DATA to INSIGHT

Double award winners at iNetwork Innovation Awards!

We're delighted to be part of a wide community of partners who developed an open-source regional data platform for securely working with children's services data.

On 26 March 2026 the project won two awards: one for Effective Use of Data Standards, and one for Effective Information Sharing and Security. These awards are testament to the hard work and ingenuity of partners across many organisations, including Greater Manchester Combined Authority, London Innovation & Improvement Alliance (LIIA), Improvement East, Home and Future (South East RCC), Department for Education, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Dudley Council, East Sussex County Council, and Social Finance.

ChAT and Benchmarking tools

We've released v9.14 of the ChAT with the following changes:

• (9.14) Added Social Work Workforce data
• (9.14) Bug fixes and lookups
• (9.14) Amended tab structure to mirror Ofsted Annex A Guidance
• (9.14) Added Ofsted Annex A FAQ tab
• (9.14) Added Outcomes for CIN including CLA as per DfE data release
• (9.14) Amended lookups to align with new Annex A guidance

Call for collaboration: Power BI versions of the ChAT tool

As you know, we currently share a ChAT tool in Excel to support analysis and insight, but we have recently heard that some local authorities have developed Power BI versions of the tool.

We are keen to connect with colleagues who have built or are using a Power BI version of the ChAT tool to better understand:

• How it is been designed and used locally
• What is worked well (and what has not)
• How it compares with the Excel version in practice
• What maintenance is involved in keeping the tool up to date

Validation Tools - CIN Census and SSDA903

Developed by local authority data analysts and supported by the technical expertise of our colleagues at Social Finance, these tools allow you to run the same types of validation checks included in the DfE’s CIN Census and SSDA903 statutory submission systems.

You can run these tools at any point throughout the year, and we recommend adopting a monthly checking cycle. Regular use can significantly reduce the pressure at year end and help identify and resolve data quality issues early.

• CIN Census Validator Tool
• SSDA903 CLA Return Validator Tool

Statistics Prediction Tools - CIN Census and SSDA903

These tools have been updated for 2025-26 and are designed to support local authorities in producing robust year-end summary reports based on the data submitted to the Department for Education.

By simply copying in your CSV files from the SSDA903 and CIN Census returns, the tools generate predicted local authority statistics and offers comparisons with your statistical neighbours and the latest national benchmarking figures.

This makes it a highly effective way to sense-check your data, spot anomalies early, and ensure accuracy ahead of senior management sign-off.

There will be a short demo of the tools at the D2I open house on 20 May.

• SSDA903 Statutory Returns Predictor | Data to Insight
• CIN Census Statutory Returns Predictor | Data to Insight

The SEND Reform - Forecasting Tool is now LIVE!

A big thank you to all local authorities who continue to provide feedback on the tool. The definition is now available on the D2I website alongside the latest version of the tool.

We will continue to offer General SEND Reform Support Sessions, with the next session taking place on Wednesday 27 May. We are also exploring next steps and considering what further support D2I can offer to analysts across SEND.

Feedback has highlighted a need for a support network for finance colleagues working in SEND. Please contact Vanessa.Good@eastsussex.gov.uk if you are interested in this, or feel free to share this newsletter with SEND finance colleagues. Additionally, please let us know if you are aware of any existing networks in this area.

The SEND reform highlights a rapidly evolving data landscape. Building connections early and working collaboratively will be key to supporting each other effectively in the long term.

• SEND Reform - Forecasting Tool | Data to Insight
• The Local SEND Reform Plan - D2I Support Offer | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

Supporting recruitment in children's services data & digital

Attracting skilled data and digital professionals into children's services is key to strengthening insight, improving outcomes, and meeting the sector's growing analytical needs. To support this, Data to Insight is now promoting children's services data and digital vacancies across our LinkedIn network and on the D2I website, helping local authorities reach a wider pool of talent. We support roles across data, digital, insight, analytics, BI development, engineering, quality assurance, and related children's services areas.

