Bromley's SEND Local Offer is now at bromleysend.org. The EHC plan pages did not move with it, and a free family event is set for the October half term.

Bromley’s SEND Local Offer has moved off the council’s website and onto its own address, bromleysend.org. The council announced the new site on 2 September, and its old page at bromley.gov.uk/localoffer now says: “Please visit www.bromleysend.org for current information and resources from the Bromley SEND Local Offer.”

The Local Offer is not a nice-to-have. Every council in England has to publish one. Section 30 of the Children and Families Act 2014 requires a local authority to publish what provision it expects to be available for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. That covers provision in its own area and outside it.

“This new website brings important local information together in one clear and easy-to-use place,” said Cllr Jonathan Andrews, Executive Councillor for Children, Education and Families.

What is on the new site

The site is aimed at children and young people aged 0 to 25 with SEND, their families and carers, the professionals who work with them, and adults with a learning disability. Its main sections are:

  • Understanding your child’s needs, with separate pages for autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, Down syndrome, hearing and vision impairment, speech and language, physical disability and emotional wellbeing
  • Parents and carers, split by stage: early years, primary school and secondary school
  • Preparing for adulthood, covering studying, training and employment, developing independence, staying healthy and active, and friendships and community
  • Education support for every child, covering elective home education, emotionally based school avoidance, alternative provision and education otherwise than in school or college
  • Money and finances, including direct payments, personal budgets and the disability access fund
  • Social care support, short breaks, young carers and safeguarding
  • An Adult Learning Disability Hub for adults with a learning disability who live in Bromley, with pages on health and wellbeing, staying safe, work and skills, home and independence, things to do, and sharing your views

The one thing that did not move

There is a gap worth knowing about before you go looking. The new site carries no pages on Education, Health and Care plans. Nothing on how to request an EHC needs assessment, nothing on the statutory timeline, nothing on what goes into a plan or on annual reviews.

Those pages are still on the council’s own website, under bromley.gov.uk/special-educational-needs/education-health-care-ehc-plans. For most families that is the single most important part of the SEND system, so it is an awkward thing for a “central hub” not to hold.

Chart showing which Bromley SEND information is on the new bromleysend.org website, including understanding your child's needs, parents and carers by school stage, preparing for adulthood, money and finances, the Adult Learning Disability Hub and have your say, and which remains on bromley.gov.uk, namely Education Health and Care plan pages covering requesting an assessment, the timeline, what goes into a plan and annual reviews
Where Bromley's SEND information sits after the move, from the two sites' own pages on 2 September 2026. Graphic by Bromley Online.

Having your say, and what the law makes the council publish

The site has a Have your say section with a feedback form, an email address, localoffer@bromley.gov.uk, and a “you said, we did” list covering employment pathways, school transitions, family involvement in decisions, access to mental health support, help while waiting, and making resources easier to use. There are separate engagement routes for children and young people, for parents and carers, and for what the council calls SEND Network Champions.

That is not just good manners. Regulation 56 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 requires a council to publish the comments it receives about its local offer. It must publish its response alongside them, including any action it intends to take, on its website with the local offer. That has to happen at least once a year, in a form that does not allow any individual to be identified.

So if you send feedback, the council is required to publish a response to it in some form. It is worth checking back.

The background the announcement does not give

A better website is not the same as a better service, and Bromley’s SEND casework has had a rough year on the record.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman upheld 49 of the 54 Bromley investigations it completed between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, a rate of 91% against an average of 88% for similar London boroughs. In only one of those 49 had the council already put things right before the complaint reached the Ombudsman: a 2% satisfactory remedy rate, against 14% in similar authorities (Ombudsman statistics for Bromley).

Both of the Bromley complaints the Ombudsman upheld after 1 June 2026 concerned special educational needs. In one, the council agreed to pay £11,660 to the mother of a young person who went 20 months without the support his EHC plan promised.

In the diary: SEND Local Offer Live, October half term

The site is also advertising a free family event. SEND Local Offer Live! is set for the October half term and is open to children and young people aged 0 to 25 with SEND, plus their parents, carers and siblings.

The council says families will be able to speak to professionals, ask questions and find out what support is available. Taster activities are to include arts and crafts, dance and drama, music, indoor sports and a pop-up arcade.

No venue, date or time has been published yet. Registration of interest in the free taster sessions is open now through a Microsoft form.

What it means for you

  • Update your bookmarks. Local Offer information is now at bromleysend.org. The old council page still loads, but it only points you onward.
  • Do not look for EHC plan guidance on the new site. Go to bromley.gov.uk/special-educational-needs/education-health-care-ehc-plans instead.
  • Register for the half-term event now if you want a taster session place, even though the date has not been announced.
  • Send feedback to localoffer@bromley.gov.uk if something you need is missing. The council has to publish comments and its response at least once a year.
  • If a service in a plan is not being delivered, the duty to secure it sits with the council, and you can take a complaint to the Ombudsman once the council’s own complaints process is finished.

More Bromley information: bin collection days, council tax bands, parking and planning applications.

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