The Local Offer
Your Local Offer is your one-stop-shop for information about the services available for young people with SEND where you live. In this Guide we’ll tell you where to access it and what it can help you with.
What is the Local Offer?
The Local Offer is a comprehensive guide by the Local Authority. It lists services that are available for children and young people in their area with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
It covers a broad range of services including education, health, social care, training, travel, and services to support young people as they transition to adulthood.
Some of the services listed will be outside your local area if they are likely to be used by people with SEND.
The Local Offer should make it easier for you to find essential information by giving giving clear, comprehensive, accessible and up to date information about available services and how to access them.
Finding your Local Offer
There are a few different ways to find your Local Offer:
- On your Local Authority’s website. You can find your local authority here: https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council
- Kids’ Young People’s Hub has a directory of every local offer in England. It allows you to search for your local offer using your postcode.
- You can also find a Local Offer by searching for ‘SEND’ or ‘Local Offer’ on the internet.
Who is the Local Offer for?
- Children and young people with SEN and/or disabilities from birth to 25.
- Parents and carers.
- Practitioners and professionals.
What information should the Local offer provide?
The Local Offer should cover:
- How children and young peoples’ needs are identified.
- How to request an assessment for an EHCP
- How needs are assessed
- The special educational, health and social care provision for children and young people with SEN or disabilities
- Opportunities for post-16 education, training and employment
- Apprenticeships, traineeships and supported internships
- Support for independent living and preparing for adulthood
- How provision is funded
- Leisure activities and support groups
- Childcare
- Where you can find more information, advice and support
- Arrangements for travel
- Help available to resolve disagreements, help with mediation, and details about making complaints.
- Information and advice for parents and young people on their right to appeal at the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal
Involving young people
By law, the Local Authority has to involve children, young people with SEN or disabilities, their parents, and service providers when they develop the Local Offer.
And they have to regularly review it and involve the same groups of people in that too.
The reason for that is that involving people will be the Local Offer more relevant to local people and more responsive to their needs.
Create brighter futures with disabled children
Childhood should be joyful. Not defined by what disabled children and young people cannot do. That’s wrong.
Kids is on a mission to create a world where all kinds of children and young people have all kinds of opportunities. Support Kids to create brighter futures with disabled children.