What is the SEND Local Offer?

Our Local Offer site is a single place for information, services and resources for children and young people from birth to 25 years old who have special educational needs or disabilities, and for their families and carers.

All councils must publish a Local Offer. We must tell you what support is available for families of children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities.

Read about what we mean by special educational needs and what is a disability.

The Local Offer:

• is for parents, carers, children, young people, practitioners and professionals, who live, go to school or work in the Bristol City Council area
• includes information on services available to everybody, such as schools and children’s healthcare
• includes information on short term support and services for children and young people without an Educational, Health and Care plan
• includes information on specialist services and longer term specialised support for children with SEND
• must be provided in other formats for people who can’t access the website

Find out more about why we have a Local Offer.

Check whether your home or your child's school or education setting is in the Bristol City Council area on GOV.UK.

What we must do

We have to tell you:

• what’s available
• who it’s for
• how to use it

You can find the legal requirements in:

• the Equality Act 2010
• sections 27, 28, 30, 32, 41, 49 and 51 to 57 of the Children and Families Act 2014
• the SEND Code of Practice 2015 
• the Care Act 2014
• the Mental Capacity Act 2005

If you haven't got internet access at home, Bristol Libraries provide free computer and internet access, as well as free wifi.

About this website

We’ve developed our Local Offer with you (parents, carers, and children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities) to help you easily find all the information and advice to meet your needs. We also tell you how to access services and if there is a formal process involved. 

There are some types of support and services which you can apply for when your child needs them, whatever age they are. You’ll find this information linked from the homepage. 

Visit the Bristol's SEND Local Offer website here.