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What you said and what we did

What you said and what we did

We're committed to ensuring York’s Local Offer Website is jointly produced by us and parent carers. We aim for York’s Local Offer to meet the needs of you and your family. This page will outline what you as site users have told us we need to change, and what we have done to meet these needs.

You Said We Did: Local Offer

You Said: The young person’s section has been ‘under construction for too long’ and there should be information on there suitable for young people.

We Did: We worked with the SEND Youth Forum to understand what young people would like from a young persons section of the Local Offer Website. They requested information about activities, clubs, key contacts and financial support like discount cards for activities. We drafted the content for the young people to see and agree, the young person’s section is now live.

You Said: In a survey completed in Summer 2025, families told us that:

  • they were unclear about the term ‘Local Offer’
  • awareness of the website is limited
  • navigation of the site needs to improve
  • more content about PfA needed
  • information about the local offer should be shared more

We Did: We developed an action plan for the Local Offer, this included:

  • increase communication about the local offer with those who directly work with families (this includes schools, settings, specialist teachers, EP’s doctors surgeries, community centres, libraries)
  • increase communication from CYC channels about the Local Offer (by improving connections with social media, but also via connections from CYC Website, Raise York Website and Safer Children’s Website – in January 2026, this was done by targeting key words within the search function, which take you directly to the Local Offer site)
  • improve navigation of the website (in Spring 2026 a focus group will be held with families to understand how they would navigate the site to understand what routes would be most commonly taken – to ensure content is sat where families would expect it to be)
  • develop new process to ensure appropriate content is available and easily accessible (In November 2025, the family navigators at SEND Central and the Local Offer Officer began monthly meetings to ensure that any content they couldn’t find when dealing with a parent carer enquiry at SEND Central, is reported and content can be developed in a timely manner)

You Said: Families told us that the quick guides were helpful, especially the ‘new to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)’ guide, and professionals told us they were handy to have when families asked questions about particular topics. It saved them time pulling together information, but they also knew they were sharing good quality and up to date information with families

We Did: We continued to develop our quick guide ‘bank’ and have reached out to families via our Parent Carer Forum to ask what questions they regularly get from families, so we can make new guides on those topics. Feedback suggested that families wanted guides on:

  • Short Breaks
  • Right to Choose NHS
  • Social Care Assessments
  • Annual Reviews
  • Moving schools with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

You Said: The support by need section is one of the most used web pages on the York SEND Local Offer but it can be difficult to find without the direct URL.

We Did: We have made a change to navigation on our site, added some more links to this page from other web pages and made a button on the main navigation bar that links directly to the support by need section. From there you can also access our new Training and Support Offer for both parents and professionals.

You Said: “The universal offer page is so difficult to understand”, “we cant print it and put it on our school notice board” and parents said “it is difficult to understand what offer is for parents and what is for school staff.”

We Did: We worked with a range of school staff, those who offer the support and a group of parents to understand what is working with the current offer, and what isn’t. The offer itself is now a more bespoke offer for professionals so they can make the most of the support available and the parent offer remains the same as it is well used, but the way we present it on the local offer is changing.

The Universal Offer has now received positive feedback from it's users.

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