The terms 'information' and 'data' are often used interchangeably. They can mean different things to different people. Defining these terms was crucial.  

For example, children and families might say 'information', 'records', or 'files' instead of 'data'. Data analysts usually use 'data' for organised information. Practitioners may use either term for all records about children in information management systems. Working with all these groups, the CIP’s role was to develop a picture of ethical and effective use of children’s information. Some key definitions include: 

• CIP used the term ‘data’ to mean the information that is organised, combined, and often analysed in administrative datasets. This applies to both national reports and local service planning.

• CIP used the term ‘information’ as a more expansive umbrella term. It includes both organised data and all the material, much of it qualitative, that is or could be collected about children and families. This information is stored in management systems and is meant for use.

• 'Children’s information' includes all that local authorities need to know about the children they support. This information is vital to meet legal requirements. It also helps plan and provide services that support children's needs and improve their lives.  

Voice is a term that is often used but understood differently. For the Children’s Information Project, the term covers a wide range. It includes the views, wishes, feelings, and experiences of individuals and groups.

This work aimed to improve how children, young people, parents, carers, and practitioners are heard in discussions about children’s information and its use. This means:

• Children’s information itself should comprise material that reflects their lived experiences. It should also include their views on their own needs, desired outcomes, and the support and services they receive or give.

• Children should express their experiences, views, wishes, and feelings about this information. Their voices should be heard and taken seriously. This includes what is (or should) be known about them, how it's collected, and how it's shared, processed, understood, and acted upon.

Achieving these aspirations is challenging. Voice is usually seen as verbal. Something that can be spoken or written. People often think of it as something that can be taken from context and recorded as a separate thing. However, voice comes in many forms and is expressed in many ways:

• Voices can be expressed through both non-verbal and verbal communication.

• They can be loud, quiet, or silent.

• Voices may be fixed or fluid, explicit or implicit.

• They can be expressed in everyday situations or more formal, public settings.

• Contexts and relationships shape voices, including power dynamics that may enable or silence them.

• Some voices are more easily expressed and heard than others.

• Certain voices are more understandable, predictable, and palatable.

Information and data aren't neutral; they always carry a voice. The loudest voices in children's information often come from the government. Performance managers also play a role, as do data scientists, to some extent. AI has an emerging voice in children’s case recordings. These voices have an influence on:

• The child and family’s story.

• What we should know.

• What to collect.

• How to organise, sort, and process information.

• Decisions that are made from this information.

Information systems often focus on standardised measures and performance metrics. For example, timely assessments and placement numbers. They often don’t prioritise indicators of needs, lived experiences, or outcomes. Children’s and families’ voices fade away. Their insights get lost when information turned into data for reports. This influences how decision-makers make sense of the data and tell the story. The lived experience of children and families can get lost. Likewise for insights from practitioners that may contextualise and further explain circumstances. 

The CIP began with the belief that ethics are integral to effective information use. Using the ethical principles of respect, connect, care, and protect (Leslie et al., 2020) makes our information use more effective. This leads to better outcomes. 

Principles of proportionality and democracy can help build trust. This can: 

• Make it easier to use information to meet needs and uphold rights.

• Increase the chance of achieving the outcomes you are working towards.

Information use can also bring challenges. For example, how the use of personal information for safety and wellbeing reasons is balanced with respecting people's privacy. Involving the person concerned to understand their views is important.

Making sure the use of information is legally permitted is another important factor - organisations should have the capacity and skill to respond to individual situations, as well as setting out overarching standards for practice in information use.

Most importantly, local practices should meet the needs of children and families, reflect their experiences and respect their rights. 

Four partner sites tested how combining qualitative lived experience voice with quantitative data improves service design and decision-making. Governed by five core practices—voice, data, ethics, use, and learning—each site targeted a specific priority:

• Hampshire: focused on integrating parent voices into early help.

• North Yorkshire: enhanced information use to meet care leavers' needs.

• Oldham: focused improving how information was used in the early years to improve outcomes.

• Rochdale: also focused on the early years, creating a theory of change to improve children’s readiness for school.

Led by Research in Practice, a 20-authority network tested site findings and co-created practice resources.

• Structure: Each council paired a practice lead with a data lead, working alongside experts in participation, AI, policy, and data handling.

• Action learning topics: Explored systemic themes through workshops, webinars, and podcasts, including AI in case recording, the Single Unique Identifier, and creating a 'Single View of the Child'.