"More parents know the Local Offer website exists"
Not enough parents know about the Local Offer.
Compared to the number of families of children with SEND there are in Hertfordshire, we don't get viewing figures which suggest everyone is benefitting from the website.
We'll track website analytics to see whether the number of new visitors to the website goes up, down or stays roughly the same.
To help things move in the right direction, we're creating more awareness through this blog, and by communicating directly with families in a way we haven't done before.
We'll make sure we reach those families who don't have access to the online Local Offer too.
"Parents can find what they need on the Local Offer website quickly"
Quicker online journeys means you get some time back in your day.
We asked members of our SEND Online Feedback Group to complete some timed tasks on the website, taking an average of their times.
We'll ask them to complete the same tasks in 6 months to see if the average time gets faster or slower.
To shorten these times, we're building a new website structure which is quicker to navigate.
"Information on the Local Offer website is accurate and up to date"
Parents need to know that what they're reading is up to date, to avoid disappointment or feeling mislead.
We worked out what percentage of our webpages had been updated in the last 6 months.
We aim to have 100% of our webpages up to date by the end of 2019. We'll achieve this by beginning rewrites of all our information in the coming months. We'll also get a 'reviews' process in place so we know when content hasn't been checked for a while.
"People return to the Local Offer website throughout their lives"
Whether you're a parent with a baby, or a parent with a 20 year old - we want the website to be a constant support to you.
Using Google Analytics, we can track if the same person has visited the website multiple times over a 2 year period. We'll keep an eye on this stat, so we know that as well as new people finding out about us, they also keep coming back.
We'll make sure that the information about support we provide for all age ranges is as good as it can be - that way people will come back to us at every stage of their lives as a trusted source.
"The Local Offer website doesn't make parents frustrated"
Parents are already under a lot of pressure and are short of time. We don't want our website to add to their frustrations.
We set up an 'exit' survey on our website, which asks a few questions about your experience as visitor. It's completely optional - it's there if you want it.
We'll keep an eye on the responses we get and see how people are feeling about the site. We've asked them to rate their experience on the site from 1 (Very frustrated) to 7 (Not frustrated at all).
"Parents trust the information on the Local Offer website"
We want to be certain that when people find the information they need on our website, they trust what they find and feel reassured by what we've provided.
We figured that the easiest way to find out what people think of the information on the website is to ask them. Using the exit survey, parents will be able to rate the information they've used on the website.
"The Local Offer website can be easily found"
We want to make sure that however people search online, our information will show up, when it's needed.
We have an analytics tool called 'Google Search Console' which tells us:
- what people search for to find us
- how often people click through to our website
- how often people see our website in their search results
- our average ranking position in search results
"The Local Offer website makes parents feel confident and knowledgeable"
We want parents to use our website with confidence. We want them to feel bold in knowing where to go and how to find what they need.
To work out how confident people feel now, we asked our SEND Online Feedback Group to rate their confidence levels after each website task we gave them.
We used a 5 point scale to measure confidence levels:
Whenever we send the online feedback group new studies about using the website, we'll ask for these confidence scores, and see if they go up, down or stay the same.
We would like to see confidence ratings increase.
If confidence goes down, then we can assume we've made things a bit trickier, and we will rethink our designs.
"It takes a weight off parents' minds"
We want people to leave the website feeling better than they did before they arrived on the site.
To measure this, we'll use our 'GovMetrics' tool. These are the faces at the bottom of each page, which visitors can use to give feedback on their experience.
We'd like to see the amount of positive feedback go up on the website.
We reckon that if more people take the time to let us know we did a good job, then we've been able to make their day a little easier.