Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews
Why do we do reviews?
Working Together states; “The purpose of reviews of serious child safeguarding cases, at both local and national level, is to identify improvements to be made to safeguard and promote the welfare of children”.
What triggers a review?
A review is triggered by a Serious Incident or a concerning situation. Serious child safeguarding cases are those in which:
- abuse or neglect of a child is known or suspected and
- the child has died or been seriously harmed*
Any serious incident generates a notification to Ofsted and a Rapid Review.
How is the decision made to undertake a review?
Once Ofsted has been notified of the Serious Incident the WSP Joint Case Review and Group then meets to do a Rapid Review and considers if the criteria for a Child Safeguarding Practice Review is met.
This decision must be made within 15 working days of the notification.
*Serious harm includes (but is not limited to) serious and/or long-term impairment of a child’s mental health or intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development. It should also cover impairment of physical health. When safeguarding partnerships are making decisions, judgment should be exercised in cases where impairment is likely to be long-term, even if this is not immediately certain.
Child Safeguarding Practice Review Reports
Serious Case Review Reports
The national review into the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson: Publication date June 2022
In May 2022, the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel published a review looking at the circumstances leading up to the deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson in 2020.
The review explores why the public services and systems designed to protect Arthur and Star were not able to do so. It also looks at wider issues and evidence from serious safeguarding incidents reviewed by the Panel in the last three years.
This review sets out recommendations and findings for national government and local safeguarding partners to protect children at risk of serious harm.
It examines the circumstances leading up to the deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson and considers whether their murders reflect wider national issues in child protection.
The Black Country Child Death Overview Panel has been set up by Child Death Review partners across the region.
The purpose of the Black Country CDOP is to ensure that a review of all child deaths (excluding both those babies who are stillborn and planned terminations of pregnancy carried out within the law) up to the age of 18 years, normally resident in Black Country, irrespective of the place of their death.
Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) can be found on our Adults page