By coordinating visibility across the sector, we aim to make these specialist roles easier for candidates to discover, attract strong applicants, and strengthen capability across local authorities. This ultimately helps build the data and digital foundations that improve outcomes for children and families.

• Email us job opportunities
• Feedback or questions contact

Have your say - future data & digital apprenticeships

As part of our longer-term thinking about data and digital capability across the sector, Data to Insight is exploring possible future data and digital apprenticeship options beyond the Level 4 Data Analyst programme.

We have launched a short survey to understand realistic interest in structured learning, recognising the time and commitment apprenticeships involve. The survey is open to all colleagues, whether data and insight is a large part of your role or just something you work with occasionally.

The survey:

• takes only a few minutes to complete
• is for insight-gathering purposes only
• does not commit you to applying for an apprenticeship
• can be completed anonymously (with an option to leave your details if you'd like to hear more)

NVEST - Providing an Excellent Case Management Support Service

13 May 2026 | Online

This webinar explores what effective case management support looks like in practice, and why high-quality support makes a real difference to how systems are used day to day. Attendees will hear from local authority teams whose approaches exemplify strong practice, alongside insights from practitioners and users, and join a wider discussion on how the Centre of Excellence can support councils to strengthen their case management services.

D2I - Open House

20 May 2026 | Online

Our “open house” meeting is a regular chance to drop in on a D2I team meeting where we share what we are working on and talk about how best to help with data work. We try to cover a mix of “technical” and other work. If you'd like to request a topic for discussion, just let us know.

If you are interested, please contact John.Foster@eastsussex.gov.uk

General SEND Reform Support Session

27 May 2026 | Online

A big thank you to all local authorities who continue to provide feedback on the tool. The definition is now available on the D2I website alongside the latest version of the tool.
We ran a series of support sessions during the week commencing 4 May, which were well attended by colleagues. We will continue to offer General SEND Reform Support Sessions, with the next session taking place on Wednesday 27 May. We are also exploring next steps and considering what further support D2I can offer to analysts across SEND.

Data to Insight - Data Sharing and Information Governance show and tell

09 June 2026 | Online

We're hosting a special D2I show and tell event for LA colleagues to discuss best practice around information governance, data sharing, and enabling data for multi-agency working. This will help us share the learning we've gathered from recent projects, and offer an opportunity for any LA colleagues to share their own experiences.

We'll be talking about:

• The projects and resources we supported via the DfE's Data and Digital Solutions Fund, and the evaluations and examples we published of good practice from other LAs
• The learnings from our Families First support network meetings, about how LAs are preparing for new information sharing practices as part of reformed family working
• Our learning from supporting the South East region to establish regional child-level data sharing in support of its pathfinder Regional Care Co-Operative
• What attendees would most value in terms of information sharing support from the DfE's forthcoming Centre of Excellence for CSC data and digital work

D2I - RIIA and EHDP Quarterly Analysis Workshop

11 June 2026 | Online

We recently restarted our quarterly analysis workshops, providing analysis of the data we collect via the RIIA and Early Help Data Partnership (EHDP) returns. Previously, these workshops were held separately, but with the FFP Programme changes combining EH and CiN into a single workflow, it makes much more sense to look at these returns as reflecting two parts of the same system. These workshops will provide a unique overview of the current EH and CSC landscape, as this is - to our knowledge - the only nationally benchmarked EH dataset available.

For an invitation, please contact John.Foster@eastsussex.gov.uk

D2I - FFP Programme Support

18 June 2026 | Online

Join us for the next session in our support series for local authorities implementing the Families First Partnership Programme reforms, with a focus on understanding the newly released guidance and its implications for data and reporting. Key documents covered include the updated Programme Guide, Family Group Decision Making resources, the National Framework, and Working Together 2026.

Credits and contributors

Credit for recent improvements to our data tools and project work is due to colleagues in:

Useful links

Links for resources, downloads, guidance or other related links

• Sector curated job opportunities
• D2I LinkedIn
• D2I GitHub repos

Contribute | Feedback?

Get in touch if you would like to contribute, collaborate or share feedback for a future issue.