SEND Local Offer Annual Report 2025 to 2026

Faster "find what I need" experience

To help users find what they need quickly we identified the need for navigation and page restructuring, a clear 'contact us' navigation and key information was needed. To address this a new contact us form was designed and implemented.

Reduced information overload

We reduced users being overloaded with information by changing the button that linked to a directory of local partners to two separate navigation buttons including 'Contact Us' and 'Directory of local services.'

Made high‑demand content easier to reach

We ensured high demand content including Education, SENDIASS and information for parents and carers where easier to reach. This resulted in those pages being the top viewed pages in 2025, showing improved findability and relevance.

Clearer next steps and reassurance

Plain‑English guidance and stronger calls‑to‑action such as the SENDIASS contact and parent guides gave families a clearer path from information to action, reflected in the growth of parent‑facing page views in 2025.

More inclusive, neuro-diverse friendly design direction

The proposed rebrand mock-up sets an empathetic, calming tone and accessibility, laying the groundwork for lower cognitive load and greater trust during 2026.

Faster, clearer access to strategies and policies

Families, young people and professionals now have quicker and clearer access to Stockton's SEND strategies, policies and statutory information, thanks to improvements in navigation, clearer labelling and simplified content pathways. The clearer access point also supports statutory compliance, highlighted in the Local Offer compliance audit, which identified a need for more prominent statutory information, better explanation of SEND processes, and clearer pathways for parents and professionals

Clearer mainstream SEND support narrative (in development)

Actions from the 2025 review set out a distinct "SEND Support in Schools" pathway and consistent explanations (graduated approach, reasonable adjustments, Inclusive Education Framework alignment) to reduce confusion and complaints.

Brand and structure aligned to accessibility

The new rebrand brief defines tone of voice (empathy, clarity, reassurance), colour and typography choices and layout principles that meet accessibility needs and reduce cognitive load which is a foundation for 2026.

User need insights

User needs continued to guide all Local Offer improvements throughout 2025, with design and content shaped around the three core user‑journey groups identified in the 2025 review: parents of children with new or emerging SEND needs, young people preparing for adulthood, and professionals, particularly SENCOs. These journeys highlighted the importance of simple pathways, reassuring language, mobile‑friendly layouts and clear explanations of what to expect at each stage of the SEND process.

Developments are in progress for the creation of a new homepage concept built around three clear pathways:

• children and young people
• parents and carers
• professionals

This will provide users with an immediate, intuitive route into the information most relevant to them. This shift will ensure the Local Offer feels more predictable, more personalised and easier to navigate, particularly for first‑time users who may be feeling overwhelmed.

SEND Local Offer email inbox

The SEND Local Offer inbox continued to play an important role in 2025 as a direct communication channel for families and professionals seeking clarity, reassurance and practical guidance. Enquiries frequently focused on Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessments, school placements, annual reviews, short breaks, early years support, and signposting to specialist services, reflecting the key areas where families most often need accessible, timely information.

Because many of these questions relate to complex processes, the inbox remains a vital tool for helping families understand next steps, directing case‑specific queries to the right service, and identifying recurring themes that inform wider improvements to the Local Offer. This also aligns with the SEND Navigator (support officer role) signposting in the team. In this way, the inbox does more than respond to individual questions. It provides valuable insight into user needs, guiding ongoing content updates, navigation improvements, and future design decisions.

Improving navigation and content

Throughout 2025, significant progress has been made in developing and improving the clarity, structure and usability of the Local Offer.

Work has begun to develop a new SEND Support in Schools section, providing consistent explanations of SEN Support, the graduated approach, and the distinction between SEN Support and EHCPs, and to develop the Inclusion Education Framework to address key gaps identified in the compliance audit.

This is supported by plans for transition timelines and visual guides, helping families understand next steps as children move through Early Years, school and Preparing for Adulthood pathways.

Navigation improvements are informed by user‑journey model research (Stockton Parent Carer Forum, SEND Strategy working groups and away days, communication and listening sessions, Send Navigator meetings and SENDIAS feedback meetings), ensuring information flows in the order parents, young people, and professionals naturally look for it. These changes will reflect the Local Offer's broader move towards clearer categorisation (by age, need and service type) and a more intuitive and reassuring user experience.

A strategic focus on improving Google search results by optimising the website to rank higher (SEO) and refining search techniques for better personal results.

Accessibility

We remain committed to ensuring our website meets the WCAG 2.2 accessibility standards, creating an inclusive and user‑friendly experience for everyone. By following these guidelines, we make our content easier to navigate, more usable on mobile devices, and fully accessible for people with a wide range of needs. Meeting WCAG 2.2 not only supports our legal and ethical responsibilities, it also improves overall user satisfaction, enhances our reputation, and helps ensure that no one is excluded from accessing our services. Our new brand colour proposals have been approved for accessibility standards.

Alongside this, we are seeking approval at the Council's Powering Our Future Board to procure and begin development on an AI‑powered chatbot designed to provide a 24/7 responsive experience, offering instant answers, navigation support and signposting at any time of day. These enhancements reflect the Local Offer's design principles of clarity, predictability and reduced cognitive load, supporting neurodivergent users and ensuring information is accessible, welcoming and easy to use across devices.

Marketing and promotion

Activity strengthened significantly in 2025 with the production of a dedicated Local Offer communications plan, providing a clearer and more strategic approach to raising awareness and improving engagement across Stockton-on-Tees. This work brought the Local Offer into closer alignment with Corporate Communications, ensuring consistent messaging and a coordinated promotion across council channels. Awareness‑raising activities will continue, including digital communications through schools, SENCO networks and Family Hubs; Send Navigator, SEND forums and engagement sessions. Together, these efforts have widened its reach and created more opportunities for dialogue with families, young people and professionals, evidenced by increased user participation.

Engagement and co-production

In 2025, engagement and co‑production strengthened significantly across the Local Offer. The launch of the Youth Forum will provide direct access to young people's voices, enabling them to shape improvements and work closely with Preparing for Adulthood leads to refresh and rebuild the Young People's section of the Local Offer in ways that reflect their real experiences and communication preferences. Relationships with the Stockton Parent Carer Forum (SPCF) also improved, with more regular touch points and clearer opportunities for parents to influence content and navigation changes.

The Stockton Information Directory continued to be a reliable source for ensuring accuracy and up‑to‑date service information. The next step identified through the 2025 review is to weave this directory data into the Local Offer's user journeys, ensuring families not only access accurate information but encounter it at the right point in their journey. Together, these developments create a more collaborative, transparent and user‑shaped approach to how the Local Offer evolves.

The formation of a new SEND co-production working group will also feed into the Local Offer Strategy.

Establishment of a Local Offer working group

A new Local Offer Working Group was established, with the agreement to meet four times per year to drive co‑production of improvements, share data insights and collaboratively shape a coherent, user‑friendly Local Offer. This group brings together key partners across Education, Health, Social Care, Digital Services, the Parent Carer Forum and SENDIASS, as well as Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council SEND professionals, to ensure development is aligned, evidence‑led and responsive to the needs of families and professionals.