From 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.
The Leeds Local Offer website is for those 0-25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and has been operational since 1 September 2014.
The Leeds Local Offer is not just a directory of services, it is the unique place where young people with SEND and their families can provide suggestions for improving services and for new services they need. Comments received through the website, LLO Facebook page, feedback from staff, young people, the Leeds Parent Carer Forum, and from parent carer support groups drive and influence service improvement.
Under the SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years - GOV.UK local authorities must publish a Local Offer, setting out in one place information about provisions they expect to be available across education, health, and social care for children and young people in their area who have SEN or are disabled, including those who do not have Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. In setting out what they ‘expect to be available’, local authorities should include provisions which they believe will actually be available.
The Local Offer has 2 key purposes:
- to provide clear, comprehensive, 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 disabled children and those with SEN and their parents, and disabled young people and those with SEN, and service providers in its development and review
Local authorities and local health and wellbeing boards must respond to all feedback and comments received about the Local Offer on an annual basis and outline what actions have been taken in response to the comments received.
In this report, you will find:
For further information, please contact the Leeds Local Offer at LLO@leeds.gov.uk
Leeds Local Offer website
Reviewing and developing the Leeds Local Offer
The SEND Ofsted inspection in 2016 highlighted that:
- only a few of the parents to whom inspectors spoke were aware of the Leeds Local Offer. Those who know about the web-based information are involved in working with the local area to improve the website. Records show that very few parents use the independent advice and support service. Parents describe both feeling isolated and benefiting from the support networks created by schools and settings
- nearly all of the parents that inspectors spoke to during the inspection did not know of, or use, the Leeds Local Offer. This means that they miss out on key services, or do not know where to get high-quality support. The feedback from a small number of parents in August 2016 is being acted on by leaders. Some parents, through the EPIC (Empowering Parents, Improving Choices) parents' forum, remain involved in improving the offer
Based on feedback received from children, young people, parents, carers, and professionals over the last 4 years, a new Leeds Local Offer website and branding was developed and launched in April 2024.
Members of the Leeds SEND Youth Council and Leeds Parent Carer Forum took part in the user testing of the new website. The new website will be continuously reviewed by the Leeds Parent Carer Forum and the Leeds SEND Youth Council. The full report can be downloaded from the Leeds Local Offer website.
We continuously review the Leeds Local Offer website with young people and the Leeds Parent Carer Forum. In 2024, we provided services with the local authority and health content management logins to enable them to regular update their own service information.
I just wanted to say that I think the new site is really well laid out and easy to navigate and it’s great to be able to easily access information about all of the options for secondary schools really easily
- comment from parent carer.
The Leeds Local Offer and SEND Voice and Influence coordinator brought together representatives from across the Yorkshire and Humber region who have responsibility for their local area Local Offer websites. The group meet on a bimonthly basis to share good practice, work through issues and challenges, and take part in an annual peer review of local offer websites.
Visitors
In the report period from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, the Leeds Local Offer website had 36,183 unique visitors; unique visitors are the number of visitors to a website in a single reporting period. The figures show a increase of 18,557 (105%) in the number of visitors to the website based on the previous year.
Providing information to families about SEND services
A Leeds Local Offer Facebook group was set up for families in December 2020, in response to feedback from families, and as an additional mechanism for families to receive updates about SEND services and activities taking place in the city. There are 1,569 members in the group; 379 have joined in the last 12 months (32% increase). During the last 12 months, 364 posts have been made on the group about services for families.
A Leeds Local Offer Information booklet is available for families and professionals. The booklet can be downloaded from the website or hard copies can be requested. The booklet was developed in response to feedback from families sharing that the Leeds Local Offer website can feel overwhelming due to the amount of information about services available. Families explained that something more condensed and in a printable format would help them to navigate the website and know what they are looking for. The booklet is reviewed and updated annually.
The booklet has been really useful to understand the different SEND services available in Leeds
- comment from parent carer.
Families can attend a monthly parent carer information drop-in to find out information about services and to receive support. The drop-in is run in partnership with Leeds SENDIASS, Leeds Parent Carer Forum, Child Health and Disability Team, Carers Leeds, and Leeds Speech and Language Service. In 2024, we introduced workshops to the drop-ins.
In the last 12 months, there have been 8 drop-ins in total. 70 parents and carers have attended the drop-in sessions. Attendance at the drop-in sessions has dropped and we have changed the way we promote the sessions, for example, by sharing directly with SENCOs or on localised Facebook groups, and by asking parents and carers to let us know via an online survey if they will be attending.
