ℹ️ Introduction

Writing for the web

Readability and the SEND Local Offer

Please note

This course was written in 2019. A lot of the screenshots are of web pages that no longer exist. There’s no criticism implied in any of the examples.

“Everyone did the best they could with the information they had at the time.”

This course is about the words and images on the Local Offer.

The Local Offer is such a great idea. A website covering educational, health, and social care from birth to adulthood. For parents and professionals working with children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

And for the young people themselves. Especially as they transition from school to college or work.

Where does the content come from?

It's been a huge job. Often under resourced. Usually put together quickly to hit the original deadline. And people worked hard and did the best they could under the circumstances.

An old Family Information Service directory. Some notes on what the local authority does. Some new bits and pieces from partners in health and social care. Plugged together into a content management system (CMS) from Open Objects, Jadu, i3Media. Or crammed into the local authority website.

People did the best they could, working across teams, departments and organisations. Back then the idea of "content design" (putting the words and images into websites) did not exist.  

In this course I have used real examples from many different Local Offer websites. There is no criticism implied in any of the people who put them together.

The last few years have seen a sea change in best practice for public body websites. I want to help everyone involved in the Local Offer to put this best practice... into practice.

And the landscape is changing again.

All public body websites need to conform to accessibility standards. The law was passed in 2018 (opens in a new tab). From September 2020 all Local Offer websites must follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (opens in a new tab).

I created this course for the people who write the words on Local Offer websites. Your web builder, whether in-house or contracted out,  should do the technical stuff. If you have responsibility for the Local Offer, contact them to check what changes they need to make.

This course draws on two main sources:

1. Tips for Getting Started Writing for Web Accessibility (opens in a new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in a new tab) from WCAG
2. Readability Guidelines (opens in new tab) (opens in a new tab), a collaboratively developed, universal content style guide, based on usability evidence

We use these because they are the most respected sources for people who make accessible, readable content for websites.

Too  much to take in all at once

You'll learn a lot in the course, too much to remember and act on all at once. For each lesson, just look at a couple of pages of your Local Offer, and maybe make a few changes. Once you've got used to writing for the web you'll be able to edit pages more quickly. You'll have the skills to make things easier for your users.

I hope you enjoy this course. For each lesson, there is a discussion. Please join in and share what you're doing.

Jonny Holden

jonny@poppop.studio

www.poppop.studio