New national report calls for ethical and effective use of children’s information in local authorities
A major new Children’s Information Project (CIP) report published today by the Rees Centre, sets out a groundbreaking framework to transform how local authorities in England use information about and from children, young people and families to genuinely improve lives.
The five-year project aims to develop ethical, voice-respecting and publicly accountable ways of working with children’s information, and to support services to respond more effectively to children’s needs and improve their lives.
The findings highlight the urgent need for ethical, equitable and voice-informed approaches to information use, building a field of practice in which children’s voices, experiences and rights are fully respected and embedded in both everyday practice and strategic decision-making.
Principal Investigator for the project, Professor Leon Feinstein said: “The report argues that children’s information is central to understanding needs, shaping support, and informing better policy. Yet current systems are too often dominated by statutory reporting requirements, narrow performance measures and fragmented datasets.
“CIP’s work shows that much richer, more meaningful information already exists locally – but is rarely used to its full potential.
“We’re releasing this report, with a year still to go on the project, so that we can set out a new national framework for ethical and effective use of children’s information, built on four core principles – hearing children’s voices, understanding their needs, using information wisely and acting on what we learn. Supported by practical methods and strong organisational systems, the framework offers local authorities a clear roadmap for improving how information is gathered, interpreted and used to support children and families.”
Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the five-year project brings together four partner local authorities; Hampshire, North Yorkshire, Oldham and Rochdale alongside researchers from the University of Oxford, University of Sussex, London School of Economics and Political Science, University College London, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Research in Practice, which leads a national Learning Network of 20 local authorities.
The 10 key findings in the report are:
- Use of children’s information is central to national and local government’s ability to understand and address children’s needs.
- At present we cannot target children’s needs effectively in Early Years or Children’s Social Care because we have inadequate information on what these needs are. Information used strategically is dominated by narrow statutory categories and thresholds, process measures and performance management.
- Ethical and effective information use should be recognised and formalised in Local Authorities as a field of practice. It rests on core principles and approaches, and involves defined practices that extend beyond collation and analysis of data.
- Design of information systems could be driven more by children’s needs and priorities and whether these are met, as a more effective form of accountability.
- A huge amount of children’s information is held by local authorities and third sector organisations. Much of this information is rich and better reflects the voices and experiences of children and their families, as well as their needs, outcomes and contexts.
- When using information and designing information use systems, more should be done to amplify the voices of children, families and the practitioners that work directly with them. This includes integrating their voices within information and hearing their voices about how their information should be used.
- It is important to build capacity and capability at local level to analyse and act on local information and data, within and across sectors.
- There is much good, ethical and effective information use practice already. However this should be better understood and mapped. Use of our framework will help to identify and share examples information use practice, so lessons can be learned.
- There is potential for digital technologies and AI to play a role in making better use of information about voice and needs. The framework can support activity to make this ethical and effective.
- The CIP framework will require clear strategic ownership at local and national levels to drive it forward.
As the project enters its final year, a CIP webinar on 4 March will explore the project’s framework for ethical and effective information use and hear from organisations sharing practical examples and perspectives on how this can be achieved. Register for the event here.
Following this, the CIP will also issue a national call for evidence. Local authorities, practitioners, researchers, voluntary organisations and policy partners are invited to contribute examples, insights and practice innovations to help build a clearer national picture of strengths, gaps and innovations, ensuring future policy and practice are informed by the widest range of experience.
Over the coming year, the CIP will develop tools and resources for national use, engage with government on the implications for national policy, and host a national conference for local authority practitioners. To find out more about the project, sign up for the CIP newsletter.
