The statutory duty
The Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on every local authority to publish a SEND Local Offer, providing information about services and support available for children and young people in their area who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
The Local Offer has two key purposes:
- to provide accessible and up to date information about the available provision and how to access it.
- to make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving children, young people, parents, carers and service providers in its development and review.
The Local Offer should be
- collaborative
- accessible
- comprehensive
- up-to-date
- transparent.