What are Pathways?
Pathways are templates that help you categorise and organise your cases by the type of support being provided. Think of them as different "tracks" that cases can follow — each pathway represents a distinct type of service or intervention.
Why use Pathways?
Organise your caseload — Group similar cases together for easier management and reporting
Standardise support types — Define the different services your organisation provides
Filter and analyse — Quickly find all cases of a particular type
Visual clarity — Colour-coded pathways make it easy to see case types at a glance
Flexible categorisation — Create as many or as few pathways as your service needs
Examples of Pathways
Different organisations use pathways in different ways. Here are some examples:
For a homelessness service:
Housing Support
Benefits Advice
Employment Pathway
Mental Health Support
Crisis Intervention
For a youth service:
Mentoring Programme
Education Support
Family Mediation
Transition to Adulthood
For a community organisation:
One-to-One Support
Group Programme
Volunteer Befriending
Signposting Only
You can create pathways that match however your organisation structures its work.
Setting Up Pathways
Creating a New Pathway
Go to the Cases page
Click the Pathways tab
Click Add new pathway
Enter a Name for the pathway (e.g., "Housing Support")
Optionally choose a Colour to help identify this pathway visually
Click Create
Your new pathway will appear in the list and be available when creating or editing cases.
Editing a Pathway
From the Pathways tab, find the pathway you want to edit
Click on the pathway name or the edit button
Update the name or colour as needed
Click Save
Note: Changing a pathway's name or colour will update how it appears everywhere, including on existing cases that use it.
Archiving a Pathway
If you no longer use a particular pathway, you can archive it:
From the Pathways tab, find the pathway
Click the archive button
Confirm the action
Archived pathways:
No longer appear when creating new cases or assigning pathways
Still show on existing cases that were assigned to them
Can be restored if needed
This is safer than deleting, as it preserves historical data.
Assigning Pathways to Cases
When Creating a Case
Click Add case to create a new case
In the creation form, select a Pathway from the dropdown
Complete the other case details
Click Create
For Existing Cases
Open the case by clicking on it
Find the Pathway field
Click to change it and select from available pathways
The change saves automatically
A case can only be assigned to one pathway at a time. If you need to track multiple types of support for the same person, consider:
Creating separate cases for each type of support
Using tags for secondary categorisation
Choosing the primary/most intensive pathway
Using Pathways Effectively
Filtering by Pathway
On the All Cases tab, you can filter to show only cases from a specific pathway:
Click the Pathway filter dropdown
Select one or more pathways
The table updates to show only matching cases
This is useful for:
Team meetings focused on a particular service
Reporting on specific programmes
Handing over cases of a certain type
Pathway in Reports
When you run reports or analyse your caseload, pathway information helps you:
See how many cases are in each programme
Compare outcomes across different service types
Track capacity for specific interventions
Best Practices
Keep pathways distinct
Each pathway should represent a meaningfully different type of support. If two pathways overlap significantly, consider combining them.
Use descriptive names
"Pathway 1" isn't helpful. "Housing Support" tells everyone exactly what type of case this is.
Limit the number
Having too many pathways makes categorisation confusing. Most organisations work well with 3-8 pathways. If you need more granularity, consider using tags instead.
Review periodically
As your services evolve, your pathways should too. Archive pathways you no longer use and create new ones as new programmes launch.
Be consistent
Agree as a team which pathway each case type should use. Inconsistent assignment makes reporting unreliable.
Pathways vs Tags
Both pathways and tags help organise cases, but they serve different purposes:
Pathways | Tags |
One per case | Multiple per case |
Represents the type of support/service | Represents characteristics or attributes |
Usually stable throughout the case | Can change frequently |
Examples: "Housing Support", "Employment" | Examples: "At risk", "Awaiting assessment", "Self-referral" |
Use pathways for: What type of service is being provided Use tags for: Additional categorisation, status indicators, or characteristics
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I delete a pathway? You can archive pathways but not delete them. This preserves historical data and prevents broken references.
What happens if I don't assign a pathway? Cases can exist without a pathway. They'll appear in the "No pathway" filter option. However, assigning pathways helps with organisation and reporting.
Can I rename a pathway? Yes. The new name will appear everywhere the pathway is shown, including on existing cases.
Can cases move between pathways? Yes. If someone's primary support type changes, you can update their pathway. The case history is preserved.
Do pathways affect how cases work? Pathways are purely for organisation and categorisation. They don't change what you can record or how cases function.