In the SEND Code of Practice (2014) the Government identifies two main purposes for publishing information about the Local Offer.

• To provide clear, comprehensive, and accessible information about the support and opportunities that are available; and

• To make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability, parent carers, and service providers in the development and review of provision.

All Local Authorities must publish information on:

• Identifying and responding to special educational needs and disabilities
• What to expect from providers of early years, education, Health, Social Care, and other Local Authority targeted family services
• Provision at SEN Support (Special Educational Needs Support)
• Education, Health, and Care Plans
• Preparing for adulthood
• Training and employment
• Personal budgets
• Transport to school and college
• How services are commissioned.
• How decisions about the local authorities’ provision are made (strategic)
• How decisions about children’s and young people’s provision are made (individual)
• How parents, carers, children, and young people can get involved in decision-making
• How to make a complaint
• Mediation and how disagreements are resolved.
• How to get further information, advice, and support

It is Cambridgeshire’s Local Authority’s intention that the information about the Local Offer published on the SEND Information Hub is clear, transparent, easy to access, useful, and supports ‘self- help.’  We are continuing to work towards this goal and appreciate it when you tell us that we have got it right or alert us when we may need to do something differently. We value your thoughts and suggestions.

Most children and young people are likely to require something different or additional from their peers to support them at some point from pre-birth into adulthood. An individual’s needs may range from mild to severe and complex, very short term to life long. In most cases, an individual’s needs can be met by universal provision or Ordinarily Available Provision (available to all), but in certain cases targeted or specialist provision is required.

In the published Local Offer, we set out how services work in an integrated way around the child and family to improve outcomes for children and young people.

Cambridgeshire Local Authority publishes information about its Local Offer on the SEND Information Hub microsite. The SEND Information Hub is the entry point, or ‘front door’ to information spanning expected provision from the Local Authority, Health, Social Care, Early Years settings, Education, Training and Employment and the Voluntary and Community Sector.

SEND Information Hub Site Map

We have listened to web users comments and conducted an extensive audit of the content of the SEND Information Hub against the Government requirements and user requests. As a result, we are making changes to the site map. We expect to launch a full new site map by the end of August 2024. In the meantime, here is the current site map. As we make changes between now and the end of August 2024, we will keep the published site map up-to date.

We are aware that not everyone has the same access to information technology. We therefore ask that all those who support children and young people, and their parent carers are sensitive to this and promote the following alternative ways of getting information.

• Educational and Health professionals who support children with special educational needs will share relevant information from the SEND Information Hub as part of their face-to-face practice with parent carers and young people
• Libraries across the county will help parent carers and young people search for information from the SEND Information Hub.
• All pages from the SEND Information Hub are printable.
• Leaflets and easy reads are available on an increasing number of topics
• The SEND Information Hub is available from a smart (mobile) phone as well as a computer.
• Support services such as SEND Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) will help parent carers navigate the SEND Information Hub 
• Community groups and organisations such as Pinpoint Parent Carer Forum are available to assist and help parent carers.
• Themed face-to-face events are held by the Local Authority, Pinpoint Parent Carer Forum, VoiceAbility Young People Forum and SENIDASS also provide information via live events. Professional can find information about forthcoming events to share with families with whom they work by searching our directory.

Cambridgeshire Local Authority is committed to a partnership approach to developing and reviewing its Local Offer with parent carers, children, and young people. Together, we aim to continually improve provision, experiences and outcomes for all children and young people across Cambridgeshire. We welcome your input. If you would like to comment on Cambridgeshire’s Local Offer or make suggestions for improvement, please contact local.offer@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

You can help shape the Local Offer in these ways:

• Tell us what you think about the information on our website by completing the 'We need your feedback’ red box at the top of the page. Tell us, for example, what was helpful or if there is other information you would like included. How could we improve the clarity and accessibility of the information?

• Attend events to help shape our policies and approaches. Details of events are posted on our Latest News and Events section at the bottom of the homepage.
  
  
• Contact Pinpoint, Cambridgeshire’s independent parent forum. They are a network of parents who provide parent carers with information and support. Pinpoint ensure that parent carers’ views are represented at strategic (decision making) boards and groups. www.pinpoint-cambs.org.uk

• Parent carers and young people can take part in on-line surveys and consultations; relevant consultations are made available through the local offer pages. Details of events are posted on our Latest News and Events section at the bottom of the homepage.

Young people can get involved with VoiceAbility Speak Out Council

We are aware that some families live on the borders between Local Authorities. They may receive Health provision from a local authority other than Cambridgeshire due to Health catchment areas. Some may attend a school or setting in a different Local Authority. We have therefore added links to neighboring Local Offers.

