Direct work is where assessment meets change — but without software tailored to this need, tracking often slows, records become inconsistent, and sessions are duplicated across different systems.
FamilyAxis solves this with centralised logging, manager-created templates, a six-point grading system, and analytics that surface priorities.
Why Direct Work Logging Often Falls Short — And How We Fix It
Direct work sessions are powerful, but frequently hampered by:
- Patchy recording practices across staff
- Extra workload from logging the same session in multiple places
- No easy way to track progress across time for each parent
We built the Direct Work feature to solve these exact problems — by giving staff a clear workflow, managers the ability to standardise templates, and leaders visual tools to track progress and priorities.
What You’ll Love About Direct Work
Track and Manage Direct Work
The Direct Work feature makes it easy to log, track, and review direct work sessions — ensuring consistency and alignment with care plans. View sessions across your whole centre, or drill down to a single parent’s progress.
Customisable Templates
Managers can create templates for session plans or write-ups so staff always follow a structure that fits your centre’s model. Templates can be injected into a session, edited in-line, and adapted for individual needs.
Progress Tracking & Insights
Identify trends, track growth, and use visual indicators to monitor goal completion over time — helping you prioritise support and celebrate real change.
How It Works — A Quick Walkthrough
Create and edit sessions in five simple steps:
1.) Select the assessment category that fits the session.
2.) Choose the parent the session relates to.
3.) Add a clear title, inject a manager-created template if needed, adjust date/time.
4.) Save as a draft or publish the finished session.
5.) Editing is simple — save drafts, amend published sessions, and add reflections later, so your records stay accurate.
Six-Level Grading
Direct work uses the same six-step grading scale as Observations, so your analytics stay consistent across the system:
- Urgent safeguarding concern
- Required significant support
- Minor concerns
- Good foundation
- Excellent
- Outstanding
These grades feed into dashboards, so managers can quickly spot where parents need immediate attention or where progress is happening.
Organisation, Filters and Search
Find sessions instantly — sort by grade, alphabetically, or by date. Filter by parent name to find the information you need efficiently.
Analytics That Save You Time
The system analyses your direct work data, so nothing important slips through the cracks. On the dashboard, you’ll see:
- Completed session counts and most recent activity
- Next priorities and categories needing attention
- Areas with little recent work so you can target support
This turns raw notes into actionable insight.
Parent-Focused Spaces
Each parent has a dedicated Direct Work space on their profile:
- A Contribution Calendar (heat map) shows how many sessions were completed each day and highlights missed days.
- A motivating animation grows and blossoms as parents complete sessions — a small, human touch to show progress visually and encourage engagement.
Why Teams Will Appreciate It
- Standardisation: Templates reduce variability in session recording.
- Oversight: Dashboards give a quick, accurate picture of centre-wide activity.
- Evidence-ready: Filtered exports and linked weekly reports make it easier to include direct work in assessments and final reports.
- Time saved: Less duplication, easier auditing, and clearer priorities for supervision.
What’s Next?
We’re busy developing the new Task feature, designed to help centres manage home responsibilities such as cleaning logs, health & safety checks, and other routine records.
In the meantime, you can follow us on LinkedIn for short videos showing Direct Work in action. We welcome your feedback — please get in touch with any questions or suggestions.
Subscribe to our mailing list, and we’ll keep you updated as features are finalised and share news of the launch.
