Successfully linking diverse early years datasets
Sharing and integrating early years data across services
Improving outcomes for families and children through an innovative Data Integration Platform
Meeting the challenge of understanding the programme’s collective impact
The second half of the LEAP programme (2020-2025) focused on outcomes, learning and impact. Key to this stage was having access to a more complete picture of how families were interacting with, and benefiting from LEAP’s services.
This involved developing two complementary systems: a Shared Measurement System (SMS) and a Data Integration Platform (The Platform). The SMS created and implemented a common set of evaluation tools to assess achievement of LEAP’s intended outcomes. The Platform brought this data to life, linking individuals across service and administrative datasets.
LEAP’s use of data was heavily siloed prior to the Platform’s development. Over 20 services provided anonymised data reports on a quarterly basis. There was no way to identify the same individual across separate reports. All monitoring, analysis and reporting was likely to include double counting. This prevented LEAP from understanding its work with unique beneficiaries. LEAP was also unable to link service users to their records in administrative datasets.
The Platform looked to address these challenges by linking individual-level data through an innovative pseudonymisation approach. This would enable LEAP to bring to life the data collected via the SMS.
Authors
Rowan Ferguson, Senior Research and Evaluation Officer, National Children’s Bureau
Sophie Woodhead, Assistant Director, Lambeth Early Action Partnership
Gemma Luck, Public Health Intelligence Manager, Lambeth Early Action Partnership
David Wood, Programme Manager, Lambeth Early Action Partnership
Background
The 1,001 days from pregnancy to the age of two lay the foundations for an individual’s physical, cognitive and emotional development. In this period, joined-up service provision can make all the difference, improving the quality of support and preventing families from falling through gaps in provision.
Data integration is a powerful way that the early years system can come together to offer high quality support to children and families. It involves combining data from multiple sources into a single, unified view using common data fields. Benefits include:
- Bringing to life the links between health, education and social outcomes
- Identifying issues early through improved access to data from a range of services
- Freeing families from having to repeat information and filling in forms
- Identifying which combination of services improve outcomes
Despite these benefits, data in the early years is typically siloed, with little being shared or utilised across organisations. There is growing momentum to address this, including new legislation around the introduction of a Single Unique Identifier (SUI).
Key learnings from developing LEAP’s Data Integration Platform:
- LEAP successfully integrated 35 service and administrative datasets. This included linking health and education data – rectifying a perennial problem faced by many local systems.
- The Platform complied with consent restrictions by using an innovative pseudonymisation approach to link datasets.
- Staff had to work hard to change local attitudes towards data.
- The Platform’s success relied on extensive work with local partners on information governance.
- LEAP developed systems to ensure a sufficient, quality, quantity and consistency of uploaded data.
- The Platform transformed LEAP’s monitoring, evaluation and learning, enabling accurate insights into how families engaged with and benefitted from LEAP.
- LEAP used linked data to show how its services were working collectively to support families.
- Linking to administrative datasets allowed LEAP to evaluate its impact over a longer timescale.
- Platform outputs meant LEAP could easily hold services to account and suggest possible avenues for service improvement.
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