• Peterborough local offer
• Hertfordshire local offer
• Essex local offer
• Norfolk local offer
• Suffolk local offer
• Lincolnshire local offer
• Central Bedfordshire local offer
• Bedford Borough local offer 
• Northamptonshire local offer

The Local Offer Annual Report provides an opportunity for parent carers, young people, and all those with an interest in provision for children and young people 0-25 years with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) or in alternative provisions and settings to look back over the improvements and challenges of the last year and plan next steps. It is part of a continuing cycle of improvement.

What information about the Local Offer did users of the Cambridgeshire website access last year?

Cambridgeshire Local Authority uses developer analytics to collate the online viewing figures. The figures are not as accurate or in-depth as we would like but give us an indication of usage. In 2024 we hope to be moving to Plausible Analytics to gain a more accurate view of our site analytics.

The SEND Information Hub went live in May 2023. Analytics have been in place since June 2023. From June 2023 to March 2024 the site recorded 592,142 page views.

At this present time, we are not able to include the viewing figures that view pages about the Local Offer that sit on the main Cambridgeshire Website or on the school facing LearnTogether platform. It is important to remember, too, that this statistic can represent users viewing multiple pages. User ‘A,’ for example, might stay on the website and visit five pages. This counts as five page views.

Overview of page views per quarter 

 Top ten pages viewed in 2023/2024

Additions and changes to information available via the SEND Information Hub

Over the year, we worked with parent carers and professionals across services to coproduced new policies, information, and guidance for publication. We ensured existing information across the site remained up to date. We met regularly with representatives from Pinpoint Parent Carer forum and SENDIASS to address any issues concerning the quality of information and respond to ideas to improve the microsite. We addressed requests for better information that were identified as part of the complaints procedure.

Here are some of actions taken over the last year:

May 2023 to August 2023 

• The SEND Information Hub website was launched as the new microsite to host Cambridgeshire’s Local Offer.
• Changes were made to the SENDIASS page to improve accessibility and appeal. A new logo was added.
• All pages on ‘Targeted Support’ were reworked and reordered. A page was added on Parental Conflict. 
• The accessibility and user appeal of the ‘Early Years’ pages were reviewed: Images and text changed.
• All pages on ‘Preparing for Adult Life’ updated with additional content and links.
• A new pages on ‘Self-Employment’ was added. 
• Information on the Special Needs Community Information Point (SCIP) was added with additional dropdown links.
• Information about ‘The Parent Carer SEND Survey (PASS)’ added. Access to the live survey included. 
• Seventy-one records added to the directory. 
• Two news articles added to the homepage. 

September 2023 to December 2023 

• An Accessibility Report was received from Government Digital Services. We worked with developers to correct issues raised and updated the Accessibility Statement. 
• The coproduced Medical Needs Policy was published. Medical terms were added to the keywords list.
• Information on ‘Preparing for Adult Life’ updated with additional content and links.
• Information on ‘Disability Social Care’ updated pages and access improved with a page hierarchy 
• Information on ‘Short Breaks’ was updated. Times and prices were included. 
• ‘Travel and Transport’ information was updated, and additional content and links added.
• Fifty-six records were added to the directory. 
• Four news articles added to the homepage. 

January 2024 to April 2024 

• The information about Education Health and Care Plans was reviewed, and a new coproduced policy published in response to parents requests for more comprehensive information. Nine additional pages were added using drop boxes to aid easy access.
• A ‘Personal Budget Policy’ was coproduced and published. Clearer guidance was provided on eligibility and processes.
• We continued to work with developers on Accessibility. 
• The information on ‘Independent Living’ was update with new content and links 
• A new section on ‘What is the Local Offer?’ was added to promote understanding and use of the resource.
• The content and links to all the ‘Early Years’ pages updated.
• We added information on meeting the needs of young people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in schools to the SEND Ordinarily Available Provision Toolkit.
• Fifty-eight new records were added to the directory. 
• Five news articles were added to the homepage: 

What next for the SEND Information Hub?

During May and June 2024, we are re-visiting our site content audit with the support of parent carers and young people. This is to ensure that all required information and polices are accessible from the site. Alongside this, we are continuing to work with all site users to improve ease of navigation. On the advice of parents carers, we have adopted a drop box approach to topics, and this will be extended. Whilst continuing to improve the search engine, we are also developing a site map to reflect the new layout which will be published on the home page by September 2024. 

On the Glossary page you can find useful terms that you might come across.

You can visit the page here.