Hampshire set out to improve early help support for families. The goal was to cut down on re-referrals and stop issues from turning into more complicated child protection cases. The goal was to base early decision-making on families' real experiences, not just on administrative metrics.

What they did and why

The project aimed to test predictive analytics. However, working with frontline teams shifted the focus to capturing authentic voice. In the past, parents did not attend Early Help Hub meetings. These meetings involved multi-agency decisions about their children. Hampshire turned routine calls into structured conversations. These calls originally aimed to inform parents about referrals and explain data protection. Now, practitioners use these calls to hear parents’ views on their child's needs. They can record a "Voice Note" directly in the Early Help system to help with planning.

What they learned

Effective system change does not require launching complex new technology. Hampshire found that small, easy changes to daily routines work better for busy staff than big administrative changes. Securing local team champions was key. Keeping ongoing talks with practitioners also helped. These factors were crucial for embedding new practices, even with limited capacity.

Outcomes

• Added an easy-to-use "Voice Note" feature in the Early Help information system for planning.

• Created training resources for staff and an evaluation survey to measure the voice note's impact during a six-month trial.

• Plans are in place to explore whether themes can be gathered from voice notes to help with strategy and planning for the population.

How this helps children, families, and practice

Before, parents felt excluded from decisions made by multiple agencies. Now, parents feel heard, respected, and supported right from the first contact. Frontline workers get important insights that change their assumptions. This allows them to give support earlier and respond better. They can tailor help to keep families safe and together.

North Yorkshire Council aimed to see how Children’s Social Care and partner agencies could better support care leavers. They focused on transforming their "data journey." The goal was to go beyond narrow Department for Education returns. Instead, the aim was to capture a broader view across eight outcome areas and strengthen young voices in strategic planning.

What they did and why

The project team spoke with care leaver apprentices, senior leaders, and staff to define eight core outcome domains. Researchers shadowed Personal Advisors (PAs) for a "day in the life" to see how daily interactions become data. They also analysed case records. They found valuable qualitative notes. These included WhatsApp chats, photos, records from the Mind of My Own app, and notes written directly for the young person. However, none of this made it to strategic reporting. To close this gap, the council updated its care leaver dashboard. It now combines 0–10 scaling questions from six-monthly Pathway Plan reviews. The dashboard shows scores from both the young person and PA, plus pop-up quotes from the young person.

What they learned

National government returns capture just a small part of the rich information collected locally. PAs often note important details about safety, stability, and personal goals. But standard systems turn these into mere tick-boxes. Combining numbers and pop-up quotes showed that lived experience and data can work together. This helped create a more child-centred and user-friendly dashboard. Aggregating these operational scales helped with strategic sub-group analysis. For instance, this evaluation enabled assessment of support for unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people.

Outcomes

• Redesigned the care leaver data dashboard to include dual 0–10 scale metrics. These cover eight outcome areas from both young people and PAs.

• Pop-up quotes that highlight real young care leavers' voices for decision-makers.

• Enabled population-level and sub-group aggregate analysis to inform strategic commissioning and service delivery.

How this helps children, families, and practice

Care leavers shape their transition planning. This way, their personal priorities guide the support they receive. Personal Advisors see their relational work honoured rather than reduced to compliance tracking. Strategic managers gain the rich intelligence needed to commission responsive, targeted local services.

Domains used by North Yorkshire

Pathway plan questions and mapped domains

• Your future in five years: All outcome domain areas.

• Your relationships: Relationships, Accommodation.

• Your family: Relationships, Accommodation.

• Your home: Accommodation.

• Learning at school, college, university or work: Education, Work.

• The things you like doing: Physical Health, Well-being and Mental Health.

• Feeling safe and well: Risk.

• Looking after yourself: Well-being and Mental Health, Physical Health, Finances and Life Management.

• Your identity and culture: Well-being and Mental Health.

Outcome domain areas and mapped questions

• Accommodation: Your relationships; Your family; Your home.

• Education: Learning at school, college, university or work.

• Finances and Life Management: Looking after yourself.

• Physical Health: The things you like doing; Looking after yourself.

• Relationships: Your relationships; Your family.

• Risk: Feeling safe and well.

• Well-being and Mental Health: The things you like doing; Looking after yourself; Your identity and culture.

• Work: Learning at school, college, university or work.

(Note: "Your future in five years" applies across all outcome domain areas.)

Oldham set out to map its entire early years information landscape across healthcare, early learning, and safeguarding. The goal was to create a clear visual that local teams could use. This would help them see how information flows from daily work with families to strategic reports.

What they did and why

Researchers used document analysis and network mapping to see how national requirements affect local practice. They gathered and reviewed 25 policy documents from national, regional, and local levels. They coded 41 types of information. This included storage locations and connections between collectors and decision-makers. The team mapped individual operational records with strategic dashboards. They looked at local data and compared it to national frameworks like the Early Years Foundation Stage and the Healthy Child Programme.

What they learned

Mapping exposed a stark divide between frontline practice and strategic reporting. Out of 41 types of information collected, 13 rich qualitative sources didn’t reach strategic decision-makers. These include practitioner observations, case notes, staff audit tools, and direct records of children’s voices. National reporting metrics show that central government needs overshadow local data. This makes it hard to see the valuable stories of families. Network mapping showed that health visitors are key in multi-agency information flows. They are essential for spotting issues early, but they become vulnerable if their capacity is stretched.

Outcomes

• Identified 41 information types across early years services, uncovering 13 qualitative sources excluded from strategic decision-making.

• Produced linked visual network maps depicting the gap between operational family records and aggregate national returns.

• Designed a research methodology to capture daily operational "microflows" and information exchanges across universal and targeted services.

How this helps children, families, and practice

Showing information pathways helps professionals see where valuable family stories get lost. Identifying missing connections between frontline observations and strategic planning enabled Oldham to rebalance its information system. This ensured family experiences actively shape local service delivery.

Oldham aimed to improve how information on babies' and toddlers' speech, language, and communication needs (SLCNs) is collected, shared, and used in early years services. The initiative was grounded in Greater Manchester’s Speech, Language, and Communication Pathway. It aimed to:

• enhance two-way information exchange between parents and practitioners

• support early identification of SLCNs,

• improve screening assessments, and

• inform both frontline practice and strategic service commissioning.

What they did and why

Senior local authority leads, service heads, and data analysts focused on SLCNs during discovery. Then, a Theory of Change workshop was held with strategic leads and a SEND parent forum manager. Researchers mapped pathways. They did this by reviewing documents and talking in focus groups with health visitor team leaders and practitioners. When early parent recruitment was challenging, the team made a simple explainer video. It showed why parent voice is important. Parents joined focus groups to review current screening tools.

They also helped design a new voice-informed toolkit for routine developmental appointments.

What they learned

Parent engagement was initially low. It showed that including lived experience in co-design needs careful planning. There was a need to address practical barriers, like childcare needs and language differences. Accessible formats were developed to help with this. Oldham found that regular feedback from teams and families was important. This helped change abstract data into useful tools for frontline workers.

Outcomes

• Co-created an accessible video to engage parents and explain why their voice is critical in information use.

• Developed a voice-informed toolbox to support consistent, holistic SLCN documentation during routine developmental checks.

• Set up a process for parents, practitioners, and service leaders to evaluate the toolkit's usability and strategic value.

Output: Early language screening home visit toolbox

The toolbox was co-designed alongside parents, practitioners, and managers and provides practical guidance, templates, and frameworks to improve the identification of early years speech, language, and communication needs (SLCNs). It enables health, education, and early help services to capture and share rich qualitative family insights alongside standard developmental screening to deliver earlier, context-rich support. View the toolbox and downloadable practice resources.

How this helps children, families, and practice

Children benefit from earlier, context-rich identification of communication needs rooted in family relationships. Frontline staff gain co-designed tools that foster meaningful dialogue with parents. Strategic leaders obtain clearer insights to commission responsive early years services.

Rochdale aimed to fill a key gap in early years data. Standard measures, like the "Good Level of Development" indicator at age five, don’t reflect the views and needs of seldom-heard families. The goal was to use a Theory of Change (ToC) approach. This would create a voice-led measurement framework. It aims to include the views of marginalised communities in children’s information. This will help guide local service planning.

What they did and why

The team started with a service-wide ToC workshop. They looked at how information was used in early years services. This broad engagement gained strong support. However, different priorities meant smaller follow-up workshops were needed. This included core members to create a clear and manageable plan. The team realised that traditional methods missed unheard voices. Parents were offered ongoing, personalised chances to connect with early years services. They moved away from relying on a short-term project consultation.

What they learned

Rochdale found that strong support from stakeholders needs to be balanced with clear decision-making. This helps keep transformation projects on track and within deadlines. The team knew that to truly hear seldom-heard families, they needed to build strong, lasting relationships. This approach is more effective than counting on families to stick to strict local reporting schedules.

Outcomes

• Created a Theory of Change framework to support ongoing engagement with seldom-heard families.

• Co-developed a set of voice-informed indicators that reflect what marginalised parents value.

• Created a measurement framework that works with official administrative data for testing in local neighbourhood teams.

• Set up pathways for neighbourhood boards to access useful, relevant data. This helps them make informed decisions about local services.

How this helps children, families, and practice

Children from marginalised backgrounds benefit from early years services. These services help support their families as they prepare for school. Frontline practitioners and local services get clear and relevant information. This approach links statutory returns with lived experiences. This helps drive more equitable and responsive service planning.

The Children’s Information Project set out to explore how national administrative datasets and linked population data can give local authorities a deeper, more accurate understanding of children's needs and service interactions. The goal was to go beyond basic local benchmarks. The aim was to use national data to map structural disadvantage and track life paths over time.

What they did and why

Researchers used the Growing Up in England (GUiE) dataset. This dataset links the 2011 Census population data with long-term records from education and Children’s Social Care.

The team created and tested a new index named the Child Multidimensional Disadvantage Index (Child-MDH). This helped analyse the root causes of vulnerability. This index looked at four areas of household deprivation from the Census:

• employment,

• housing,

• education, and

• health or disability.

It also included Free School Meals data. Researchers looked at how household disadvantage on Census Day influenced a child's experience as a Child in Need or Child Looked After. They studied this over four years. The project also looked at other national datasets, like Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data (ECHILD). This helped evaluate connections between health, education, and social care.

What they learned

Routine administrative reporting often misses the complex, overlapping nature of household poverty. Linking longitudinal national datasets reveals hidden structural risks that single-agency data cannot surface. However, turning national data infrastructure into local action requires active knowledge transfer. This means building skills in local authority teams. It also means adapting insights to fit local priorities.

Outcomes

• Developed and trialled the Child-MDH Index, combining population census data with longitudinal administrative education records.

• Developed new national evidence that shows how household disadvantage links to first contact with Children’s Social Care.

• Held discussions with local authority partners to assess datasets like GUiE and ECHILD for local planning.

How this helps children, families, and practice

Local authorities have strong tools to spot family vulnerabilities early, before crises happen. Strategic leaders can use these insights. They can target early intervention resources to areas where structural poverty harms children’s welfare the most.