We’re so delighted to share the news that Ethos Foundation, Collective Futures and Henry Smith Foundation have chosen to support our work for the next 3 years. This is amazing endorsement for our vision for better and more aligned support for all babies, children and young people!
The first two years of the Common Outcomes Collaborative have seen our framework develop from an emerging idea to a nationally recognised, sector-led approach. We’ve been bowled over by the growing demand for a shared outcomes approach and what this has meant for the role of the Collaborative as a strategic leader and convener around common outcomes.
We have been particularly proud of:
The growing reach and visibility of the Collaborative, reaching 100% of local authorities and with partners increasingly adopting the Working With badge to demonstrate their alignment (interested in the badge? You can download it here!)
Deepening our partnerships with strategic partners, such as the Fair Education Alliance (FEA) and The Centre for Young Lives
The publication of our Family Hubs and Beyond Framework – building on the combined efforts of the London Family Hubs Community of Practice
Ongoing work to develop the framework with our Test & Learn partners in Essex and Worcestershire
The use and development of the Common Outcomes Framework by our funders in their strategic funding work
A major policy milestone, with the Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care referencing the Collaborative in the Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies: guidance for local authorities (published on 30 March 2026).
What next?
The next three years will be about mainstreaming a common approach to talking about, measuring and delivering on children and young people's outcomes - making full use of the Common Outcomes Framework's potential as a unifying tool. We have ambitious plans and by 2029 we aim to see widespread uptake and adoption of the Common Outcomes Framework across local and national systems.
To support our stretching targets, we will be growing the team! Our first hire will be a Co-Director to work alongside our current Director, Elaine Fulton, in a shared leadership model and we’ll have more to share on this very soon.
We have three main priorities for delivery and learning, which are:
Young People – understanding more about how the Framework resonates with young people, and those working with them (recognising that the Framework has been developed and tested more extensively with younger children so far). We are particularly keen to build learnings from meaningful youth voice to ensure the Framework reflects what is most important to young people, and is presented in a format that resonates with them
Regional alignment – learning more about how the Framework can support alignment at the regional level, and act as a bridge between local, place-based collaboration and national policy, for example through our partnership working with Combined Authorities in Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire
Funders and investors– exploring and promoting the use of the Framework by funders in their strategic investment activities, exploring how the Framework can be most useful in a funding context
To support this learning we will be working closely with our partners at Dartington Service Design Lab, who will be leading a Learning Community and developing our Resource Hub. Interested in the learning community? Get in touch!
As always, throughout all these activities, we will be looking for opportunities for partnership, working with openness and alongside other tools in the overall mission towards greater alignment and improved outcomes for all babies, children and young people.
With many thanks to all our partners and collaborators who have worked with us up to this point, we are so grateful for sharing the journey.
If you have any thoughts, questions or fancy a chat, do reach out at elaine.fulton@commonoutcomes.org.uk