Introduction to Safeguarding Reviews

Working Together 2018 has clarified revised statutory requirements and is explicit regarding the purpose of Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews - to improve child protection and safeguarding practice:

“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. Learning is relevant locally, but it has a wider importance for all practitioners working with children and families and for the government and policy-makers. 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 to hold individuals, organisations or agencies to account, as there are other processes for that purpose… “

Whilst the responsibility for learning from serious child safeguarding incidents lies at a national level with the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (the National Panel), at local level it is the local safeguarding partners who are responsible for making arrangements to identify and review serious child safeguarding cases and to ensure that the learning is appropriately shared.

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review - panel guidance for safeguarding partners outlines the process and practice for undertaking Reviews in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Our local guidance for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly can be found here.

A seven minute briefing guide to the Rapid Review process can be found here.

Any agency may refer a case to the Rapid Review Panel for consideration (Rapid Review Referral form). Strategic partners will agree whether the circumstances reach the Working Together criteria for Rapid Review and if so, partners will be asked to provide relevant information to inform the RR discussion.