Frequently Asked Questions
This is our collection of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) detailing all aspects of Family Information Directory (formerly Parent Know How Directory)from implementation to specific technical support. To get started have a look at one of the topics below.
For more detailed information, check out our
documents
section or contact the implementation helpdesk which is open from 8.00am until 5.30pm excluding weekends and Bank Holidays on
0845 873 0132 or
support.fidirectory@tribalgroup.com
The FAQs have been grouped into the following categories for your assistance.
General
Will commercial organisations be able to access FIDy data?
Can capital allocation be carried over to pay for support/maintenance over several future financial years?
What support services will be available to LAs following go live and for how long?
Are there any FIDy terms and conditions of use, and who needs to sign up to them?
Searching the Family Information Directory
Why are my [childcare provider] details incorrect/not appearing when I search the Parent Information Directory?
I searched for information in the Directory pages on www.direct.gov.uk/familyservices a while ago and the site was extremely slow. Why was that?
I find the new Directory search pages on Directgov difficult to use.
When I search on Directgov, why do search results tell me I live 3 miles away from my address?
Why is the childcarelink website no longer available?
Marketing
What is the latest on the marketing intentions and dates?
Will there be a marketing campaign? What will it look like and when will it run?
Ofsted Data Feed
When is the best time to connect to Ofsted to download data?
Updating contact details for providers.
Age Ranges and Maximum Numbers.
Provision on pre-registration information.
Accessing the FIDy
I'm a 'channel partner' using the FIDy search and discovery interface. Some searches are not working since the Christmas break and I wonder if anything has changed at your end?
Will there be a single FIDy website?
What are our options for incorporating the FIDy into our website?
What does the FIDy Web Page toolkit provide and how can it be used?
Do FIS's need to inform providers e.g. nurseries and childminders, of the FIDy search facility on DirectGov and the changes to the Childcarelink service?
Content
New! How can I help localise services which cover a particular geographical area when they don't have an address?
New! Should a central local authority contact address be used instead of individual childminder addresses where the childminder doesn't want their full contact details displayed?
New! Is it necessary to obtain consent from service providers to display FSD information?
What information is likely to be most valuable to parents in a good quality FIDy record?
What are the key areas of content for family services in the FIDy and how should they be included ? - (FSD Coverage checklist)
What are the key areas of content for family services in the FIDy and how should they be tagged?
Should information on SureStart Children's Centres and Extended services be included and how should these records be tagged?
Should information for parents of disabled children and children with special educational needs be included and how should these records be tagged?
Should information on sporting, play and recreational opportunities (positive activities) be included and how should these records be tagged?
Should information on services that support parents and children in tackling issues with smoking, alcohol and drugs be included and how should these records be tagged?
Should information on health services including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) be included and how should these records be tagged?
Should information on careers advice for young people be included and how should these records be tagged?
Should information Parenting and relationship support be included and how should these records be tagged?
Data Quality
New! Are descriptions necessary in all FSD records?
What do FIDy records providing a good range of information for parents look like?
How can I check the quality and consistency of my data before making it visible to the public?.
How can I resolve some of the issues that I am seeing with my uploaded data.
Guidance on minimum levels of consistency and quality of records.
Cross Boundary Issues
What if I include some types of provision and a neighbouring authority doesn't?
Is it permitted to upload data about providers located in Wales or Scotland?
Is it permitted for non-English LAs and agencies to retrieve data from the Aggregator for the benefit of their citizens?
Information Management
New! How can we check that our updates really are uploading to the FIDy?
What are the detailed guidelines for Childminder addresses and contact information?
Should we include details of services provided by faith or political groups?
Should we include information about services which aren't open to all parents e.g. only parents of pupils at a certain school can access a service?
Can a local authority provide its FSD data to FIDy via more than one data feed ?
Does every authority need to issue a consent form to its childcare providers?
How are organisations dealt with in contrast to specific services they each run?
Within the FIDy schema, can the "Notes" element be filled with information that we think is useful but which doesn't fit elsewhere in the schema?
Which elements are mandatory in records submitted to FIDy.
Is there a plain English guide that explain the information structures within the Family Information Directory?
How should childcare types, be represented in the ECD (childcare) data feed?
What feedback will be given to local authorities about their FIDy uploads on quality and content?
Will content be deemed irrelevant or inappropriate and if so how will LAs be informed?
National and Regional Organisations
Should we include details of National Organisations in our uploads to the FIDy?
Should we upload details of local and regional branches of national organisations to the FIDy?
Will records include contact details for the provider of the information, so that suggested amendments can be fed back? Or will we be able to change someone else's entry?
Is it possible to say no to entries coming from national aggregator (there may be a local entry that is" better" or "more appropriate" to appear on the LA web site)?
Vocabulary - General
Do childcare records require tagging with the FIDy vocabulary?
What will be the relationship between the corporate services directory that uses the LGSL (Local Government Services List) and the FSD that will use the Parent Know How Directory vocabulary?
Is the FIDy Vocabulary finalised?
Vocabulary - Management
How will the vocabulary be managed?
Will the vocabulary become a national standard?
What happens if a term can't be found in the vocabulary?
What is the review process for FIDy vocabulary and how often will it be updated?
Vocabulary - Structure
Will there be definitions of the main terms used in the vocabulary?
Do the terms used in the vocabulary reflect the fact that the language of parents changes across generations and that older parents may use different terminology than younger parents?
What is meant by a Zthes vocabulary?
What is the purpose of the Non-Preferred Terms in the vocabulary?
Will categories of the vocabulary change over time?
Vocabulary - Tagging
What are the benefits of using the vocabulary? How can these be determined and realised?
What are the underlying values and philosophy of the vocabulary?
How can we find other people in the organisation who might be able to help with tagging and using the vocabulary?
Where can I find the FIDy vocabularies, and guidance on how to tag records with them?
We have already used the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary (IPSV) to tag our data, do we need to retag?
Won't tagging require a lot of time that we don't really have?
How do we go about tagging?
What are the likely resource implications for tagging?
What is "Tagging"? What documentation is available to explain it?
Can the Non-Preferred Terms be used for tagging?
What level is it best to tag to?
What is the point of tagging? Can't people just use Google?
Vocabulary - Use
Can an organisation continue to use its own local vocabulary? Does the organisation have to use the Family Information Directory subject vocabulary?