When we receive feedback from surveys, focus groups and email, we demonstrate how we’ve responded to this through a ‘you said, we did’ approach. This helps you to see what impact your feedback has had directly on a service, process, or information area. We will regularly update this section of the website to show our continued commitment to improving your family’s experience of services. There will be a compilation of these improvements published at the end of the year in a SEND annual report.
If you have comments please fill out the Local Offer Feedback Form.
| You Said | We Did | Date |
|---|---|---|
| I want to find out about the SENAR service but can’t find the information. | We have created a new section on the website and brought all of the information about EHCP’s and SENAR into one place so its easier to find – SENAR – Local Offer Birmingham. | January 2024 |
| I can’t see anything about the Birmingham Parent carer forum on the website. | We have created a new page with all the information about the Birmingham PCF and how you join up – The Birmingham Parent Carer Forum – Local Offer Birmingham. | January 2024 |
| How long does an EHCP last, and will I be able to use it for the next 2 years? | An EHCP can last up until a young person turns 25 – information can be found here EHCP’s Education, Health And Care Plan – Local Offer Birmingham. | February 2024 |
| There are out of date weblinks on the directory. | We have reviewed and updated our directory, ensuring that any weblinks are correct – Directory – Local Offer Birmingham. | February 2024 |
| There is no information about Family Hubs on the website, where can I find this? | We have added some information and a link to the Family Hubs website to our directory – Family Hub Centres and Website – Local Offer Birmingham | March 2024 |
| Where can I find out more information about part time timetables? | Please check out our latest Webinar about Part time timetables now located on the LO here – Webinars – Local Offer Birmingham | March 2024 |
| I can’t find the email with the information about the SENCO noticeboard – why isn’t this on the LO website? | We have now added all of the SENCO noticeboards to the Local Offer and will continue to develop the Professionals resources throughout 2024. You can find them here – SENCo Noticeboard – Local Offer Birmingham | April 2024 |
| The information about supported internships is not very clear. | We have now added in some visual aids to help you see what supported internships are available at Birmingham City Council and through our partners. They can be found in the PFA/Transitions page – Careers Advice, Information and Support – Local Offer Birmingham | April 2024 |
| Why does the SENAR structure document keep changing? | The SENAR service is undergoing a huge recruitment drive and we have new permanent officers starting every week so we make changes to the structure document to make sure that you are kept up to date with the most accurate information. We have now added a disclaimer to the page so that people are aware of this before they download a copy – SENAR – Local Offer Birmingham |
May 2024 |
| How can I see what there is to do in my local area, the directory is good but doesn’t tell me if it’s in my area? | We are working on a mapping document for the website that will show you what is in your local area. If you would like to get involved in the co-production of this map, please email us at localoffer@birmingham.gov.uk | May 2024 |
| Why can’t I find any data about people with SEND in Birmingham? | We are pleased to introduce the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) briefing book – our first step in publishing data and analysis relating to children and young people with SEND in the form of an interactive dashboard | May 2024 |
| The pictures behind the coloured text boxes on the front page make it hard for me to read the text. | We have now removed these pictures so that the text is easy to read. | May 2024 |
| Are there definitions for stage 1 and stage 2 of the needs assessment process? | We have included descriptions for both stage 1 and stage 2 on the documents page. Information regarding the full needs assessment process is also available in our EHCP guidance booklet. | August 2024 |
| Are there definitions for stage 1 and stage 2 of the needs assessment process? | We have included descriptions for both stage 1 and stage 2 on the documents page. Information regarding the full needs assessment process is also available in our EHCP guidance booklet. | August 2024 |
| IPSEA reviewed the Local Offer, particularly as it relates to EHCPs, giving feedback on how we can improve content so that it more accurately reflects the SEND legislation. |
Following comments from IPSEA, we have updated the content relating to EHCPs to ensure a more accurate representation of the legislation while remaining concise and consumable for parents, carers, children, and young people. Such changes include redefining the EHCP application process as a ‘request process’, detailing alternative ways for an EHCP to be requested, providing further detail on the annual review process, and clarifying the rights of parents, carers, and young people regarding mediation and challenging decisions. The following pages have been updated: |
