The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory improves the lives of children and families by putting data and evidence at the heart of the family justice system.
Our family justice system urgently needs to improve. All of the people who work within it – judges, lawyers, social workers, Cafcass guardians, policy makers and more – share a common goal: helping children and families to thrive in the future. But understanding of how to achieve that ambition is limited by a lack of readily available administrative data and research evidence. Too few opportunities also exist for those involved to share their knowledge and experiences. The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory exists to find and fill the gaps in our understanding of the family justice system, highlight the areas where change will have the biggest impact, and foster collaboration to make that change happen. A bridge between the academic community and frontline practitioners, we are independent and relentless in our focus on ensuring children get the best support based on the best available information. We work in three closely connected ways:
- revealing the big picture
- shining a spotlight on key issues
- empowering frontline decision makers.
In everything we do, our work is guided by the experiences of children and families right across England and Wales. We were established by the Nuffield Foundation in 2019. Everything we do reflects Nuffield’s commitment to independent thinking, collaboration and rigorous, evidence-based research.
