We are thrilled to announce the launch of North Northants Council's new 'Family Hubs Digital Front Door' website, developed in collaboration with Beebot AI. This innovative platform brings together essential children’s and family services into a single, easy-to-use portal, accessible from any device. Designed with direct input from local families, it offers streamlined access to vital support and resources for a stronger, more connected community. Read the full press release below to discover more.

This week marks the official launch of a new online portal offering easy-use access to many children’s and family services in North Northamptonshire.  

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The ‘Family Hubs Digital Front Door’ is a platform that links services such as the Family Hubs, Start For Life, SEND Local Offer and Family Information Service functions into one digital platform, which is responsive and accessible from desktops, laptops and mobile devices.

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The platform hosts a wide variety of content including an events booking system, a series of Family Hubs-funded service introduction videos, and NHS digital support content.  

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It is also a tool for professionals and partners who work with families to swiftly signpost them to information and support, offer ease of access for referrals and also, through artificial intelligence, can support a family opt into automated care pathways to meet their needs.  

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Working in collaboration with Beebot AI, earlier in the year the council ran a series of focus groups and surveys to listen to what young people and family members would like from an online service and this directly shaped the development of the new online tool.

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As a council and as part of our Family Hubs and Start for Life transformation programme, we have taken the innovative approach to bring together our statutory duties in relation to information and guidance into one place. I am very proud to say that we believe we are the first council nationally to combine all of these resources both physically and virtually and as a result other councils are following our lead.

Cllr Scott Edwards, Executive Member for Children, Families, Education and Skills  

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Our vision for North Northamptonshire is for it to be a place where everyone has the best opportunities and quality of life.   This innovative platform will enable us as a group of partners and as a local authority to reach the families in our area with the information, direction and support they need.

Jason Smithers, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council

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Yesterday, 3 September, a launch event, hosted by the Family Hubs Team and Beebot AI, was attended by over 200 professional partners across North Northamptonshire. Attendees came from a wide array of organisations, including colleagues from North Northamptonshire Council, Northamptonshire Children's Trust, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Strong Start, Family Action, Milk&You, local primary and secondary schools, childminders, social workers, police officers and voluntary sector staff.

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The event was also attended by the senior leadership team from North Northamptonshire Council, including Director of Children's Services David Watts, Chief Executive Officer Adele Wylie, as well as the Leader of the Council, Cllr Jason Smithers.  

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The purpose of the event was to introduce professionals to the platform and demonstrate how to access and use it as a tool when working with families, children and young people, as well as explaining how they can host their own content on the platform as we all move forward together as a partnership.

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