Westminster Family Hubs

Westminster Family Hubs opened in summer 2018 as one of three early-help localities in the City of Westminster. We offer a one-stop-shop where families with children from birth to 19 (and up to 25 for young people with disabilities) can drop in for stay-and-play sessions, parenting courses, therapy advice, and tailored support with our dedicated family navigators. We didn't have specific central funding to start, so we've really had to innovate from day one.

We were using a 20-year-old children's centre system that we had patched and moulded over time to fit our new model. It worked to some extent, but it was increasingly showing its age. The system was rigid, and any time we needed a change – no matter how small – we had to wait on developers, which created delays and frustration for the team.

One major challenge was the need to enter the same data multiple times for each interaction to make sure everything was counted correctly, which was time-consuming and prone to errors. Additionally, the interface was clunky and unintuitive, particularly for team members who weren't comfortable with technology. On top of that, any change required developer involvement, meaning we could be waiting months or even years for updates.

Plinth stood out during our procurement process for several reasons. The team spoke our language and clearly understood how Family Hubs operate. We also noticed that other local services, such as youth hubs, were already using Plinth, which suggested strong potential for collaboration and shared reporting. Ultimately, the platform's flexibility, combined with competitive pricing, made it the clear choice.

Switching to Plinth has been great for us. Staff adoption was quick because of the clean, modern interface - people picked it up easily, even if they weren't particularly tech-savvy. The in-app live chat support has made it possible to get questions answered instantly, making it easy to get help. We've also streamlined our workflows and eliminated unnecessary data duplication, freeing the team to focus on supporting families rather than getting bogged down in paperwork.

Yes, a couple of surprises really stood out. The live chat support has been really helpful, something we don't expect from other organisations. We also discovered that digital booking and QR-code sign-in features have replaced much of our paper-based administration, making the check-in process much smoother for families.

Absolutely. If you're looking for an intuitive, flexible system that truly understands Family Hub needs and can grow and adapt with you, Plinth is the way to go.