the full range of LA perspectives. All practitioners told us that the data they collect is useful and supports good social work practice and it ultimately supports an understanding of the child and their journey. Another area that the DfE wanted this project to explore was data that could be recorded nationally. The research was not conclusive in identifying specific data items to collect nationally. However, the research does indicate that there are two key factors to be considered in relation to any future work on standardised data recording. The first is the wide range of practice contexts across LAs and how this impacts the information they need to collect. The second is the variation in language and terminology used by LAs, and ensuring that it is accessible to all users of the data. As such, we recommend the DfE develops and implements national guidelines for quality open standards and recording processes. The research also crucially showed that the voices of children and young people are a paramount concern for all those we spoke to, and they should be at the heart of good practice and recording. The research recommends that young people should be able to access the CMS in a format that ensures they have their voices heard and recorded. They should also be able to easily access their records and have support to do this in a safe way when they feel ready to do so. There needs to be engagement with young people to understand what is important to them and co-produce a common set of writing principles to be developed and shared nationally. Above all, there is a challenge and a collective responsibility to balance the needs of those who collect data, those who use it, care experienced young people and their families to whom it ultimately belongs. Our research evidence