Guidance

It is recommended that you read this guidance before registering your organisation and service on Localofferwirral.org.
These Guidance Notes should be read in conjunction with the site’s Terms and the documents referred to therein, which govern your organisation’s use of Local Offer Wirral (“LOW”). This document is purely intended to provide an overview of the types of services offered via LOW and to provide information and guidance about the registration process.
1. Purpose of LOW
1.1 LOW is an online information resource for education, training, leisure activities, support groups, wellbeing, health and social care services (which are accessible by residents of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in particular for children and young people (aged 0-25 years) with special educational needs and/or a disability and their families) (“LOW Services) which allows providers of LOW Services who are registered with the site to provide information about and promote LOW Services to health & social care commissioners, intermediaries and members of the public.
1.2 Its aim is to increase access to information about Local Offer special educational need or disability (“SEND”) services available in Wirral and therefore to promote choices and options for different types of service. LOW is intended to bring all the information in one place and make the information clear, comprehensive and accessible and to make service provision more responsive to local needs.
1.3 Ultimately, the long term outcomes of LOW are for a healthier Wirral population who are better informed about services which can support their wellbeing. You can contact Community Action Wirral (CAW) for further information.
2. Who can Join?
2.1 Any group or organisation offering a service which falls in to the main Local Offer headings listed in the following paragraph 2.2 and whose services are aimed at anyone aged 0-25 years with a special educational need or disability (“SEND”), their parents and carers may make an application to join the website and list a service. Terms will apply.
2.2 Main headings:
• Health
• Social Care
• Education
• Transport
• Information and Support
• Transition
3. Who can’t Join?
3.1 Any organisation legally required to be registered with a governing/professional body who is not.
3.2 Any organisation without appropriate public liability insurance.
3.3 Any organisation who cannot be categorised under one or more of the main 6 Local Offer headings described in 2.2 above and who dioes not offer a service to children, young people or parents in relation to SEND.
4. How do I Join?
4.1 You can register as a service provider organisation from the home page of Localofferwirral.org by clicking on ‘add service’. You will then be directed to the joining page. We recommend reading this section 4 of the Guidance Notes so that you have the information you need readily available.
4.2 When you click on ‘register’ – you will be taken through step 1 – registering your organisation.
4.3 You’ll be asked to provide an email address and organisation name. You’ll be prompted to enter your organisation’s details – this will include:
• Organisation name
• First Name
• Last Name
• Address
• Postcode
• Telephone
• Mobile
• Email Address
• Website
• Type of organisation
4.4 You’ll be asked to set a username and you will be sent a password by email, which you will need if you want to add a service or change details.
4.7 Step 2 prompts you to give details of your service – this will include:
• Name of service
• Service description – this is your opportunity to sell your service – so be sure to include everything the service does and its benefits
• Upload an image – you can include a logo or an image that shows your service (the maximum size for this image is 1200 pixels wide x 1000 pixels high)
• Next you’ll be asked if your service targets a particular audience
• Service Location, including a named contact and details
• You’ll then be asked a series of questions about hours, prices, mobility and access, parking, staff skills, qualifications and Disclosure and Barring Service (DRS) checks,  formerly known as Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks. If you are unsure of meanings, you can follow the links to find out more.
• You’ll be then prompted to choose one or more headings for your service (see 2.2.)
• Next you’ll be asked if you want to choose keywords for your service, there is a large list of Local Offer related keywords for services with an option to add a new keyword. The site editor at CAW will assign keywords for you if you do not enter any. This will ensure that your service can easily be found when searching.
• Finally, review your answers and submit.
4.8 Your service entry will be checked by our site editor and uploaded on to the LOW website – we may try to contact you directly if we need to clarify any details. We reserve the right to remove any entry for any reason at our discretion at any time.
4.9 You can enter another service by clicking on the add service link.
4.10 You can change your organisation and service details at any time by emailing [email protected] or by following the links to do so within the website.
4.11 Please try to avoid using acronyms in all your descriptions. Different sections of your information may appear in different places, so even if you translate an acronym in one place such as in your organisation’s details, this may not show in your service listing.
5. Your Responsibilities
5.1 You are responsible at all times for maintaining the accuracy of your service information. Although we may prompt you at intervals to check your service entry for accuracy, we urge you to check your data regularly. Remember service users can write reviews about your service and may therefore comment on the accuracy of your service description.
5.2 You are responsible at all times for the quality of your service and communication with your service users. CAW will not act as an intermediary for this. Please see Terms.
5.3 You are responsible for storing your username and password and any arrangements you make internally within your organisation for submitting and changing service data.
6. Service User Feedback
6.1 LOW has been designed to invite service user feedback for services. Service users will be able to leave comments and rate services directly on each directory entry. Please see Terms.
7. FAQ’s
7.1 These will be developed through the testing period.