Co-production means that children and young people, families, and decision-makers work together in an active way to plan, design and review the Local Offer (LO) webpages to make sure they are useful, and the information is accessible to everybody who needs to use it.
Co-production takes place both online and at various venues across H&F.
'Co-production Hub' meetings
These monthly sessions include the H&F parent and carers forum, Parentsactive and internal colleagues from Education and SEND, Social Care, Independent Living services and the Web team. Furthermore, health and community partners such as the Regional NHS Clinical Officer for SEND, the Carers Network and the H&F SEND Information and Advice Support Service (SENDIASS).
The LO developed 25 advice and guidance pages through the Co-production Hub, in the last year. This includes webpages and online guides for:
- Education, health and care (EHC) plans and assessments: This developed primarily with SENDIASS who ensured the content was concise, with a timeline for added clarity.
- Emotional wellbeing and mental health guide: This built on a previously co-produced 'H&F NHS Parents Handbook to Mental Health Services for children & young people'.
- Childcare support for children under 5 with SEND: This includes information on government legislation, H&F guidance and funding available. Parentsactive advised which information to prioritise and clarify, such as who applies for and receives the funding.
- Preparing for adulthood (PfA) guide:This helps children and young people with SEND by outlining steps to improve health, wellbeing, and employment access. The H&F Local Area Partnership co-produced the content, and the LO refined it for better online accessibility.
Co-production with parents and carers
The LO team works closely with residents to test how easy it is to find information on some of the most frequently visited webpages. Real-life scenarios are used to guide the activity.
This helps the team understand whether the content is clear and easy to navigate, or if the content needs to be changed.
User testing took place at Family Hubs events. Residents participated and received an incentive.
User journeys were tested for the following online guides:
- I think my child needs help
- Occupational therapy services for children and young people
- Autism guide for parents and carers
Following feedback, the LO:
- made improvements to pages: A sub-heading 'Things to do' changed to 'Activities for children and young people'. Similarly, 'For further information' changed to 'If you feel your child is not making progress'. Additionally, sleep issues added to the page 'I think my child needs help'
- worked with children's commissioning to enhance access to the 'H&F Holiday Activities and Food Programme' webpage. Also, the service launched a new Family Hub 'Activities' section with a dedicated subsection for those with SEND
- added six key topics as green buttons on the LO landing page to improve access to frequently asked questions.
The LO plans to promote the new activities page through social media and will explore simplifying the landing page through co-production.
Co-production with young people
Throughout the year, the LO run a variety of sessions across the borough.
In June 2024 over 20 young people joined a Youth Voice co-production session to discuss the 'Youth Hub' subsection of the Family Hub website. They shared priorities and created a list of 'Dos and Don'ts'. For example, "Use clear language" and "Avoid jargon".
In October 2024 the LO tested an employment webpage with the AOD Youth Board, where young Disabled people provided feedback which directly shaped improvements. Comments included:
"I like the text is not long and the different colours for titles"
"I can read but can you add pictures for people who can't read?"
"The employment page needs to cover young Disabled people's rights".
Following this, the LO:
- added a new button 'Employment advice for young people' to the council's 'Jobs' section
- removed large images on the LO and 'Youth Hub', to make buttons and content more visible
- included additional information in the employment advice guide
- incorporated a link to a MENCAP easy-read version with image.
In March 2025 ,the employment advice guide received updates including information to help young people get into work and is now a Guide to starting work for young people. A co-production session with the Youth Council reviewed it and liked the clearer headings within the guide.
During that session, young people highlighted that they liked the clear link from the LO landing page to the 'Youth Hub'. The Youth Hub landing page also needs to be accessible to young people with SEND and this will be addressed through co-production.
The LO will also work with the Youth Council on 'Rights and Inclusion' content. It will feature a youth-led podcast addressing discrimination, covering topics such as sexual orientation and disability.
Co-production on accessibility options
The LO joined the H&F Digital Co-production Group to explore widget accessibility tools for the Family Hub website, enabling automatic adjustments to text size, colour contrast, and screen reader support. The Digital Co-production Group will explore further options.
Helping partners to co-produce their content
A monthly Occupational Therapy (OT) Implementation Group takes place with OT NHS teams and SEND services across the tri-borough to develop online resources. These will be centrally available on the NHS website, ensuring residents have access to high-quality materials.
This group enables the LO to network with other partners and shares feedback from residents. For example, residents expressed their need for strategies and tools to support their children at home.