Idox customers celebrate continued success at the 2022 NAFIS Awards

Reading Borough Council wins Best Community Engagement, for its SEND Local Offer and Family Information Services (FIS) websites (delivered on behalf of Brighter Futures for Children), and Islington Council is awarded Best Directory for its refreshed Family Directory

The NAFIS Awards (National Association of Family Information Services) recognise and celebrate local authority achievements and transformative services delivered across the country in supporting families to access vital services and information. The awards enable FIS to share experiences and learn from one another about how to continually improve these essential services. 

Idox is proud to support its local authority customers with our Directory platform, a market-leading solution that creates a fully-accessible SEND Local Offer, curates the best childcare information for families, and delivers critical information and advice to adults with social care needs. This, and our SEND EHC Hub, are already helping over 100 local authorities across England to deliver effective services across social care and SEND.

At the 2022 NAFIS Awards, Reading Borough Council was awarded Best Community Engagement for its SEND Local Offer and FIS websites (delivered on behalf of Brighter Futures for Children). This marks the second consecutive year that the Council has won at the NAFIS Awards, having taken home the award for Best Local Offer in 2021. 

Community engagement is at the heart of Reading Borough Council’s strategy for delivering a high-quality information service, collaborating with local services to meet family needs. Developed in consultation with parents, carers, young people, and voluntary and statutory services, the Directory platform delivers vital information about services available to families, children, and young people within the local area. With more than 3,000 records in its FIS and Local Offer directory, local services work closely with the Council, ensuring information is accurate and up to date for the community to access. 

Islington Council has won the award for Best Directory at the 2022 Awards. Family Directories provide high-quality local information, advice and guidance that support young people, adults, families, and carers to find the information and support they need when they need it. 

The Council launched a refreshed Directory in the summer of 2022, creating a new look and feel and identity for the Islington Directory – Find Your Islington. Islington Council worked collaboratively with parent champions, residents, and voluntary sectors to ensure the new refreshed Directory met their needs. Idox was proud to support the Council throughout this project. Local families, many of whom are accessing the Local Offer and FIS websites on mobile phones, have already commented on how they appreciate the more modern, brighter layout and design, as well as easy to use navigation and compatibility with mobile devices. 

Developed in consultation with parents, carers, young people, and voluntary and statutory services, the Directory platform delivers vital information about services available to families, children, and young people within the local area.

It was the hard work and dedication to transforming this high-quality information service that has been recognised in this award. 

Idox congratulates all the nominees and winners at this year’s NAFIS awards. We look forward to continuing our collaborative partnership with customers as they transform their FIS directories to deliver exceptional support to their communities.