Introduction

The Special Educational Needs and /or Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice (2015): 0 to 25 years outlines that local authorities need to provide a local offer that is widely ’accessible for all’.

This accessibility plan outlines Somerset’s approach in ensuring accessibility for all, both those with different needs and those without access to the internet. We have listened to what has been said.

When we talk about ‘accessibility’ we mean treating everyone the same, and giving them equal opportunities, no matter what their ability or circumstances. Just as it is wrong to exclude someone from a physical building because they are in a wheelchair, it is also not right to exclude someone from a website because they have a visual impairment. We are all different, but we are all human, and therefore have the same human rights.

Somerset’s SEND Local Offer needs to be accessible to all families with a child or young person with a special educational need and/or disabilities (SEND) including the young people with SEND themselves. We’re also conscious that parent carers or children and young people with SEND may have additional needs themselves.