Attending the drop-in today has given me clarity of what I need to do next to get the right support for my child
- comment from parent carer.
Leeds Local Offer Live is an annual marketplace event that provides families and professionals with the opportunity to learn about and speak to SEND services in Leeds. The 2025 event took place on Wednesday 26 March 2025 at Pudsey Civic Hall. 52 services booked a stall at the event, with 48 attending on the day. There were 3 workshops available for attendees on the day. In total, 197 people attended the event, which was an increase of 17% from the 2024 event (111 parents/carers, 65 professionals, and 21 young people). The full event report can be read at the Leeds Local Offer website.
Just come back from the event (Leeds Local Offer Live) and wow, what a day. A huge gathering of organisations, services, and support networks all under one roof, aimed at families of children and young people with additional needs
- comment from parent carer.
The team attend parent carer coffee mornings, support groups, and events to promote the Leeds Local Offer website and mechanisms for families to find information about SEND services in Leeds. In the last 12 months, the team have attended 12 groups and events to promote the Leeds Local Offer. In April 2025, we started to record the number of families we have engaged with at each event. At the last 8 events, we have reached 299 families.
Promoting LLO to staff working with families
The Leeds Local Offer ebulletin is a bimonthly bulletin that is shared with over 800 professionals from schools, third sector organisations, health, local authority and support groups to promote and share information about services, activities and events.
For families without access to the internet, we encourage them to use computers at their local library or community hub, or speak to their school SENCo. In 2024/25, the team developed guides and a comms and engagement toolkit for professionals so they are able to support families using the Leeds Local Offer. We have started to work with SENDIASS and the Leeds Parent Carer Forum to develop information videos in alternative languages. These will be launched in 2025/26.
Schools and services provide a direct web link to the Leeds Local Offer from their individual webpages, promoting the Leeds Local Offer to families.
In February 2024, the team attended the annual SENCO conference and presented to over 200 SENCOs about the Leeds Local Offer and mechanisms for families to find out information about SEND services in Leeds.
In June 2025, the team presented to over 90 exhibitors at the SEND Next Choices event about the Leeds Local Offer and how it can support families and services.
Families who require any of the information to be printed can email LLO@leeds.gov.uk to make the request.
You said, our response
Families can provide feedback about the Leeds Local Offer website by email, through the feedback link on the website, and also face to face.
Feedback and actions taken in response over the last 12 months are outlined below:
| You said | Our response |
|---|---|
| Monthly information drop-in sessions to be hosted around the city, rather than in the same place each month. | From October 2025, we will rotate the location of the monthly drop-in sessions across the city. |
| Not enough information about kinship and foster carer support. | We have added information for kinship and foster carers under our "carers" section within social care. Kinship and foster carers can also access the parent carer support groups. |
| Information about preparing for adulthood transitions support is unclear. | We have updated the preparing for adulthood transitions information on the website. A gap has been identified in support for students without an EHCP. This is being raised via the Voice and Influence Transparency Working Group. |
| Direct payment policy and information to be updated. | We have updated the information about personal budgets and direct payments on the website, including a link to the TriX website, which has detailed information about the policies and procedures. |
Voice and influence
Services across Leeds are encouraged and supported to seek the views of children, young people, parents and carers to enable them to continually review and develop their services. The full voice and influence offer can be found at the Leeds Local Offer website.
The Voice, Influence and Change team produce 6 monthly SEND voice and influence reports. The aims of the report are to:
- collate voice and influence work from across the city to share with children and families’ strategic boards, councillors, and partners
- champion good practice and shine a light on the valuable work that services and organisations do
- raise awareness of the big issues being shared by the children, young people, and families
- help services and organisations to link with colleagues and encourage them to work in partnership to reduce duplication
- help services and organisations to deliver "best practice" voice and influence by reflecting on their work in line with the 5 O’s model
In March 2025, the team recruited to the new SEND Voice and Influence Officer role. The new officer will provide the team with more capacity to engage with children and young people with SEND and their parents/carers, and promote the LLO.
Voice and influence of children and young people
Leeds SEND Youth Council
The Leeds SEND Youth Council is a group of 15 young people aged 11 to 25 years old with special educational needs and disabilities who live in Leeds or attend school in Leeds. A full list of the SEND Youth Council’s involvement and achievements can be found here. Some of the highlights are below.
