Supporting Families - Reaping many benefits from a single Data Integration system
By Graham McCusker, Director, Sentinel Partners
With Supporting Families about to enter its most demanding phase yet, it’s a good time for any local authority to consider whether their existing system is fit for Phase 3 and what more it should be delivering.
Many local authorities have used limited data technology or existing reporting tools to try and meet the operational requirements of the Supporting Families programme, without considering what else could be delivered from a full Data Integration Platform approach.
In contrast, some other authorities have taken the Supporting Families programme as an opportunity to innovate their use of data, and for them the scope of additional benefits that are being realised is huge.
The integrated dataset these innovative authorities now possess is focusing more effective services across multiple teams such as Early Help, Safeguarding and collaborative cross-partner working. They are also incredibly well placed to meet the coming demands from the NHS Integrated Care Systems and direct government initiatives such as the SAFE Taskforce.
Evolving from Phase 1 onwards
When Sentinel began supporting local authorities in Phase 1, we developed a robust but flexible Data Integration Platform that provides a single view of individuals, rolled up into a holistic family-wide view, through the integration of data from all internal and external sources available.
Our Platform also includes the ability to profile and score this integrated dataset in any number of ways to pick out different target cohorts for different scenarios to drive different services and teams.
Each phase of the Supporting Families programme has added new levels of complexity and posed new data challenges. Our technology has evolved and expanded to overcome them all. Our latest version is already available to ensure our clients experience a smooth transition to Phase 3 from October while continuing to manage Phase 2 PBR. We even have an early adopter in our client base who is making this transition right now.
In parallel to this, we continue to extend our range of complementary Portal Applications such as Early Years Funding and Early Years Child Assessment to broaden the scope of data being collected and integrated in our client’s Data Platforms.
We are also incorporating AI technologies into our range of Data Services based on our Data Integration Platform. The range and accuracy of outcomes from such technologies is increased dramatically when they are applied to the large, cleansed and integrated datasets provided by our Data Integration Platform. See the recent White Paper on how we have incorporated Machine Learning services to improve the efficiency of high-volume data matching.
Wider benefits in Liverpool
Among the Core Cities, county councils and metropolitan boroughs we support, is Liverpool City Council, which began using Sentinel’s Think Family Data Hub during Phase 2.
With our technology in place, Liverpool has been able to apply its data integration and data sharing capability more widely, especially in the area of Family Support Early Help services.
Immediately identifying almost three times more Liverpool families with complex needs, our Data Platform also contributed to an improved Data Maturity Model outcome.
Feeding information on gang membership and crime into the Hub has enabled the city council to increase understanding and take pre-emptive action on those who are more vulnerable to gang involvement and recruitment.
During the Covid pandemic, Liverpool and their Public Health England partners, used our Data Platform to identify vulnerable residents, support the UK’s first mass Test-and-Trace programme and target the city’s mobile vaccination initiative.
Along with Supporting Families Phase 3 (Liverpool began the transition in July, having been asked to be an early adopter), the council is about to extend their utilisation further to include our Early Years Child Assessment portal.
Not only will this benefit education teams by providing a single view of pre-school children across the city and help to monitor school readiness, it will also be a key data source for Phase 3, with “Good Early Years Development” forming one of the Outcome’s Framework’s ten key criteria.
If you would like to find out more about how the Think Family Data Hub can support your Supporting Families programme and deliver a much wider range of benefits, please contact us.
