Transparent

4.6 The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 provide a common framework for the Local Offer. They specify the requirements that all local authorities must meet in developing, publishing and reviewing their Local Offer, and cover:
• the information to be included
• how the Local Offer is to be published
• who is to be consulted about the Local Offer
• how children with SEN or disabilities and their parents and young people with SEN or disabilities will be involved in the preparation and review of the Local Offer, and
• the publication of comments on the Local Offer and the local authority’s response, including any action it intends to take in relation to those comments

SEND Regulations 2014 · Publish · Co-production · Up to date · Strategy · Transparent

4.7 The Local Offer should be:

transparent: the Local Offer should be clear about how decisions are made and who is accountable and responsible for them

Strategy · Health · Transparent

4.8 Local authorities must involve children with SEN or disabilities and their parents and young people with SEN or disabilities in:
• planning the content of the Local Offer
• deciding how to publish the Local Offer
• reviewing the Local Offer, including by enabling them to make comments about it

Co-production · Strategy · Parent carers · Young people · Up to date · Transparent

4.14 Local authorities and their partner bodies and agencies must cooperate with each other in the development and review of the Local Offer. This is essential so that the Local Offer provides a comprehensive, transparent and accessible picture of the range of services available.

Co-operation · Up to date · Health · Transparent

4.18 The requirement on local authorities to publish comments on their Local Offer and their response to those comments is relevant to their duty to keep under review the educational and training provision and social care provision for children and young people with SEN or disabilities and their role in contributing, with their partner CCGs, to Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and the development of local Health and Wellbeing Strategies (see chapter 3).

Joint strategic needs assessment · CCGs · Publish · Training and apprenticeships · Social care · Strategy · Up to date · Health · Transparent

4.20 Local authorities should link reviews of education, health and social care provision to the development and review of their Local Offer and the action they intend to take in response to comments. This will help to identify gaps in provision and ensure that the Local Offer is responsive to the needs of local children and young people and their families. At a strategic level local authorities should share what they have learned from the comments they receive with local Health and Wellbeing Boards where appropriate, to help inform the development of Health and Wellbeing Strategies and the future provision of services for children and young people with or without EHC plans.

Change · Strategy · Health · Education · Social care · Co-operation · Up to date · Feedback · Transparent

4.21 Local authorities must publish comments about their Local Offer received from or on behalf of children with SEN or disabilities and their parents and young people with SEN or disabilities.

Publish · Feedback · Transparent

4.22 Comments must be published if they relate to:
• the content of the Local Offer, which includes the quality of existing provision and any gaps in the provision
• the accessibility of information in the Local Offer
• how the Local Offer has been developed or reviewed

Change · Publish · Up to date · Transparent

4.23 It is up to local authorities to decide on the format for publishing comments but they should consult children and young people with SEN or disabilities and parents and representative organisations such as Parent Carer Forums and local organisations providing information, advice and support to parents, children and young people about this, including the local authority’s Information, Advice and Support Service. They should make clear how they have sought comments about the Local Offer.

Forums · Publish · Co-operation · Information and advice · SENDIASS · Transparent

4.24 Local authorities must publish a summary of comments at least annually, although this is expected to be an ongoing process. They must ensure that comments are published in a form that does not enable any individual to be identified.

Publish · Feedback · Up to date · Transparent

4.25 Local authorities are not expected to publish responses to every comment individually but could, for example, adopt a ‘you said, we did’ approach. They are not required to publish abusive or vexatious comments or complaints about the service provided to an individual since there are established routes to bring such complaints. The Local Offer should make clear what these routes are and how to access them.

Publish · Feedback · Transparent

4.26 Local authorities must publish their response to comments received within the Local Offer and this must include details of the action they intend to take. They should consult children and young people with SEN or disabilities and the parents of children with SEN or disabilities in relation to the action they intend to take.

Co-production · Feedback · Transparent

4.27 Where appropriate, local authorities should also feed back comments to commissioners of services and the services themselves, including those in neighbouring local authorities. Comments should be used to inform commissioning decisions and decisions about the specific nature and type of provision that local families want.

Publish · Strategy · Change · Feedback · Transparent

• arrangements for resolving disagreements and for mediation, and details about making complaints


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4.30 The Local Offer must include information about:
• special educational, health and social care provision for children and young people with SEN or disabilities – this should include online and blended learning
• information about provision to assist in preparing children and young people for adulthood (see paragraphs 4.52 to 4.56)

Complaints · Mediation · Transparent

• parents’ and young people’s rights to appeal a decision of the local authority to the First-tier Tribunal (SEN and disability) in respect of SEN and provision

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4.30 The Local Offer must include information about:
• special educational, health and social care provision for children and young people with SEN or disabilities – this should include online and blended learning
• information about provision to assist in preparing children and young people for adulthood (see paragraphs 4.52 to 4.56)

Appeals · Transparent

4.58 The information should include:
...
• information about the option of having a Personal Budget, including a local policy for Personal Budgets, produced with parents and young people. This should provide:
- a description of the services across education, health and social care that currently lend themselves to the use of Personal Budgets
- the mechanisms of control for funding available to parents and young people including direct payments, arrangements and third party arrangements (see Chapter 9, Education, Health and Care needs assessments and plans)
- clear and simple statements setting out eligibility criteria and the decision-making processes that underpin them
- the support available to help families manage a Personal Budget
- arrangements for complaints, mediation, disagreement resolution and appeals

EHC Plan · Social care · Education · Health · Personal budgets · Transparent