The SEND Youth Council have:
- represented the group on a regional level
- reviewed the MindMate ND Hub
- mystery shopped Leeds City Council leisure centres for accessibility and inclusivity
- consulted on the new young persons education health and care assessment online form
- consulted on the SEND Change Programme
- sat on a young persons panel for the Short Breaks Tender evaluation
SEND Summit
On Wednesday 12 February 2025, 47 students from Broomfield South SILC, Cardinal Heenan, Green Meadows Academy, John Jamieson East SILC, Lighthouse Futures Trust, Lighthouse School, Oulton Academy, Springwell Academy East, and West SILC attended the SEND Summit at Leeds Civic Hall.
Students took part in the "what is working well and not working well in Leeds" consultation, the Family Hubs consultation, and the Youth Activity Fund consultation, as well as having the opportunity to visit service stalls to find out what is available to them in the city.
Click here to read the event report at the Leeds Local Offer website.
SEND Partnership Board Takeover
Each year, students from specialist schools and settings take over the Leeds Area SEND Partnership Board as part of National Takeover Challenge. The takeover is an opportunity for students to speak to board members about the issues that are important to them.
The takeover is supported and facilitated by the Voice, Influence and Change team.
On Tuesday 12 November 2024, 40 students from Broomfield South SILC, West SILC, Power House, Priesthorpe, John Jamieson, Bridge Church, Temple Moor, and Green Meadows took over the Leeds Area SEND and AP Partnership Board as part of the national takeover challenge.
The aim of the takeover was to:
- learn about each other
- learn about the issues that are important to young people with SEND
- learn about what we are doing in Leeds to address the issues
Click here to download the full takeover report.
Compass House
Compass House is a great youth voice project that enables staff and students from across 6 settings to work in partnership to create a valuable work experience project.
Supported by the Voice, Influence and Change team, students from East SILC, West SILC, Broomfield South SILC, Green Meadows Academy, the Lighthouse School, and Future Horizons met monthly, from September to December 2024, to plan the opening of the 2024 Compass House pop-up shop.
Students made all the decisions about promotion, products to sell, and shop décor.
The Compass House pop-up shop opened Monday 9 to Friday 13 December 2024, 10am to 2pm in Kirkgate Market.
91 students from across the 7 settings had the opportunity to work at the Compass House pop-up shop, with hundreds of students contributing in making products to sell.
Click here to download the full Compass House pop-up shop report from the Leeds Local Offer website.
Voice and influence of parents and carers
Leeds Parent Carer Forum
The Leeds Parent Carer Forum is led by local parents working to represent the views of parents and carers of children and young people with SEND, while working in partnership with the local authority education, health and care services to make a positive difference for children and families in Leeds. In 2024 to 2025, the Leeds Parent Carer Forum have supported the monthly parent carer information drop-in, attended coffee mornings and events to promote their work and hear from families, hosted workshops for families based on need, shared surveys for families to have their say in service development, and attended meetings to represent parent carer voices.
Leeds parent carer support group network
The SEND parent carer support group network is made up of representatives from 28 SEND parent carer support groups in Leeds. The network is coordinated by the Leeds Parent Carer Forum and the Local Offer and SEND Voice and Influence Coordinator.
By being part of the network support groups:
- receive bimonthly check-ins
- are invited to 3 parent carer support group network events a year
- receive the Leeds Local Offer bulletin, and opportunities for families to have their say
The first parent carer support group network event was held on Thursday 26 June 2026, with 20 parent carers in attendance. The event was an opportunity to share what issues have been heard, and hear from services about their plans to improve services based on the feedback received from families.
All issues raised on behalf of parents and carers are logged on the tracker, deep-dived by the Voice, Influence and Transparency Working Group, and then feed into the city’s self-evaluation framework. Click here to download the issues tracker from the Leeds Local Offer website.
Self-evaluation framework event for parents and carers
The Leeds Area SEND and AP Partnership (education, health and social care) hosted the Leeds SEND Event 2024 on Tuesday 9 July 2024. The event was attended by 55 parents and carers.
The aim of the event was to:
- feedback to families what we, local authority and health, know based on data and previous consultations
- look at what our data is saying
- outline our plans moving forward
- consult with families to ensure we have all the information you want us to know
The event was an opportunity for decision makers to share back with parents and carers what they have heard from families, and what the plans for the future are, as well as giving parents and carers the opportunity to give their feedback on future plans.
Voice, Influence and Transparency working group
The Voice, Influence and Transparency working group is a subgroup of the Leeds Area SEND and AP Partnership Board. The group first met in July 2024, and meet on a monthly basis.
