One Local Authority, concerned that its Child Protection figures were high relative to other Authorities, asked Key Intelligence to help with their detailed analysis.

We created reports going back over 5 years covering Child Protection (CP) numbers as at the end of each financial year, the number of children starting and ending interventions in the year, the number of contacts that entered the system, and, of those, how many went on to initial CP conferences, repeat initial CP conferences, Section 47 enquiries and outcomes, repeat Section 47 enquiries, and other measures, all broken down by demographic information, to enable the department manager to fully understand the composition of their CP population.

Usually our work stops at the point we provide the information, so it was interesting, at the end of this intense activity, to be allowed to see how the information was used and the positive changes that would result from it.

The reports not only highlighted the changes in demographics (age, ethnicity) of children with CP concerns, but also highlighted some practice issues which will need to be addressed. It has been used both to bolster Team Managers’ understanding of the CP issues, and to demonstrate the several misconceptions that need addressing.

It was gratifying to see how the data the Key Intelligence team provides really can help shape the way Social Care teams work and inform important decisions about how to face challenges in the future and improve outcomes for children.