As CYP Now revealed last month, the government-backed centre will be run by the C4EO consortium (CYP Now, 16- 22 April).

Christine Davies, former director of children's services in Telford and Wrekin Council and programme director for the government's Narrowing the Gap project, will manage the centre.

The centre will act as a resource for local authority workers, co-ordinating the sharing of good practice on local, regional and national levels.

It will also work to identify what factors improve outcomes for children by evaluating local services across England and this data will be used to initiate new partnerships.

The lead members of C4EO are the National Children's Bureau, the National Foundation for Education Research, Research in Practice and the Social Care Institute for Excellence. Other partners include The National Youth Agency and the Family & Parenting Institute.