Introduction
Somerset’s SEND Local Offer is our hub of information, advice and guidance about the support and services available locally to children and young people aged 0-25 years with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and their families.
The information and services on this website are for all children and young people with SEND that the local authority is responsible. This includes those who don’t have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC plan). The website helps families to make the best decisions.
Somerset’s SEND Local Offer is also a useful tool for professionals. It helps them understand the different services and options available for children and young people with SEND across Somerset.
You can read more about our goals and the steps we will take in the SEND Strategy. You can also find information about Somerset’s plan to improve services for children and young people with SEND.
Gemma and Alice explain what the Local Offer is and describe the changes we made after listening to feedback from users. They did this at the Local Offer Live event in March 2023, watch the video below.
Producing the SEND Local Offer
Somerset’s SEND Local Offer was first shared on September 1, 2014. It was created by Somerset Council, NHS Somerset, Somerset Parent Carer Forum (SPCF), and student groups from schools and colleges in the county. At the start, Compass Disability (a support group for people with disabilities) helped put it all together.
There are certain goals we try to meet when designing the Local Offer. These are written down in the Somerset’s SEND Local Offer Accessibility Strategy. We update our Local Offer regularly with help from SPCF and Somerset Council’s SEND Participation and Engagement Team to do this.
Working with parents and young people
We work with parent carers, young people, services and volunteer groups to create the Local Offer.
We learn from families and children with SEND by hearing their personal stories. This helps us improve services.
We work with parents and carers through:
- the Somerset Parent Carer Forum, and
- Somerset Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIAS)
We work with young people through:
- Somerset Council’s SEND Participation Team and Young Person’s Champion
- The Unstoppables Young Person’s Forum
Feeding back to help us improve
We review Somerset’s SEND Local Offer regularly to keep it helpful and current. We welcome all kinds of feedback, good and bad, to improve the website and the services.
You can find out how to give feedback in the ‘How can I include my feedback’ section of our Keeping the Local Offer up to date page