The working group use already existing voice and influence recording mechanisms to identify the issues and challenges families have raised, share them with relevant service leads, and provide regular updates to the Leeds Area SEND and AP Partnership Board via the issues tracker.
The group provide transparency and ensure that feedback to families is provided and available on the Leeds Local Offer website.
Child Friendly Leeds Wish 12
Leeds is an inclusive city for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. Children and young people feel there is more awareness and understanding of different disabilities and that there are more activities and places to go that are accessible.
The Child Friendly Leeds team have developed a Wish 12 page on their website to promote and share key wish updates. The webpage received 630 views in 2024.
2024 achievements
Raising awareness of disabilities
In 2024, we spoke to young people about what this means to them and a clear message was around raising awareness of disabilities, particularly hidden disabilities (where the disability may not be obvious just by looking at the person).
This kickstarted an art project, asking young people, “how can Leeds be more inclusive to those with hidden disabilities?”, so that children and young people are not feeling judged.
The artwork created by young people has been developed into 3 posters, which will be displayed around Leeds in places such as community hubs and libraries. This will help to spread awareness of the perspective of young people in Leeds with hidden disabilities. More information can be found at the Child Friendly Leeds website.
The Leeds Local Offer website is where children and young people up to 25 years old with special educational needs and disabilities and their parents and carers can find information, advice, and guidance about support, services, and activities that are available to those living in Leeds.
More activities and places to go that are accessible to all
In 2024, we further developed information on the Leeds Local Offer website about things to do and accessible places to visit in Leeds. Information includes accessibility of Leeds parks, short breaks, and fun activities, as well as places to visit in Leeds.
In July 2023, we hosted the Give It a Go event, which was funded by the community committees. The event provided 69 students with SEND from across the city the opportunity try out different activities available to them. Each student was given an information booklet about all the activities they took part in. In May 2025, the event was run for a second time by Child Friendly Leeds and Leeds Trinity University, and was attended by 100 students.
2025 goals
Short term goals (2025)
- to identify a criteria for schools to show them how they can contribute to Wish 12
- the Leeds SEND Youth Council have written and developed eLearning for professionals on "communicating with young people with SEND"
- to launch this eLearning across education, health, care, and third sector organisations, and to monitor participation
- to continue to develop the new Leeds Local Offer website through updates and by promoting accessible and inclusive activities, and places to visit
Long term goals (2023-2028)
- to continue to work on the "raising awareness of disabilities" campaign and ensure posters are displayed across the city and in schools, and to encourage participation of the raising awareness learning session
- to work with colleagues in the children’s commissioning team and those at Leeds leisure centres to review their programme of activities to ensure they are inclusive and accessible to all. Once achieved, to help promote and share this on the Leeds Local Offer website
- following the success of the 2023 Give It a Go event, to support Leeds Trinity University to deliver an event in 2025 for young people with SEND to try out different activities available in the city and explore it becoming an annual event
More information and updates about the wish can be found at the Child Friendly Leeds website.
Next steps
The priorities for the Local Offer and SEND Voice and Influence coordinator over the next 12 months are to:
- develop a “you said, we did” one-year summary describing the impact of the work of the Voice Influence and Transparency working group
- participate in a wider range of activities, workshops, events, and coffee mornings to engage with children, young people with SEND and their parents, and carers to promote the LLO, seek feedback, and raise awareness of how they can have a voice and influence
- continue to review information on the Leeds Local Offer website, and promote the Leeds Local Offer to families and professionals
- continue to coordinate the Yorkshire and Humber local offer workers network, and coordinate the annual peer review of local offer websites
- identify further opportunities to promote LLO to staff working with families at events across the city
- host a Leeds Local Offer live event for families
- support the Leeds Parent Carer Forum and parent carer support groups to represent the voices of parents and carers at a strategic level, and further explore co-production training for the Leeds Area SEND and AP Partnership Board
- lead for the Child Friendly Leeds Wish 12 (Leeds is an inclusive city for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities). Work with partners to implement the actions in the 2025 action plan, and feedback to families on progress by developing blogs on the CFL blog page
- work with new SEND Coordinators with the newly developed 7 Family Hubs to host drop-in sessions around the city, and build upon the offer of providing information about SEND services to families
- work with SENDIASS (SEND Information, Advice and Support Service) to develop preparing for adulthood information and resources for young people
- undertake a full content and readability review of information on the Leeds Local Offer website
