer to be a clear and transparent space. We don’t know where to go for SEND information.
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We did A ‘tiles’ format is being used to help people find information more easily. This format has been used on the Home Page of the Local Offer and a number of other sections, such as the Preparing for Adulthood section. We are working on the other sections currently, so that they can all be presented in the same way. Young people asked for video's to be included as an alternative to written information. This has been done for the Preparing for Adulthood section. On the Poole Local Offer people were able to search for information by age or subject area. Setting the website up in this way meant that information was often duplicated on several pages. The tile format avoids this duplication. We have reduced the number of web pages on the Local Offer, merging several pages into one where possible to make information easier to find and digest. We have shortened sentences, reduced the number of words and used simpler language on our pages. The Poole Local Offer had a lot of health information which was a duplication of information on the NHS website. We have removed a lot of this duplication and replaced it with links straight to the NHS website. To make information easier to read (on a desk top and a mobile) we have used ‘ribbons’ (expandable sections) on web pages to split information into sub-headings. Key word search terms have been updated to make it easier for people to find the information they need. Marketing has been done to increase awareness of the Local Offer. We have sent leaflets to education and health settings, attended parent/carer events and Time to Talk events and SENCO forums. This work is ongoing as many parents and carers of children with SEND and professionals still don’t know about the Local Offer. When BCP Council was formed information on services in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole was brought together into the BCP Council SEND Local Offer. |
Feedback about Preparing for Adulthood Bournemouth You Said “More guidance and info about support for children growing into adult care” Christchurch (Dorset) You Said We want to know what support is available to prepare teenagers for becoming adults. Particularly education and work I want more information on finding specialist colleges for education from 16 years old onwards. I struggled to find specialist schools for young people aged 16+ with complex needs. I want to know about what happens after my child is 18 years old. Looking for employment opportunities and adult social care. Poole You Said We need a clear post-16 Local Offer area providing information on Preparation for adulthood
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We did A lot of work has been put into creating the Preparing for Adulthood section of the Local Offer. The section now includes information on moving into adult services, learning and training and working and getting a job. In July 2019 a 'Transition to Adulthood' Time to Talk event was held. Representatives from health and social care attended and gave information and answered questions from parents and carers. Several Preparing for Adulthood information sessions were held in early 2020. These gave parents/carers and young people the opportunity to meet on a one to one basis with the Preparing for Adulthood Co-Ordinator, a member of the Preparing for Adulthood team and the Local Offer manager. The sessions were popular and families found them very useful. We plan to continue to offer these. |
Other feedback received Bournemouth You Said “It doesn't mention or provide advice about the facilities or access to support disability living allowance” “Clear information on respite care would be good “How can we get support from CSC/ Early Help/CAMHS?” More information on Children’s activities for different ages and abilities. Christchurch (Dorset) You Said The information we find most difficult to find is: Financial Support EHCPs Activities Childcare Education is the most important information we need. Poole You Said It was difficult to find out how early year providers and schools would cater for my child’s specific needs. There aren't many Poole venues where we can use our max card. |
We Did We have created a Money Matters section on the Local Offer. This includes an information page which brings together a range of information on benefits and finance for children and young people with SEND. This includes information on Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payments. We have also created a page showing information on grants for children and young people with SEND. There is also a Money and Benefits area in the Preparing for Adulthood section. The Short Breaks information on the Local Offer is currently under development and being updated. Respite Care information will be reviewed. Children’s Occupational Therapy information has recently been updated. We have created a crisis and early help support services page on the Local Offer. On the health page of the Local Offer we have a link to information on the CAMHS service. A Graduated Response and EHCPs tile has been built on the home page of the Local Offer. We also have a section on activities and short breaks that can be reached from the home page of the Local Offer. In the activities section we have provided clear links to activities for different age groups. We have links to childcare and education information on the home page of the Local Offer and are currently developing those sections to make the information contained within them easier to find. Provision for children and young people with SEND is shown on school and early years provider directory records in the SEND Local Offer section. Where possible we have linked directly to the school or early years provider website so that as they update their SEND provision information, visitors to the Local Offer are taken to the most up to date version. The Family Information Service is working closely with max card to increase participating venues in the Poole area. We asked members for ideas on where they wanted to use their card and provided a list of suggested venues to the max card team to follow up. They are actively working to increase the venues in the area so keep checking their website for updates. Please continue to feedback any other suggestions to us so we can pass them on. |
Feedback received April 2019 to June 2020
The feedback summarised below has come from a variety of sources:
- meetings with representatives from Parent Carers Together and Parent Carer Foundation
- attendance at parent/carer events, including Portage Stay and Play sessions (June 2019)
- an invitation for parents/carers to let us know what needs to be included on the Local Offer via a survey (December 2019)
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We did / what is being done |
Comments on layout and design
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Graduated Response and SEND support Feedback
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Development and Behaviour Pathway information feedback
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Parent Journeys feedback
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Early Help information feedback
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Collaboration/Co-Production feedback
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Schools information feedback
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Other feedback
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Activities feedback
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Diagnosis information feedback
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Finance information feedback
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Learning and training information feedback
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Travel information feedback
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SEND News and social media feedback
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