Use of children’s social care data at the local and regional area level – Insight piece published

Monday, October 21, 2019

Category: News

This insight piece by Dr Lisa Holmes for the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory explores the nature, availability and use of child level administrative data at the local and regional level by children’s social care departments.

“It is evident that there is value in children’s social care data being analysed locally and regionally, as well as purely being exported by local authorities to meet the statutory reporting requirements, but that the capacity and capability of performance management teams impacts on the ease and frequency that this can take place. “

Use of these data are considered within the context of requirements to submit annual administrative data to the Department for Education. Consideration is also given to issues related to the capacity of local authority performance management teams which have been drastically reduced in many local authorities as a result of austerity.

Finally consideration is given to ways that local authorities may share learning and increase capacity and capability.

Full report Nuffield Family Justice Observatory 21/10/2019