Kent Resource Directory Update December 09

Parent Know How Directory
CFE will pull out of the information system which currently runs the http://www.togogo.info site for Kent Youth Service and the http://www.krd.org.uk (Kent Resource Directory or KRD) before the end of the year.
Our funding ran out in March 2009 and the directorate has been unable to maintain the contents of the database. A new set of government requirements have now superceded this target.

The DCSF want us to feed information to the national Parent Know How Directory (PKHD) via an automatic upload from our local databases to the http://www.Direct.gov.uk web for countrywide information about local childcare and parent/family services, as illustrated in the diagram below.
One source of the local data is our Enhanced Childcare Directory (ECD) provided by Ofsted and delivered in Kent via the Children & Families Information Service (CFIS). The other source should be information about services for families (some LAs call it the Family Services Directory or the FSD but in Kent it is the KRD) for practitioners, parents/carers and young people.

The system solution was procured this year from Tribal to provide the ECD and it has the capability to provide the FSD element as well from the one database. We will withdraw KRD as soon as possible.

The ECD was meant to be live from 7 September 2009 with the second component of the FSD to be available from 31 December 2009. We are currently finalising terms and conditions with DCSF and Tribal and having discussions with CFE teams about the new plans.
This contract runs until 2012 giving us a pathway to provide the required information to DCSF more simply. The system is in use by a number of other local authorities which should mean it will be upgraded and supported by its suppliers as both DCSF/LA needs to develop. The Kent Youth Service (Positive activities (PAYP) data currently in http://www.togogo.info  is also important to our customers and practitioners so we hope to manage a convergence of this data too, in time for our contract renewal.

There is a Flash presentation to show what DCSF think parents should be able to find in the directory.