As part of Capita Group plc, Capita Children's Services (CCS) are the UK's leading supplier of Management Information Systems to the Children's Services Sector.  CCS provide over 22,000 schools and 150 Local Authorities with a variety of software and services, including modules that support Education Services.

With recent high profile cases highlighting a serious need for better decision-making at all levels within Children's Services, the level of public scrutiny and pressure on childcare professionals has never been greater.  As a key part of a major bespoke specialist BI solution for Children's Services, Sopra Group was asked to develop and deliver the new PRIME Business Intelligence (BI) module in conjunction with CCS.

PRIME BI empowers users to make more informed decisions by providing more accurate and timely information that is accessible in real time and via a secure web-based portal.  Based on Microsoft technology PRIME BI has been developed for Children's Services professionals within Local Authorities.

Solution

Sopra Group's BI team worked closely with CCS throughout PRIME BI's full lifecycle development, from requirements analysis and definition through to design, build and test.  The first release of the product was delivered to a very tight four-month deadline.

PRIME BI supplies reporting and analysis capabilities for CCS's One database - an information and case management system that integrates and shares Children's Services data, and is accessed by Local Authorities. 

The first release of PRIME BI included the provision of analytical capability for the School Census, Attainment, and Exclusions modules; further modules were delivered in the second release, which included the Attendance module and a suite of National Indicator reports.  

Also covered was the replacement of the current reporting tool with a more efficient Report Model: it will provide Local Authorities with a view onto the One database to enable them to build reports based on an ad hoc selection of the data held there.

"Strong team collaboration really was the key to helping us develop and deliver the right product on time.  We were very pleased to get the chance to work with CCS on such an important project."

Mary Byrne, Client Director
Sopra Group

Benefits

The initial releases of PRIME BI are supporting Children's Services professionals by delivering the following benefits:

  • Highlighting and sharing the bigger picture – Together with the One database PRIME BI will allow senior managers to track performance against KPIs and National Indicators and also provide them with a clearer overall picture of what is really happening throughout their organisation. 
  • Cost-effective use of resources – One and PRIME BI put more control in the hands of individual users and free up technical resources as reports can now be created, saved, edited and run by users without them having to constantly refer to technical specialists.
  • Enabling better decision-making - PRIME BI will give childcare professionals the power to track, monitor and evaluate information more effectively and help them understand, not just what is happening but also why, as they will now be able to drill down to more detailed case information.

"PRIME BI will enable resources to be targeted where they are needed most, meaning they will really benefit children and families."

Richard Winstock, Head of Development for ONE at CCS

Future Developments

PRIME BI is now in active use in a number of Local Authorities. Following a period of review and client feedback further releases of PRIME have been delivered. CCS anticipates working with Sopra Group in the future on its BI initiatives.