Across the UK, professionals in local authorities are developing innovative ways to use data to improve the first, formative years of a child’s life. But innovation thrives on connection and it’s vital to create opportunities for professionals from across the early years system to share ideas and learning.

On Tuesday 17 June Nesta is hosting an all-day event for professionals working with data in early years services. We’re delighted to be joined by Jonathan Slater Visiting Professor at Kings College London and Queen Mary University, and former Permanent Secretary for the Department of Education, who will be delivering our keynote speech highlighting why data is crucial to success and how other parts of the school system have used it to good effect.

The event will offer a welcoming and open space to come together and share ideas on how we can use data better, whether you are an early years leader wanting to improve local services or a policymaker thinking about how we can use data more effectively in integrated family support systems.

This event will be held in Nesta’s central London office and will run from 10:30-16:00 with lunch provided, followed by drinks and networking.

Attendees will have the chance to hear a range of different approaches being used to put data at the heart of improving early years services – from addressing challenges to developing practical solutions and the lessons learned along the way. We hope you’ll also form new partnerships and connections with early-years colleagues across the system.

Alongside our keynote, Jonathan Slater, we also have two learning sessions - one led by Nesta sharing our impact modelling tool for parenting support and one around using AI to improve data in the early years including guest speakers Outcomes Matter Consulting and Magic Notes. There will also be the opportunity to ask questions to a panel of experts in a Q&A.

You will also have the opportunity to share your work. We are inviting attendees to submit a proposal for a 5-minute talk as part of the event. You can submit your proposal by writing up to 150 words in the optional field in the registration form. Topics of interest could include operational or strategic work, whether it’s complete or still in progress. We’re interested in issues around the introduction of family hubs, integration of different data systems, multi-agency data sharing, approaches to bring data into strategic decision making or other topics.

This event is for professionals interested in using data to improve children’s lives. You might work as a strategic early years lead in a local authority, or in an NHS service such as health visiting or you may be a policymaker who is interested in how we can scale effective solutions.