Visualising data in care proceedings

This study will undertake exploratory work with two local authorities to examine how data visualisation could help local authorities gain meaningful insights with regard to care proceedings (including pre- and post-proceedings). It will also explore whether ‘never events’ could be applied in children’s social care. ‘Never events’ refer to serious and largely preventable service incidents that should not occur if the available preventative measures have been implemented.

The data visualisation element will involve working directly with Kent County Council and the London Borough of Wandsworth. It will involve assessing how suitable the local and national level data are to address questions that the local authorities have in relation to key issues they identify with regard to care proceedings and then developing ways of presenting the data in an accessible, meaningful and impactful way.

The ‘never events’ element will involve a desk-based review of their application in a range of fields internationally and a discussion of their potential applicability in relation to children’s social care. A briefing note would be produced setting out a proposed suite of ‘never events’ and assessing the case for and against their use.

The outputs from the work will be shared at a seminar to test how applicable the approaches are to a range of local authorities and other stakeholders, and will also be shared through other means (e.g. directly with a number of Local Family Justice Boards).