Help with Searching

There are two ways of searching the directory:

 

By main search bar from Home Page

If you use the search bar from the home page, this will search the whole directory using the search words that you choose, eg childminder, home care.  This will search across the Adults, Families and Local Offer pages. 

Typing in a word or a few words into the Search bar brings you back all entries that contain at least one of the words you have entered. The results are returned in order of relevance (eg Wheelchair loan). 

You can then narrow down the search by postcode if you wish, but please note that some national organisations have not listed postcodes so these will be eliminated from the search at that point.

If you want to narrow down your search after that, you can choose Adults, Families or SEND Local Offer and you can then choose further filters to narrow down the results.

To reset your search after a using the search bar you will need to click ‘Directory’ at the top of the screen.

By using a specific section of the Directory – Adults, Families or Local Offer – by search filters

If you enter the directory using Adults, Families or Local Offer sections, you then have access to a set of Filters associated with that section.  You can filter your search by ticking a sub-filter/s within a filter title, and you can use a combination of the filters and search bar too.

  • Filter - use this if you know the type of results you want to find
  • Keywords - type one or more words in the search bar to describe what you are looking for
  • Location - use this to find results in your location postcode (eg RG14 7LD) etc.  You have the option of typing your town or village name in the search bar as an alternative to postcode (eg Mortimer)

The filters allow you to limit results by subject area (such Need help at home?) and other criteria such as who they are offering services to (eg 'Carers') and so on. The more use you make of the filters, the more focussed your results will be.

Filter headings have sub-filters.  If you go to a filter heading, and click several of the sub-filters within it, your search results list will increase, and will combine the results.

If you choose several different filter headings, and click sub-filters under both headings, your search results may decrease.

To reset your search to start a new one, you click 'Reset All Filters' (located under the filter list).

 

Sorting your search results

You can change the sort order of your search results using the options that are shown in the section just above your results. Depending on the type of search that you have done, your results can appear in any of the following sort orders:

  • Sorted by relevance (i.e. the best match to your search)
  • Sorted alphabetically (i.e. in A-Z order of title with numbers first)
  • Sorted by distance (only if you have done a full postcode search)
  • Sorted by Last Updated.
Help with Registering, Creating, or Amending an Existing Record

Advice and guidance can be found here.