Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews

Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (CSPRs) are conducted in cases where abuse or neglect of a child is known or suspected and either:

• a child has died or;
• a child has been seriously harmed and there are concerns about how organisations or professionals worked together to protect the child.

Purpose of CSPRs

The purpose of serious child safeguarding case reviews, at local and national level, is to identify improvements that can be made to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Learning is relevant locally but has a wider importance for all practitioners working with children and families and for the government and policymakers. Understanding whether there are systemic issues, and whether and how policy and practice need to change, is critical to the system being dynamic and self-improving.

Reviews should seek to prevent or reduce the risk of recurrence of similar incidents. They are not conducted in order to establish or apportion blame to individuals, organisations, or agencies.

Responsibilities for CSPRs

The responsibility for how the system learns the lessons from serious child safeguarding incidents lies at a national level with the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (the Panel) and at local level with the safeguarding partners.

The Panel is responsible for identifying and overseeing the review of serious child safeguarding cases which, in its view, raise issues that are complex or of national importance. The Panel will also maintain oversight of the system of national and local reviews and how effectively it is operating.

Locally, safeguarding partners must:

• identify and review serious child safeguarding cases which, in their opinion, raise issues of importance in relation to their area

• commission and oversee the review of those cases if they consider it appropriate

CSPR Process

Once aware of a Child Safeguarding Serious Incident (in which abuse or neglect is known or suspected, and a child dies or is seriously harmed), the local authority must submit a Child Safeguarding Serious Incident Notification to the Panel using the Child Safeguarding Incident Notification System. This notification must take place within 5 working days of becoming aware of the incident. The duty to notify to the Panel sits with the local authority.

Rapid Reviews must be conducted whenever the local authority submits a Child Safeguarding Serious Incident Notification to the Panel. However, other safeguarding partners should inform the BCSSP of cases where it is considered that the criteria for a review has been met.

A Rapid Review needs to be completed and sent to the Panel within 15 days of a case being notified to the Panel.

Following the Rapid Review, a recommendation for a local or national Child Safeguarding Practice Review will be made to the Panel.

Referral Process

If you believe that a case meets the criteria for a CSPR, please complete a CSPR Notification Form and email to BanesBCSSP@gov.uk. You will need to demonstrate how the criteria are fulfilled and provide as much information as possible to support this.

Before submitting the referral, please ensure you have discussed the notification with senior managers in your agency.

If you need any further support, please contact the BCSSP Business Unit at BanesBCSSP@gov.uk

Published Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020