GOSS empowers the North East, Lewes and Eastbourne, Wiltshire with enhanced digital platforms.

In this blog, we delve into groundbreaking initiatives in fostering support with the launch of the Foster with North East website, marking the UK's first regional hub for fostering services. We will also explore the successful launch of a combined website by Lewes and Eastbourne Councils, and Wiltshire Council's revamped site with the GOSS Cruise Theme.

The North East become pioneers of regional fostering support with new website

The North East region has broken new ground by launching the Foster with North East website, marking the UK's first implementation of a regional hub approach for fostering services. Developed as a collaborative project between Together for Children Sunderland and the 12 local authorities in the area, this innovative website is designed to revolutionise foster carer recruitment and retention efforts in the region. Having recently acquired funding from the Department for Education's recent spending review, Together for Children Sunderland and the 12 North East local authorities have strategically allocated these resources to support their collective fostering programs. The Foster with North East website stands out as a key initiative as part of this project, reflecting a commitment to advancing foster care initiatives across the entire region.

Designed in three phases over three months and powered by the GOSS Digital Platform and Dynamic theme, the website offers an attractive and user-friendly design. Its central feature is an inquiry form, allowing prospective foster carers to express their interest and engage with the Foster with North East team collaboratively. The website also provides comprehensive information about the fostering approval process, tools for finding and booking places at local fostering events, and advanced data analysis features for each local authority to manage fostering-related cases.

With the Foster with North East website, the North East region is united in ensuring that every child receives the care and love they deserve. The team is now focused on further improvements, including enhancing the social worker experience and refining reporting capabilities for fostering inquiries via the website. The flexible and responsive approach of GOSS has proven instrumental in adapting to evolving needs during the development and build process. The highly configurable GOSS system has provided a cost-effective and convenient alternative to large, over-engineered systems, enabling the Foster with North East initiative to meet its goals efficiently.

Lewes and Eastbourne Councils launch brand-new combined website

Lewes District and Eastbourne Borough Councils, have successfully launched their new public website, leveraging the capabilities of GOSS Content Management. Facing the unique challenge of amalgamating two councils, the need arose to provide citizens with the choice to access content from either council or both. In a significant achievement spanning just under a year, the GOSS team devised a metadata-driven content localisation feature, offering visitors the flexibility to select content from either Lewes Council, Eastbourne Council, or a combined view.

The councils transitioned from a bespoke website to a streamlined and cost-effective standard site. This transition was driven by the desire to enable the easier maintenance of the and deliver new features to users and customers. The successful launch of the new website demonstrates a seamless transition process and a commitment to ongoing improvement. Future plans include customisation of panel templates to further enhance user experiences and provide dynamic content editing capabilities.

Wiltshire Council revamps public website with GOSS Cruise Theme

Wiltshire Council has recently updated its public website, embracing a cleaner and more modern appearance. Transitioning from the GOSS Command Theme to the GOSS Cruise Theme, the council has successfully introduced a task-driven user interface, featuring core customer services within a user-friendly tab structure.

Having utilised the GOSS Command Theme since 2018, Wiltshire Council recognised the need for a more inviting and impactful corporate website, aimed at enhancing the customer journey. Resource limitations and time constraints posed challenges for building a new subsite with the GOSS Cruise Theme from the ground up. In response, the GOSS Creative Team collaborated with Wiltshire Council to seamlessly overlay the Cruise Theme onto the existing site, effectively "flipping" between the Command and Cruise themes. This transition occurred without any disruption to end users, and the pre-production testing ensured a smooth changeover.

The positive feedback received following the implementation of the new Cruise Theme on the Wiltshire site underscores its success. Plans are underway to potentially extend this theme to further sites, affirming the council's commitment to an improved digital experience for its constituents.