The Common Outcomes Framework

The Common Outcomes Framework is a shared holistic and systemic framework which is a key tool for improving outcomes for all babies, children and young people.

It sets out five connected, high-level outcome areas that babies, children and young people need to thrive:

·       Safe

·       Healthy

·       Happy

·       Learning

·       Engaged

The Framework uses a shared language and helps to create a common direction across organisations, sectors and systems. It helps partners work together around what matters most for babies, children, young people and families.

The Common Outcomes Framework is not intended to be:

·       A new statutory framework - it does not create or represent new legal duties or mandatory reporting requirements.

·       A replacement for local strategy - it is designed to support and strengthen local priorities, not override them.

·       A performance management tool - it should not be used as a narrow checklist or as part of a compliance exercise.

·       A prescriptive, top-down, single measurement tool - it provides a shared outcomes structure, but local areas and organisations still need to choose the specific indicators, metrics and measurement tools appropriate for their place, circumstances and opportunities.

·       A one-size-fits-all model - it creates a common starting point while allowing and encouraging flexibility for different places, sectors, age groups and communities.

·       A finished product owned by one organisation - it is part of a wider collaborative effort to build shared language, learning and outcome-focused alignment across the system.

In short, the Framework is not about adding another layer of bureaucracy. It is about helping people work together more coherently around the outcomes that matter most.

The Framework was developed in response to a common problem: across policies, systems, services, organisations and partnerships and places, there are many different outcomes frameworks, performance measures, data systems and reporting requirements. These often use different language (sometimes for the same things) and focus on different, often closely related things.

This can make it harder for organisations to work together, understand collective impact and keep the focus on what really matters to babies, children and young people.

The Common Outcomes Framework aims to reduce fragmentation by creating a simple, shared starting point for genuine outcomes-focused collaboration, prioritisation and collective action.

The Framework is for anyone working with or for babies, children and young people and, by extension in practice, their parents, carers, families and communities. This includes:

·       Local authorities and their partners across public services

·       Best Start Family Hubs and wider children’s services

·       Health, education, youth and early help, family help and children’s social care partners

·       Funders and commissioners

·       Voluntary and community sector organisations

·       Researchers and evaluators

·       National policy teams and system leaders

It can be used at different levels - from strategy and commissioning through to service design, delivery, evaluation and learning.

No. The Framework is for all babies, children and young people.

It has been used in early years and Best Start family hubs work, including in co-creating the London Family Hubs and Beyond shared outcomes framework, but it is not limited to this context. The five outcome domains are intended to support a whole-child, whole-system approach across ages, services and sectors.

Alignment does not mean replacing what you already do.

It means exploring and highlighting how your existing goals, strategies, frameworks, indicators and measurement tools connect with and sit within the Common Outcomes Framework.

In practice, this might involve:

·       Mapping existing outcomes, indicators or KPIs against the five high-level outcomes domains

·       Reviewing strategies, theories of change or logic models using the Framework

·       Using the shared language in programme design, commissioning or funding bids

·       Identifying opportunities to collaborate with others working towards similar outcomes

The aim is to build coherence and clarity across the system.

No. The Framework itself is not a single measurement tool or performance management process.

It provides a shared structure for thinking about outcomes. Within this structure, organisations and partnerships can identify which indicators, metrics and measurement tools are most relevant and important to their shared vision, strategy and collective action.

The Collaborative uses the following language:

·       Outcomes are the overarching states or conditions to be achieved for babies, children and young people

·       Indicators suggest whether an outcome has been achieved or is being achieved

·       Metrics describe how an indicator is measured

·       Measurement tools are the means by which some metrics are captured and reported

The movement towards a common approach to outcomes began with a review of existing outcomes frameworks from the UK and internationally. This identified recurring themes such as safety, health, happiness and learning.

The original version was then tested in late 2022 against evidence from the Children’s Commissioner’s Big Ask, which gathered views from over half a million children and young people. This helped shape the five high-level outcome areas now used in the Framework: Safe, Healthy, Happy, Learning and Engaged.

The Framework has continued to evolve through feedback, practical use and collaboration with partners across sectors.

No. The Framework is not intended to be a rigid, top-down requirement.

It is designed to create space for shared thinking, practical alignment and collaboration. It helps organisations identify where consistency is useful, while allowing flexibility for local priorities, specific cohorts and different delivery contexts.

The Framework works best as part of an iterative process:

1.      Start with the five shared outcome domains: Safe, Healthy, Happy, Learning and Engaged.

2.     Explore strengths, gaps and inequalities across each area.

3.     Bring together data, insight and the voices of children, young people and families.

4.    Use the Framework as a tool to align local plans, strategies, commissioning and delivery and review.

5.     Test, learn and improve over time.

This helps ensure shared outcomes are reflected across the whole system, not just in strategy documents.

The Common Outcomes Framework is designed to work alongside existing local, national and sector frameworks.

It can help connect and streamline frameworks that already exist, including local plans, programme-specific outcomes, public health frameworks, social care outcomes and family hub priorities.

Rather than adding another layer, it provides a shared structure that helps partners see where their contribution sits and how different contributions, priorities and actions relate to one another and come together to deliver collective impact.

The Framework is being used in a range of practical ways, including:

·       Aligning partners around shared priorities

·       Supporting family hubs and early help strategies

·       Focusing systems on specific outcomes such as school readiness or infant feeding

·       Creating a shared “outcomes spine” across strategy, commissioning and performance

·       Helping funders, commissioners and their charity and delivery partners align around shared goals

·       Supporting more coherent service design and evaluation

The London Family Hubs and Beyond work is one example of how the Framework can be used to support integrated local systems.The Framework is being used in a range of practical ways, including:

·       Aligning partners around shared priorities

·       Supporting family hubs and early help strategies

·       Focusing systems on specific outcomes such as school readiness or infant feeding

·       Creating a shared “outcomes spine” across strategy, commissioning and performance

·       Helping funders, commissioners and their charity and delivery partners align around shared goals

·       Supporting more coherent service design and evaluation

The London Family Hubs and Beyond work is one example of how the Framework can be used to support integrated local systems.

Using the Framework can help organisations and partnerships to:

·       Build a shared language around outcomes

·       Reduce duplication and fragmentation

·       Align strategies, commissioning, delivery and evaluation

·       Strengthen accountability for outcomes

·       Take a more holistic, whole-child approach

·       Bring together data, evidence and lived experience

·       Support continuous improvement and test-and-learn approaches

·       Focus collective effort on what matters most for babies, children and young people

No. You do not need to have everything in place to begin.

A useful starting point is to review your existing priorities, frameworks and measurement tools, then explore how they connect to the five outcome domains. From there, partners can identify areas of alignment, duplication, gaps and opportunities for shared action.

The Common Outcomes for Children and Young People Collaborative can support organisations and partnerships to understand and apply the Framework.

This might include:

·       Introducing the Framework and its purpose

·       Helping map existing strategies, outcomes and measures

·       Supporting partners to explore alignment in their context

·       Sharing examples and learning from others using the Framework

·       Connecting people and organisations working towards common outcomes

·       Convening partners to find solutions to the challenges that emerge

If you are working with or for babies, children and young people and want to explore how the Common Outcomes Framework could support your work, you can contact the Collaborative at:

info@commonoutcomes.org.uk