In recent years increasing attention has been given to the value of cross-national research and analysis to illuminate strengths and weaknesses in child welfare systems.

International comparisons of child maltreatment may allow policy and practice in one or more countries to be benchmarked against others; and may also assist in the identification of alternative strategies to protect children from harm and promote their welfare.

Administrative datasets on children in contact with children’s social care services are a ‘convenient and inexpensive source for examining policy relevant questions on a longitudinal as well as cross-sectional basis’ as they also offer large datasets to facilitate accurate population estimates. In this context it is valuable to explore the role and contribution that existing datasets may make to understanding variations in the recognition of and responses to abuse and neglect in different jurisdictions.

The Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre (CWRC) was commissioned by the DfE to undertake a study with the overarching aim of drawing together existing aggregate administrative data on safeguarding children and child protection and exploring the availability and comparability of these data as a tool for comparing England’s performance against that of other countries.

The objective was to consider how different institutional and cultural approaches alongside different forms of provision and support may influence rates of abuse and neglect and the responses of public authorities. [from the website]. A brief version of this report (9 p.) is available via the website link.

Research report, DfE RR-198