About the Showcase

Children’s lives do not sit within a single service. Their experiences span education, health, social care, justice, and wider community services. However, the information held about them is often separated across different systems and organisations. This means that needs are frequently identified late, services respond to crisis rather than prevention, and families are required to navigate complex systems.

A central purpose of the event is to demonstrate that this is not inevitable. Across the North of England and elsewhere, organisations are already linking administrative data safely, legally, and ethically.

We will showcase real examples relevant to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) crisis, demonstrating that connected administrative data:

• Has already been achieved in practice
• Can be used responsibly
• Improves decision-making and prevention
• Supports coordination of services across agencies

We are seeking to support policymakers’ understanding of the opportunities associated with data sharing and connectivity, that it is already happening safely, and that it is an essential tool for improving children’s outcomes. We aim to identify policy-relevant evidence gaps that the research community can help fill.

A key output from this event will be a short report for colleagues in national government, highlighting:

• The real-world potential of linking administrative data
• The resources and infrastructure that already exist
• What national policy would need to do to scale this effectively

Everyone attending the event will have an opportunity to contribute to this report. Your experience, evidence, and practical insights are a central part of the day, and the session discussions will directly inform its conclusions.

Improving outcomes for children cannot be achieved by any single service acting alone. Fragmented public services mean vulnerable children can fall between agencies. Prevention becomes difficult, public spending becomes less efficient, and support arrives too late.

Connected data provides the enabling infrastructure for coordinated action. When services can see a fuller picture of a child’s life, they can intervene earlier, reduce crisis responses, and improve long-term life chances.

In order make the discussions as productive as possible, and to provide important context for the discussions, attendees are encouraged to read:

• The Child of the North reports, and in particular:
  • Chapter 9 (“Connected Data”) of the APPG report on education inequalities, highlighting relevant approaches
  • The 2024 SEND and Autism reports
• The Centre for Young Lives Growing Up Well report describes how the Child of the North report recommendations can be implemented.

By the end of the event, we hope that:

• Participants understand the practical feasibility of connected data
• Policymakers have clear evidence to inform national policy discussions
• Partnerships are strengthened between government, research, and local systems
• We collectively produce a report for government outlining the potential of connected data, the infrastructure to support it, and policy opportunities.

Your participation and contribution are essential to achieving these outcomes, and we look forward to working with you on 23 February.