Find out more about how you can help to safeguard children.
A Child Safeguarding Practice Review (previously known as a Serious Case Review (SCR)) is undertaken when a child dies or the child has been seriously harmed and there is cause for concern as to the way organisations worked together.
The purpose of a child safeguarding practice review is for agencies and individuals to learn lessons that improve the way in which they work, both individually and collectively, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
The trigger for this is a notifiable incident - There is a Duty on local authorities to notify incidents to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (this is a National Panel).
Working Together 2018 states that a local authority in England knows or suspects that a child has been abused or neglected, the local authority must notify the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel if:
Initially a rapid review will be undertaken in order to ascertain whether a local child safeguarding practice review is appropriate, or whether the case may raise issues which are complex or of national importance such that a national review may be appropriate.
The NCASP has a group which oversees and quality assures all the child safeguarding practice reviews undertaken by the partnership, and provides advice on whether the criteria for conducting a review have been met.
Upon completion of a child safeguarding practice review, there is an expectation that the final report is published in full and will be available on the website for a minimum of 12 months.
The report will include:
Any recommendations will be clear on what is required of relevant agencies and others collectively and individually, and by when, and focussed on improving outcomes for children.
Additional information and guidance in relation to child safeguarding practice reviews can be found in the statutory guidance Working Together 2018.
In addition to child safeguarding practice reviews, the NCASP will also undertake Multi-Agency Case Reviews / Partnership Reviews which do not meet the criteria for a child safeguarding practice review, but are considered to offer good opportunities to identify lessons for learning and ways in which multi-agency practice to safeguard children and young people can be improved locally.
Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) inc Serious Child Safeguarding Incidents and Rapid Reviews - This guidance is aimed at those involved in undertaking or contributing to Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews, such as Independent Lead Reviewers, Review Team members, those providing information reports on behalf of their organisation as well as those responsible for quality assuring and embedding the learning from the review process.
The guidance provides NCASP with a framework for the commissioning and dissemination of learning from Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews. It should be read alongside the relevant statutory guidance set out in Chapter 4: Working Together 2018
The framework and guidance has been endorsed by safeguarding partners and will be reviewed and updated to reflect chnages to national guidance and emerging good practice.
Any professional or agency may refer a case for consideration using the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Referral Form - Complete the referral form if you have concerns about the way that agencies have worked together to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child.
Working Together 2018 states reviews are about promoting and sharing information about improvements, both within the area and potentially beyond so safeguarding partners must publish the report, unless they consider it inappropriate to do so. In such a circumstance, they must publish any information about the improvements that should be made following the review that they consider it appropriate to publish. The name of the reviewer(s) should be included. Published reports or information must be publicly available for at least one year.
Please see below every Child Safeguarding Practice Review published by the NCASP in the past 12 months.
Links to CSPRs published across the wider region:
National review into the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson:
The Independent Review of Children's Social Care:
NSPCC work with local safeguarding partners nationally to ensure that learning from case reviews can be accessed and shared at a local, regional and national level.
Click here to let us know if you found the content of the page helpful