From 2020 – 2023 CES provided support and co-ordination to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) What Works Programme.
Evidence shows that disadvantage suffered at an early stage tends to multiply as children become older, and that effective prevention and early intervention can halt and reverse poor outcomes amongst children. If Prevention and Early Intervention is based on best available evidence, using the best approaches and is delivered by the best placed people, this has significant benefits for children, young people and their families and is also an effective and efficient use of resources.
Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014 – 2020 was the first overarching national policy framework for children and young people aged 0- 24 years. The Framework identified Prevention and Early Intervention as a key transformational goal for children’s services.
What Works aimed to implement this national policy into good practice on the ground, by promoting and embedding the use of evidence, prevention and early intervention in services for children and young people.
The What Works initiative aims to be system-wide along the policy, provision and practice continuum. It includes policy makers, statutory agencies, researchers and academics, voluntary organisations and practitioners who work with children, young people and their families. The initiative ensures that key groups working with children, young people and families know what works, how it works and will provide an evidence-supported approach to apply to this work.
It supports these key groups to access and use data, access and utilise evidence and research findings, focus on quality, and maximise learning.
CES worked with the Department to design and implement learning activities and resources to build capacity and share knowledge.
We provided research and evaluation support, project management, strategic stakeholder engagement, event management, marketing and communications expertise, website development and professional capacity development and training.
CES helped to identify workstreams, milestones and project plans, prepared monthly status reports to communicate progress, and drafted a range of briefing documents and project reports based on the work.
Over three years we:
The What Works initiative has supported learning, leadership and capacity building activities, innovation in services and new research. It includes a live and actively resourced knowledge exchange platform that hosts data, research and resources. Through that, it facilitates the co-creation of knowledge, analysis, insights and understandings of children and young people’s lives - including approaches to practice, toolkits, and learning opportunities for policy makers, services and the research community.
