AfC Info website - Kingston and Richmond

You said:

Cannot find any contacts, need to talk to my child's officer. Absurd!

We did:

We have added quick links to contact details (opens a new window) on the home page of the website. This includes the SEND Team (opens a new window). However, all calls to the SEND Team go through the Coordinator Assistants Team on this number 020 8547 5872.

The Coordinator Assistants can deal with queries such as:

• Information on where you or your child is in the EHC Needs Assessment process
• Generic queries in relation to SEND
• Update on some specific queries and copies of any reports
• Contact details for your allocated EHCP Coordinator

You should also be able to find contact details for your coordinator on any correspondence you have received directly from them.

You said:

Some families would find it difficult to understand or access the website due to language.

We did:

As part of ongoing accessibility improvements to the website in 2020 we have invested in the Recite Me accessibility tool (opens a new window) This enables users to translate text into more than 100 different languages, including including 35 text to speech voices.

You said:

You sometimes find the search on the website function confusing. 

We did: 

As part of accessibility changes we have a chance to refresh the look of the website and the way it functions.  We will be doing this work in 2020.  We will do this involving young people, parents and carers. 

You said:

You didn't like the voice on the "Read Aloud" function.

We said: 

We agreed and have now replaced this with the Recite Me tool which has a choice of read aloud voices in a more pleasing tone (we tested this with young people and parent carers and they agreed) and includes 35 text to speech voices in other languages.

You said:

I love the new Recite Me accessibility tool! It’s very impressive with multiple quality features. The read aloud feature is clear and easy to understand. This is a great investment for the website that will greatly benefit many people.

We said:

We are pleased you think it is an improvement.  

You said: 

We did: 

You said: 

Many families from BAME and ethnic communities (in Kingston) don't know about the Local Offer or that they are entitled to support. You need to try harder to reach families. 

We did: 

Together with the Kingston PCF we will review how we provide outreach to families and raise awareness of the Local Offer amongst our diverse comunities.  This will include updating our Local Offer publicity. 

You said: 

The health information on the Local Offer could be better.

We did: 

We have reviewed the health section (opens a new window) and changed the layout to make information easier to navigate. We will continue to work with health providers to make improvements in this section and to provider websites where these are the primary source of information.

You said:

Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) a great idea but looks like limited to certain schools in borough. Should not be limited should be open to all children in borough. Post code lottery otherwise. Is there any way children outside cluster schools can access these resources?

We did:

At the moment this programme is only available in a limited number of schools as part of the pilot.  We hope that in the future the programme will be expanded to include more schools in the next phase.  In the meantime we are utilising and sharing the resources developed by the MHST with as many schools as possible in Kingston and Richmond to ensure a wider benefit.   We have added information to our web page to make this clearer.  Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) in schools (opens a new window)

Assessment for Education Health and Care Plan. Very hard to find a link to the actual application form!

We did:

We have rearranged the section on the website which we hope will make it easier to find information (opens a new window)

You said: 

Thank you so much for the new short film which talks about how you are using feedback to improve the website. It’s clear, simple and easy to understand. I now feel much more confident in the website and looking forward to future developments. Thank you!

We did:

We are glad you feel more confident in the website. 

You said: 

The "New to SEND" page looks very good. The other members of the KPCF also said its very useful to have all this information in one place, and one member commented that she came across information on this page that she wasn't aware of before. 

We did:

Thank you for suggesting that this section would be valued and working with us to create it.