Process for updating SEND content

This page explains our process for making updates to our SEND Local Offer web content. We also talk about our content standards. 

How to create good web content

We must write our web pages in a style that's easy for people to read and understand. By law, everything we publish on our websites must be accessible.

Content standard

We follow the LocalGov Digital content standard. This sets out 5 rules that content should meet before it goes online:

Is it easy to read and understand?

People skim read web content. We need to get to the point, use plain language, avoid jargon and break content up with subheadings.

Is it easy to find?

Visitors should be able to find the content using search words that make sense to them.

Does it answer a question that visitors are asking?

Think about the audience your content is for and what they want to know.

Make sure it goes on the relevant website. For example:

• Norfolk County Council - for:
  • Parents or carers
  • Children and young people
  • Health, social care, or education professionals
• Schools - for education professionals
• Communitydirectory.norfolk.gov.uk - listings of services, events and groups

Is it original?

If the content already exists elsewhere on the web, we should link to it rather than duplicate it. We must also make sure we have the rights to use any images. Don't save images from search engines for use in council pages.

Are images necessary and helpful?

Always ask if an image is necessary. What does it add to the page? Does it help the customer? If we do need to include an image, it should be of good quality (and we must have the rights to use it).

Accessibility

You must make sure anything you create for our websites is accessible. Our step-by-step guide explains how to create accessible online content.

Always consider a web page over a document like a PDF. Around 50% of our web page views are on mobile. Web pages are more accessible on mobile than documents. We've put together some reasons why web content is better as a web page.

How to make updates to SEND content

There are different processes for making small updates and more complicated updates.

Small updates

Small web updates include updating spelling errors, broken links, a line of text, or an existing document.

You should send small web updates to send@norfolk.gov.uk. The SEND team will review updates and if they agree, they'll submit a web change request to our web team. The web team will check the update meets our web standards before publishing it.

Complicated updates

Complicated web updates include adding new web pages, sections, or large documents (like a brochure PDF).  It could also be changing large amounts of text.

These updates have to go through a longer process, often involving more people. For example:

• A content designer: skilled in writing clear content that meets our web style and user needs
• Subject matter expert: a topic expert who makes sure content is factually correct
• User advocate: ensures content meets user needs
• SEND team: ensures content meets SEND policy requirements and our organisation's needs

The process is:

Content planning meeting

The SEND team and digital team meet regularly to highlight potential upcoming projects. The digital team prioritise, schedule and plan any agreed work requests.

Identify user needs

We'll identify user needs to check the request is something users require. User research could include:

• Website feedback 
• Strong anecdotal evidence from user advocates 
• User interviews 

Content outline meeting

A content designer, user advocate and SEND team member meet to review the identified user need(s). The aim of the meeting is to discuss how the new content will fulfil user needs.

By the end of the meeting, they will agree how and when the new content is going to be provided.

Content designer carries out a first edit

The content designer reviews the content and makes edits so that it meets our corporate style and is easy to understand. 

Content review

The content designer, subject matter expert, user advocate and SEND team member discuss the first draft.

Content designer carries out a second edit

The content designer writes a second draft based on feedback from the review meeting.

User testing

Sometimes we might ask people from the target audience to test the new content for us. Usually, the test session would include the content designer, SEND team member and any other required stakeholders. Someone will make a note of any successes or issues.

Content designer writes final draft

The content designer writes the final draft based on feedback from the user testing.

Final review and sign off

The content designer, subject matter expert and a user representative check content quality. This should be for small changes like typos. There should be no major changes at this stage. The content is signed off by the content owners and stakeholders.  

Digital team publish content

The digital team publish the content on our website.

Monitor content

The digital team and SEND team monitor content after it's published. They monitor analytics and website feedback periodically to inform future changes. 

Review content at set intervals

The digital team and SEND team review content at certain points. They decide what content to keep, update or delete.