Published Monday 20 May 2019

Now we’ve concluded the 'discovery' phase of the Local Offer project we will be turning what we have learnt into actionable steps.

We'll keep learning as we go; engaging with parents as often as possible through the SEND Online Feedback Group and the Herts Parent Carer Involvement (HPCI). We'll also regularly measure the statistics we've identified to see if we're making things better or worse for visitors to the website as we make these changes.

Updating the website's structure

  • Parents have told us that the website's structure is challenging to navigate, so we’ll be building a new structure that gets our visitors to the information they need faster and without hassle.
  • We’ll also make decisions about what we include in the website and what we signpost to on other websites.
  • Using the surveys/ tasks completed by the SEND Online Feedback Group, we now know what information visitors to the website would like to see prioritised. Based on top tasks and frequent searches we can build a homepage that reflects what real visitors are coming to the website hoping to immediately find.

This is a big job, involving looking at all of the information we host, so we’ll be working on this for a while. We’ll keep you updated on our progress.

Reviewing information

We'll be looking at the ways we're structuring information within the website's pages.

  • Heatmaps have shown us where visitors are clicking the most, and that it might be better to merge some content- such as information about conditions with the support available for that condition.
  • We'll be looking at filing information gaps that we've identified, and ensuring that we're using language parents understand.
  • We'll review all the documents on the website to check that they're appropriate and up to date.

Redesigning the 'look'

Using feedback we've had from young people, parents and professionals we'll be redesigning the 'look' of the website.

This will include:

  • testing some of our favourite websites with members of the public
  • considering our accessibility options
  • exploring creative ways to make content more readable.

We'll keep listening and learning

  • We'll continue talking to families with children who have SEND and professionals to keep learning about their challenges.
  • Any changes we make to the website will be carefully tested and measured.
  • We'll continue building relationships with other local authorities to share best practice.

Get involved!

You can still get involved to help shape SEND services by joining our SEND Online Feedback Group:

 

Page was last updated on: 15/08/2023 16:41:44