Do not waste people's time
Your user is on a journey. Each page should take them towards where they need to go. The quicker the better.
Help a parent find the information they want, or realise they are on the wrong page, or are not eligible for a service.
If a headteacher or SENCO needs to double check something, make it easy. Don't waste their time.
That said, there will be times when people are "just browsing, thanks". Maybe they aren't exactly sure what they are looking for. Maybe they just want to feel that this is a safe, helpful space. Maybe they are looking at the Local Offer with a supportive friend and just need things to chat over.
Use headings well
The first heading gives them a good idea that they are on the right page.
With the other headings it's easy to skip one section or another, if it's not what they need right now.
Here is the outline of a page about EHC needs assessments. Read only the headings.
- EHC needs assessments
- What an assessment is
- Who can ask for one
- Parents and carers
- Schools and settings
- Young people aged 16 to 25
- What happens after you ask
- The decision, within 6 weeks
- If we agree to assess
- Who we ask for advice
- The draft plan
- If we decide not to assess
- If you disagree with a decision
The levels mean something. The second level headings are the stages of the journey. The third level headings are the paths within a stage. The fourth level headings are the steps down one path.
Now the same page with its text. Skim it the way a parent would. A parent whose request was refused goes straight to "If we decide not to assess" and reads nothing else.
EHC needs assessments
This paragraph is a placeholder. It stands in for the words a real page would have here, so you can practise skimming past it. Nobody expects you to read it, and the headings are doing the work. A parent looking for one answer will glance at this block, decide it is not what they need, and move on to the next heading without a second thought.
What an assessment is
Placeholder text again. On a real page this would explain the stage in a few short paragraphs, with a link or two. For now it only needs to look like text so that the headings stand out from it. Notice how your eye slides over it and lands on the next heading. That is exactly what we want to happen.
Who can ask for one
More placeholder. There would be a sentence or two here about who does what and when. Because it looks like text but says nothing, it makes the point better than real words would. Skim it, skip it, and find the heading you actually came for.
Parents and carers
A shorter placeholder, because not every section needs the same amount of text. Some stages of a process are one line long.
Schools and settings
This paragraph is a placeholder. It stands in for the words a real page would have here, so you can practise skimming past it. Nobody expects you to read it, and the headings are doing the work. A parent looking for one answer will glance at this block, decide it is not what they need, and move on to the next heading without a second thought.
Young people aged 16 to 25
Placeholder text again. On a real page this would explain the stage in a few short paragraphs, with a link or two. For now it only needs to look like text so that the headings stand out from it. Notice how your eye slides over it and lands on the next heading. That is exactly what we want to happen.
What happens after you ask
More placeholder. There would be a sentence or two here about who does what and when. Because it looks like text but says nothing, it makes the point better than real words would. Skim it, skip it, and find the heading you actually came for.
The decision, within 6 weeks
A shorter placeholder, because not every section needs the same amount of text. Some stages of a process are one line long.
If we agree to assess
This paragraph is a placeholder. It stands in for the words a real page would have here, so you can practise skimming past it. Nobody expects you to read it, and the headings are doing the work. A parent looking for one answer will glance at this block, decide it is not what they need, and move on to the next heading without a second thought.
Who we ask for advice
Placeholder text again. On a real page this would explain the stage in a few short paragraphs, with a link or two. For now it only needs to look like text so that the headings stand out from it. Notice how your eye slides over it and lands on the next heading. That is exactly what we want to happen.
The draft plan
More placeholder. There would be a sentence or two here about who does what and when. Because it looks like text but says nothing, it makes the point better than real words would. Skim it, skip it, and find the heading you actually came for.
If we decide not to assess
A shorter placeholder, because not every section needs the same amount of text. Some stages of a process are one line long.
If you disagree with a decision
This paragraph is a placeholder. It stands in for the words a real page would have here, so you can practise skimming past it. Nobody expects you to read it, and the headings are doing the work. A parent looking for one answer will glance at this block, decide it is not what they need, and move on to the next heading without a second thought.
Headings are the page's story. If they make sense on their own, the page works.
This page earns its third and fourth level headings because the process really branches. If your headings go that deep and the page is not a process, it probably wants to be a guide. More on that later.
📝 In the discussion, share the headings of a few long pages of your Local Offer. Do they tell a story? How might you tell the story better?
Discussion
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