Information use shapes thinking. Our purpose throughout the project has been to explore how improved approaches and methods for gathering and using both qualitative and quantitative information about children and their families can build a more comprehensive understanding of their lives, as the basis for improved services that can achieve higher-quality outcomes. Core to this, we ensure that diverse voices – including those of children, young people, families and practitioners – are heard more clearly within children’s information, and that these voices influence how the information is gathered, shared, processed and used.
Voice
A core purpose of our work – and fundamental to our vision of ethical and effective information systems and practices – has been to improve how the voices of children, young people, parents and carers, and the practitioners who work with them are heard both within and about children’s information and its use. This means:
- Children’s information itself should comprise material that reflects their lived experiences, their perceptions of their own needs and desired outcomes, and their views on the support and services they receive or provide.
- Children’s experiences, views, wishes and feelings about the use of this information should not only be expressed but also heard and taken seriously. This includes what is (or should be) known about them, how it is collected, and whether and how it is taken forward, shared, processed, understood and acted upon.
10 key messages
From early reflection on our project we have 10 key messages for those interested in improving local authorities’ and other agencies’ use of children’s information:
- Ethical and effective use of children’s information is central to national and local government’s ability to understand and address children’s needs. It should be recognised and formalised as a field of practice.
- Ethical and effective information use rests on core principles and approaches, and involves defined practices that extend beyond collation and analysis of data. We have developed an initial framework setting these out in the context of children’s information.
- There is significant good practice around information use already. However, this should be more systematic, better understood and more thoroughly mapped. Use of our framework will help with identifying and sharing good practice around information use, so it can be adopted elsewhere.
- 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 available for strategic use by government and local authorities is dominated by narrow statutory categories and thresholds, process measures, and performance management. Ethical and effective use of children’s information should measure and capture what matters to children and families.
- Design of information systems should be bottom up as well as top down, both within local authorities and between local authorities and central government. It should be driven by children’s needs and priorities and whether these are met, as a more effective form of accountability.
- Local authorities and third sector organisations hold a huge amount of children’s information. Much of this information is rich and reflects the voices and experiences of children and their families, as well as their needs, outcomes and contexts. Ethical and effective information use requires that this information is much better exploited and used strategically and operationally.
- When using information and designing information use systems, more should be done to amplify the voices of children, families and the practitioners who work directly with them. This includes integrating their voices within information and hearing their views on how their information, or the information of the children they work with, should be used.
- It is important to build local-level capacity and ability to analyse and act on local information and data, within and across sectors. This includes developing new and more meaningful indicators, and mechanisms to make existing information more accessible and (where ethical and appropriate) more readily linked and shared.
- There is the potential for digital technologies and AI to play a role in making better use of information that reflects voice, experience and needs. For these uses of children’s information to be ethical and effective, it is essential to involve children and families in determining how their data are used.
- The CIP framework for ethical and effective information use can help with achieving improvements in the use of children’s information. It will require clear strategic ownership at the local and national levels to drive it forward.
Read the full report summary (this will be available soon).
