NAFIS Conference and Awards 2025

Two days at the NAFIS Conference – packed with fantastic sessions and speakers! 

The NAFIS Conference and Awards 2025 welcomed over 120 delegates from across the country and more than a dozen speakers on 25 and 26 November.

This annual conference offers a great opportunity for members of the National Association of Family Information Services (NAFIS) to come together, share insights, and learn from one another. Delegates heard from sector experts, exchanged ideas, and explored innovative approaches to supporting families. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our speakers, who generously shared their time and expertise.

Family Information Services (FIS) are at the heart of local communities, providing essential guidance to parents on childcare and other services.

The conference was timely as Family Information Service staff and colleagues across early years and childcare had worked so hard to prepare for the September 2025 roll out of expanded  funded early education entitlements, the introduction of free breakfast clubs and the increase in wraparound childcare. Conversations flowed as delegates learned more about the Best Start in Life strategy, and heard from experts in both policy and practice from across the sector.

Day one 

Lydia Hodges, Head of Coram Family and Childcare welcomed everyone to day one of the 2025 Conference, and introduced a packed agenda with speakers from the Department of Education (DfE), Save the Children and Ofsted.

Maria Sciara, DfE Team Leader, Early Education Entitlements (disadvantaged children) was our first speaker of the day. Maria shared the latest figures for take-up of the funded entitlement for disadvantaged two-year olds, and the universal 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds. Maria talked about the Government’s commitment to making early education and childcare more accessible, and updated delegates on the drop in take-up of the 15 hour entitlement for two-year-olds in families receiving additional support. She described the drive to improve this, working closely with local authorities.

The morning continued with an inspiring session by Ruth Talbot, Policy and Advocacy Manager at Save the Children. Save the Children UK is one of the leading child poverty charities making a difference in children’s lives across the country. Ruth talked about her work on childcare policy, Universal Credit and the needs of families experiencing disadvantage.

Then came the DfE Best Start in Life (BSiL) Team: Sachin Shah, Deputy Director for Best Start Family Hubs Delivery, Mitesh Mistry, BSiL Digital Strategy, and Anca Coman, Senior Strategic Communications Manager. They explained that the Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies programme aims to make it easier for families to get the advice and support they need, with family hubs offering more joined up and accessible services. The new BSiL website is the first step towards a national Best Start in Life Digital Service. It will link families to their family hubs and will also link to ‘My Children’ in the NHS app. Mitesh described the digital discovery exercise which will help better understand where and how parents look for advice and guidance. NAFIS members were particularly interested in these plans, and a lively discussion followed.

Next up were our speakers from Ofsted: Glen Jump, Childcare Reform Project Manager, and Samantha Sleeman-Boss, Early Education Quality and Practice Lead. Glen and Sam explained the new Ofsted grading and evaluation system which has recently come into effect. They also gave more detail on the process for registration of childminders operating outside domestic premises.

The day concluded with the FIS Forum, featuring a supportive discussion about the current challenges and workload for Family Information Services – and an opportunity to share good practice and learn from success.

Reflections on the current policy landscape.

Day two of the conference opened with reflections from Lydia Hodges on the many policy changes and developments that Family Information Services have had to deliver in their work over the last year.

Lydia expressed her admiration for the dedication of local authorities over this last year, and extended her thanks for the continued engagement in the CFC Childcare Survey.

Ka Lai Brightley-Hodges, Head of Coram PACEY was our first guest speaker of day two. Ka Lai spoke about the current challenges for childminders, explaining that  numbers of Ofsted-registered childminders have  declined from 60,000 in 2009 to just 25,000 now. 55% of childminders work more than 40 hours a week and 70% offer wraparound care. Ka Lai also spoke about some of the solutions, including the work that Coram PACEY has carried out to recruit and support childminders for Cambridgeshire LA.

Ka Lai was followed by Jen Walton, Head of Legal Services at Working Families. Jen spoke about the vital legal advice that she and her colleagues offer to working parents, and their work to influence employers. Family Information Services were encouraged to signpost families needing this specialist support to the team at Working Families.

Then came a workshop delivered by Dr Sara Bonetti, early years researcher, together with Wendy Creegan, Manager at Angel nursery, supported by Ivana La Valle. They shared the evaluation of the recent London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) pilot of an expanded offer for children with SEND across 4 nurseries. Delegates were very interested in the outcomes found for children and parents, and are looking forward to the final report.

You can see all the presentation slides from both days of the NAFIS Conference 2025 here

NAFIS Awards 2025

The Conference  ended with the eagerly awaited NAFIS Awards ceremony. The awards are a fantastic opportunity to recognise and celebrate the amazing work done by FIS colleagues across the country. We received another round of brilliant nominations this year.

A huge thank you to all the Family Information Services who submitted nominations, as well as to the judges: Charlotte Faircloth, trustee of Coram Family and Childcare, Martha Njele, Parent Champion volunteer in Lewisham, Diane Price, Parent Champion volunteer in Blackburn with Darwin, and Flora Jenkins who is Senior Programme Officer for Coram Family and Childcare.

The NAFIS Awards 2025 winners were:

Best FIS Directory: Reading Borough Council Family Information Service

Best Promotion of the Expanded Childcare Entitlements: Cornwall County Council Family Information Service

Best Local Offer Directory: Reading Borough Council Family Information Service

Best Community Engagement: Suffolk County Council Family Information Service

You can read all about the Awards winners here.

Looking ahead

The NAFIS Conference 2025 was an informative, and well-received event, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees. Our thanks go to all who joined us and made it such an engaging two days.

We’re already planning for 2026, starting with a webinar in January which will be delivered by Donna Hill, Head of Coram Life Education.

If you’d like to learn more about NAFIS or are interested in speaking at one of our events, please reach out to us at info@coramfamilyandchildcare.org.uk. We’d love to hear from you!