December 2024 |
| You Said | We Did | Date |
|---|---|---|
| The local offer website is difficult to find. | We circulated the link to the local offer website through all communication channels to parents, carers, young people, education settings, health organisations and social care organisations. | September 2023 |
| The co-production page does not tell us what it is. | We completely reviewed and updated all of the content in the co-production page and made it more user friendly by making changes to how the information is presented – Co-production and Engagement – Local Offer Birmingham. | September 2023 | Some of the pages are very busy and the colours are harsh which makes it harder for me to read the information. | We have made the pages calmer and removed a lot of the heavy corporate language text. We have added historical information into its own section so you are only reading the latest updated information but you can find it easier. | September 2023 |
| The SENAR documents I need to find all the time are not in one place and I can’t remember where they were, this takes so much time. | We have placed all of the documents relating to an EHC needs assessment/EHCP in one section – Education, Health And Care Plan – Local Offer Birmingham. | October 2023 |
| Help with travel expenses for a carer with disabled child is not clear enough. | The children and young people’s travel service pages have been updated and now provides this information and explains the application process – Children and Young People’s Travel Service – Local Offer Birmingham. | October 2023 |
| I was looking for some support for brothers and sisters of children with disabilities and had heard of a charity called SIBS but can’t find anything. | The information for the SIBS charity has been added to the directory – Directory – Local Offer Birmingham. | November 2023 |
| It is difficult to find OT assessment information, it would be good to have an application form online. | There is now a dedicated page to all therapies and the application process is set out on these pages. A form is not always available as this depends on the type of OT that is required – Therapies – Local Offer Birmingham. | November 2023 |
| It’s great to know that the Local Offer can be viewed in different languages, it would be good if we told people about it, could we make it clearer on the home page. The accessibility tool is great, but again we don’t shout about it and it’s difficult to see, can we make it bigger. | We have changed the home page so that the accessibility tools are now more visible, and we now tell people straight away that they can change to another language. | December 2023 |
| You Said | We Did | Date |
|---|---|---|
| We want to see the structure of SENAR. | We have created an organisation chart which shows the SENAR structure. | October 2022 |
| The quality of work in the SEND service is not of a good enough standard. | Implemented a Quality Assurance framework, to improve the quality of the process and the quality of the Education Health and Care Plans. We will use the findings from the Quality audits to prioritise improvements and training for staff. | October 2022 |
| Parents and carers are not communicated with effectively. | We have created different ways we can improve communications with parents and carers (and other stakeholders) as outlined in the new Communications and Engagement Strategy. Regular newsletters are available, and the SEND Local Offer website is being refreshed to ensure that it is more user friendly. | August 2022 |
| Co-production is weak in Birmingham. | The Local Area SEND partnership has co-produced a Co-production Framework and Charter to set out the principles of Co-production in the design, creation and implementation of SEND services in Birmingham. All partners are signed up to the charter and it is being embedded in all SEND work in Birmingham. | August 2022 |
| It it confusing to understand what type of assessment and support is available from NHS Occupational Therapy for children and young people with sensory needs. | We have co-produced an occupational therapy information sheet with parents, carers and NHS OT service leads. | July 2022 |
| There is little information about how to get support for children, young people and young adults with Situational Mutism in Birmingham and Solihull. | We have co-produced a situational mutism information pack with partners across Birmingham and Solihull. | July 2022 |
| You weren’t being listened to. |
We are running a series of 8 parent and carer engagement events both online and in person to hear your views. |
February 2022 |
|
A lot of people don’t know about the SEND Local Offer website is hard to use. |
