Parents and carers who access SEND Short Breaks tell us that attractive and detailed listings are essential to allow them to book confidently. In order to deliver the service effectively, your council team will request a high standard of listing as part of your agreement. As you can keep your listing and re-use it for many deliveries, it's worth putting in the extra effort 💪
A perfect council-funded listing might look like this:
In a nutshell
When a parent first comes across your listing, they should be thinking:
"Oh my gosh! This looks wonderful! 🤩 I feel really confident that this provision is suitable for Sammy. I can see that they have all the appropriate staff and facilities and I know that his needs will be met."
Think of the parent as a paying customer
Imagine that the full payment for the session was coming directly from the parent and not the council.
What quality of information would the parent expect?
What is unique about your provision that would give them confidence to book?
How can you reassure a parent whos child might not have attended a session before?
Read on to find out how improving your Eequ listing can help you achieve a fully booked club with high attendance 🥇
Listing Title
Grab a booker's attention!
A catchy title makes you stand out from the crowd.
Do
Stand out from the Crowd. Parents could have 10 or 20 options.
If you offer the same activity at different venues, add the venue in the title.
If you have a well-known business name, weave this into the title.
Don't
Avoid using the season (summer) in the title. You can add this in the block name above the dates.
Don't be boring!
Photos
Authentic photos have a huge impact on bookers.
Realistic photos of the experience will entice a booker to click through to your listing and give them the confidence to book.
Do
Use your mobile phones for best quality
Take pictures of hands, feet, equipment, food, the environment if you don't have permission to show children.
Use a minimum of 3 photos but 10 is better
Use free stock images (or create AI art with Dalle) if you're stuck
These image stock websites are great: Pexels.com, Unsplash.com
If you create AI images, ensure they authentically depict the activities
Use a different cover photo for each venue
Change your photos to freshen up for a new season
Don't
Do not put text in your image
Do not use logos within the image
Do not use blurred images
Listing Description
Make it rich and engaging to draw in your audience.
Imagine you meet a parent or young person at a bus stop. They have never heard of you or taken part in this activity before. Tell this mum or young person all about your sessions.
Imagine the mum telling the excited child all about the activity as they mark it on the calendar.
Your listing should stand out from other people's listings. It should highlight the high quality of your provision. You can use photos and words to answer all of these questions that will be going through the Mum's mind.
Listing content guidelines
For SEND Short Breaks listings we recommend using 3 distinct text sections in your listing.
Section 1 - A summary
Optional section 2 - Accessibility
Optional section 3 - FAQ's
A SUMMARY:
What is your club? What specific activities can you do here?
Where do you run your sessions? What kind of space is it?
-A school sports hall / sports centre / activity specific venue? Ie, a dance space
Give an example timetable of one of your sessions, and list the exact sports and activities you'll be doing with the child or young person.
The next two essential text sections are called "Optional Sections" in Eequ. See below for how to add them:
How to add an Additional Text Section
Optional text section 2
ACCESSIBILITY
Do you have an outdoor area?
Is it accessible for wheelchair users or for those with mobility difficulties?
Is your garden secure for those who are a flight risk?
Will there be any other providers or organisations on-site? Have you put plans in place to ensure they are separated from your session?
Specify staff training courses and accreditations.
How do you support non-speaking or non-verbal communicators?
Do you have sensory rooms for emotional regulation? Can the children access these as and when they wish?
Can the child and parents visit the site beforehand?
Do you offer visual aids (photos of the venue, or social stories about core members of staff) which could be shared with parents and carers if you can't accommodate visits beforehand?
Optional text section 3
FAQs
Use feedback to form these questions, and provide your answers clearly and concisely.
Think about things like:
what my child needs to bring
what can my child bring (teddies, ipads, clothes, shoes etc)
food and drink
directions, parking and entrance
drop-off and pickup policy
direct payment options
1:1 support options
You can see how the 3 optional sections split the information up to make it easier to read on our example gold standard listing:
YOUR STAFF
Teachers and staff are called 'Mentors' on Eequ.
Please add each of the core members of staff so that parents can see their faces and read their biographies.
What is their professional experience?
What are their likes and dislikes?
What is their favourite part of the session, sport or activity?
We recommend first-person voice "My favourite part of the Sports Club session is the parachute games!"
Learning Aims
This is an optional section when setting up a Listing
Show off your professional approach and describe what your attendees may know, understand or be able to do if they attend your club.
Learning aims are the skills or knowledge you want your attendees to learn or develop during your activity.
Here are a few examples:
Tickets
Your council will tell you if you should collect a contribution for each ticket.
If you wish to offer Direct Payment options, you can create a free ticket(s) "Direct Payment"
We recommend a uniform format for describing your staff ratios on your tickets:
This will guide the parent to select the appropriate ticket for their child's needs.
1 staff to 4 or more children (1:4+)
1 staff to 3 children (1:3)
1 staff to 1 child (1:1)
2 staff to 1 child (2:1)
You can set ticket limits for each ticket. This makes it easy to manage the number of children you can accept for each session depending on staff availability.
Do
Include ratios descriptions on your ticket
Set ticket limits
Use the 'Extra info' text box to help a booker choose the correct ticket:
"This ticket is for a child who needs 2 staff for support"
Don't
Don't create a ticket for a family. Each attendee must have a ticket
Don't create a free ticket from another funding source - all free tickets must be for the same funding council.
Dates
You can add new dates to your Eequ listing indefinitely and you don’t need to create a new listing for each term.
Blocks
Use extra blocks and the block name to give extra instructions:
Try to add dates as early as possible to get the most bookings
If your councils wants you to open for bookings on a particular day, you can schedule your bookings to open.
When your dates have finished you can leave your listing published. We will allow people to register their interest for the next dates.
Summary
Beautiful listings get more bookings and higher attendance 📈
Also, read our guide for marketing and promoting your listing.
Use the live chat in your menu by clicking MESSAGE SUPPORT if you want a member of the Eequ team to give to review your listing.
Book a support call with Eequ if you need any help or advice: