‘Role of data often overlooked or treated solely as a technical issue'

A new report is calling for the ethical and effective use of data to improve children's lives.

Researchers at the Rees Centre, based at the University of Oxford, say that local authorities are collecting lots of data, but that this data is not currently benefitting children to the extent that it could.

The report also highlights a framework for the government to assess and improve the quality of children’s information use. The framework for ethical and effective information use helps assess whether children’s information systems truly serve children and families, offering practical, evidence-led ways to improve them.

The research comes as part of the Children’s Information Project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, and led by the Rees Centre, a research centre of the Department of Education at the University of Oxford dedicated to producing research and evidence that enables practitioners, policymakers and the research community to understand and improve children’s social care and education.

The project team brings together researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Sussex, the London School of Economics, and Research in Practice, collaborating with four local authority sites - Hampshire, North Yorkshire, Oldham, and Rochdale.

Professor Leon Feinstein, Rees Centre Director and Professor of Education and Children’s Social Care said that policymakers need to better understand the reality of the range of different experiences to improve outcomes.

“The project is developing a common framework to improve the uses of information in local authorities together with practical examples and practices for improving the use of children’s information. Through a Learning Network of 20 local authorities, the initiative explores barriers, enablers, and opportunities for innovation.

“Our next report in October 2025 will provide more detail on this framework, inviting a wider range of local and national agencies to improve information use. We hope central government will work with us both to improve its own use of children’s information and to become more of an enabler to practice in the way it oversees the treatment of information in local authorities, and in the way it treats and handles children’s information nationally.”

The report 'Seen, Heard and Understood: Unlocking the Potential of Children’s Information Systems to Improve Outcomes' applies the framework to three significant government initiatives on children’s information use; the school readiness indicator, single unique identifier and children’s social care dashboard.

The findings reveal several opportunities for enhancing the effectiveness of the initiatives, while also identifying potential compromises that could hinder their success.

“The role of data in improving children’s lives is too often overlooked or treated solely as a technical issue,” Rob Street, Nuffield Director of Justice said. “This report underscores why good information use should be a core part of effective policy and implementation.”

Teresa Williams, Rees Centre Senior Research Fellow added that applying the framework to the government’s children’s social care reforms, the government can guarantee it is having the desired effect.

“At a time when the government has announced further investment in children’s services - for example through the £500m allocated to support local authorities to invest in the expansion of preventative support through the Families First Partnership Programme - we are calling for the implementation plan to allocate some resource to focus on the design of children’s information systems.

“By applying the framework for effective information use the government can be better assured that its investment is achieving the desired impact on children and their families.”