We are working hard to make sure that every SEND parent knows about the SEND Local Offer website, via schools, newsletters and social media. We have changed the name to the SEND Local Offer website and have improved the search tool on the website. | February 2022 |
| There is no signposting to help and support. |
We are recruiting co-production champions to help you find what you need in SEND support. |
February 2022 |
| We are not listening to children and young people. |
A working group has been set up to capture the views of children and young people. We are working with the RISE and Wellbeing Youth Forums, as well as young people from the SENDIASS service. Children and young people are now part of our co-production research and framework. |
February 2022 |
| You Said | We Did | Date |
|---|---|---|
| We want to see the structure of SENAR | We have created an organisation chart which shows the SENAR structure. | October 2022 |
| The quality of work in the SEND service is not of a good enough standard | Implemented a Quality Assurance framework, to improve the quality of the process and the quality of the Education Health and Care Plans. We will use the findings from the Quality audits to prioritise improvements and training for staff. | October 2022 |
| Parents and carers are not communicated with effectively. | We have created different ways we can improve communications with parents and carers (and other stakeholders) as outlined in the new Communications and Engagement Strategy. Regular newsletters are available, and the SEND Local Offer website is being refreshed to ensure that it is more user friendly. | August 2022 |
| Co-production is weak in Birmingham | The Local Area SEND partnership has co-produced a Co-production Framework and Charter to set out the principles of Co-production in the design, creation and implementation of SEND services in Birmingham. All partners are signed up to the charter and it is being embedded in all SEND work in Birmingham | August 2022 |
| It it confusing to understand what type of assessment and support is available from NHS Occupational Therapy for children and young people with sensory needs | We have co-produced an occupational therapy information sheet with parents, carers and NHS OT service leads. | July 2022 |
| There is little information about how to get support for children, young people and young adults with Situational Mutism in Birmingham and Solihull | We have co-produced a situational mutism information pack with partners across Birmingham and Solihull | July 2022 |
| You weren’t being listened to. |
We are running a series of 8 parent and carer engagement events both online and in person to hear your views. |
February 2022. |
|
A lot of people don’t know about the SEND Local Offer website is hard to use. |
We are working hard to make sure that every SEND parent knows about the SEND Local Offer website, via schools, newsletters and social media. We have changed the name to the SEND Local Offer website and have improved the search tool on the website. |
February 2022 |
| There is no signposting to help and support. |
We are recruiting co-production champions to help you find what you need in SEND support. |
February 2022 |
| We are not listening to children and young people. |
A working group has been set up to capture champion the views of children and young people. We are working with the RISE and Wellbeing Youth Forums, as well as young people from the SENDIASS service. Children and young people are now part of our co-production research and framework. |
February 2022 |
You Said, We Did entries from 2021 and earlier are available in the SEND Improvement Archive.
SEND Improvement Archive
Comments made through the Local Offer feedback form:
| Did you find what you were looking for? | If NO what were you trying to find? | How easy was the website to use? | Please tell us why | What have we done about it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Where have the pupil views aspect cards and zipped folder with PfA visuals to support C/YP and families views around aspirations gone? | Very difficult | Things not always in an intuitive place and a useful resource seems to have been removed | |
| Yes | Not Applicable | Easy | It’s very easy to find any information. If you want any information just I have type I search. And information is there. | |
| Yes | Not Applicable | Easy | Clear areas to help navigate to what I need to find. | |
| No | Events, training, and strategies | Difficult |
Firstly, this questionnaire should come later and not at the beginning before even using the website. This website is outdated latest news from Jan 2023 and no events or training past jan 2023 or march 2023. Other counties provide much better service and content especially for practitioner such as assessments and strategies forms, files and training. |
|
| Yes | Not Applicable | Easy | Easy to Navigate | |
| No | The link isn’t working | Easy |
Much more user friendly and accessible (when the webpages work) Good well done! |
|
| Yes | Not Applicable | Very Easy | It was very easy because I clicked one button and it took me to the right page. |