a new Standard Safeguarding Dataset which is broader in scope than existing statutory data returns, more useful to local authorities (LAs), and easy to deploy for LAs using any of the major current case management software solutions. The project is led by Hertfordshire County Council as part of a consortium of LAs in partnership with Data to Insight (D2I), the sector-owned service for local children’s safeguarding data work. The project presented the first “live” version of its dataset specification in financial year 2023-24, alongside methods for producing the dataset from the market-leading case management systems. 2. What is this document? This document presents an overview of the project history, its outputs (including separate detailed reports and technical specifications), and its possible futures. This document is intended as a single signpost to the several distinct project outputs to date, and as a reflection on the project’s successes and future potential. 5 3. Executive Summary In response to the 2022 independent review of children’s social care (“the MacAlister review”), DfE initiated a whole-system response in the form of a consultation response, revised practice guidance, and a range of innovation projects across practice and enabling technologies. The Data and Digital Solutions Fund (DDSF) marked a significant element in this initial response, formalising government’s commitment to “put Local Authorities in the driving seat of change”. The Standard Safeguarding Dataset (SSD) represents one of the DDSF’s major products: a sector- designed dataset specification for production by any LA, which can improve sector collaboration, help LAs generate insights, and ease data interoperability between local and national government. To deliver the project, we made car