Feedback on the Local Offer 2015-2016

Further information on how the Cheshire East Local Offer was co-produced can be found on the developing our Local Offer for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) page.

During the year from September 2015 to August 2016, we gathered feedback, comments and suggestions from a number of sources, including:

• the “Contact”, “Tell us what you think” and “Suggest a service” pages
• the “Leave feedback” button
• the “Contact us” and “Rate this page” functions of the Cheshire East website
• over the telephone during calls to the Family Information Service
• in person at various events, including parent coffee mornings, Cheshire East Parent Carer Open Forums and steering group meetings, fun days and commissioned provider meetings.

If you would like to provide feedback on the Cheshire East Local Offer for SEND, please see the “tell us what you think” page for further details. Thank you to everybody that has taken the time to do this to date – your feedback is very important to us and helps to shape future development work in all areas. 

Below is a summary of the feedback that we have received from September 2015 – August 2016, along with our response and actions. Up until 31st May 2017, the Local Offer was included within the children's information Cheshire East (iCE) directory. This was subsumed into the Live Well directory.

Content of the Local Offer

You said: 
"We cannot find the mediation service that has been commissioned by the LA on the local offer. It is hidden far away on the SEN team webpage. If you put Mediation onto the search on the local offer it is not clear that they are there."

Our actions:
Cheshire East Council, along with NHS Eastern Cheshire and NHS South Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Groups, commissions SEN Disagreement Resolution and Mediation services in line with the SEND Code of Practice. In response to the above comment, detailed service records were created for each of these commissioned services which include links to the existing published information on resolving SEN disagreements. The commissioned service comes up as the top result when searching for “mediation”.

You said:
"I am looking for holiday clubs for my 13 year old child who is on the Autistic Spectrum to enable me to work during the summer holidays”

Our actions:
Last year, several local providers of services for children with SEND produced a joint booklet outlining summer holiday provision within Cheshire East. This exercise was repeated again for summer 2016, with the addition of an extra provider. A page was created on the Local Offer specifically to outline summer holiday activities for children and young people with SEND, which included this booklet and also additional activities that were available elsewhere. Parents have responded positively to being able to access this information in one place.

You said:
“Where is this school’s Local Offer?”

Our actions:
Each school’s record within Live Well contains a link to the school’s Local Offer/SEN information report. This document outlines the school’s approach to assessing and teaching children and young people with SEN, in line with the requirements of the Children and Families Act 2014. Where this link was found to be missing for a school, Cheshire East Council officers enquired with the school regarding the location of this document and added the appropriate link once it was available.

You said:
"What can I say about the terrific PE department, my daughter has loved every minute of her time doing PE, the staff are full of life and make learning fun, you have definitely brought out the best in her… thank you all for your hard work and commitment to go the extra mile for all your students”

Our actions:
The above comment was given as feedback for one of our secondary schools, and was passed onto the school for their information.

You said:
"I am trying to find an email address for your children to adult transitions teams and am struggling to do so."

Our actions:
Cheshire East Council does not utilise a separate children’s to adults’ transition team. Currently, for social care referrals individuals should contact ChECS for children up to the age of 18 (0300 123 5012 (option3)), or adult social care for individuals aged 18 years or over (0300 123 5010).

In line with the wishes of local residents, separate “moving into adult life” categories are available within Live Well and the Local Offer. These categories are dedicated to services and information for young people aged 14 years+, in line with the concept of preparing for adulthood at the earliest opportunity. Development work on the “Moving into Adult Life” categories has been identified as a priority going forward. This will include reviewing and enhancing existing information relating to transitions from children’s to adults’ services.

Individual service information

You said:
"This information is very misleading as it is only open in college holidays.”
“Phone number doesn't work and link to their website offers no other way of contacting - no idea if this place still exists or not".

Our actions:
Where we receive comments in relation to the accuracy of an individual service record, a council officer will check the information, liaise with the service in question and correct the information, as required. Feedback such as this is very important, as it helps to ensure that information within the directory is accurate and up-to-date.

You said:
"A large number of service enquiries are now sent through Live Well. However, it was felt that some enquiries could be dealt with more efficiently and effectively via alternative enquiry routes on the Cheshire East website, for example those relating to waste collections or planning applications."

Our actions:
To ensure that individuals access the most appropriate information and enquiry routes for Council services, any services which are provided by Cheshire East Council and have information on the Council’s website but are not primarily for children and young people or their families, were removed from the Live Well directory. This ensures that search engines will point people to the most appropriate information on the Council’s website.

You said:
"We have received several comments relating to individuals from services included within the iCE directory, including many compliments."

Our actions:
Comments relating to individuals are always passed onto the relevant organisation for their information and further action (as required).