Serious Case Reviews
Important lessons are learned from the detailed review of cases where children have died or received a life-threatening injury due to abuse or neglect. Bedfordshire LSCB conducts formal reviews of these and other serious child abuse cases in accordance with central government guidance contained in Working Together to Safeguard Children, Chapter 8 page.
The Executive Serious Case Review Panel (ESCRP) oversees Serious Case Reviews (SCRs), with a membership of very experienced senior managers drawn from LSCB agencies. ESCRP members are independent of any involvement in the case and has access to any expert knowledge required.
Executive summaries of Bedfordshire Serious Case Reviews
Executive summaries from other areas
Child Death Overview Panel
From the 1st April 2008, all LSCBs in England and Wales are required to establish new processes for looking into the circumstances when a child dies. These new responsibilities are laid out in Chapter 7 of the Government's statutory guidance "Working Together to Safeguard Children" (2006). The guidance sets out two seperate, but related processes. These are:
- a rapid response by a group of key professionals who come together for the purpose of enquiring into and evaluating each unexpected death of a child,
- an overview of all child deaths in the LSCB area.
What is a Child Death Overview Panel?
Child Death Overview Panels (CDOPs) are responsible for reviewing information on all child deaths, and are accountable to the LSCB chairs. The LSCB has responsibility for reviewing the deaths of all children resident in its geographical area and the establishing of a Child Death Overview Panel.
The functions of the CDOP:
- collating and analysing information about each death with a view to identifying any case that requires a serious case review; any matters of concern affecting the safety and welfare of children in the area and any wider public health or safety concerns arising from a particular death or patterns of deaths: and
- putting in place procedures for ensuring that there is a co-ordinated response by the authority, its LSCB partners and other persons to an unexpected death.
CDOP procedures and all relevant documents are listed below:
Bedfordshire and Luton LSCB procedure Child Death Overview and Rapid Response arrangements with include
Safer Recruitment and Selection in the Children's Workforce
Section 11 of the 2004 Children Act places a duty on all partnership organisations to have 'robust and recruitment and vetting arrangements in place to prevent unsuitable people from working with children'.
Experience shows the importance of organisations that provide services to children, young people and families operating recruitment and selection procedures that help to deter or reject or identify people who pose a risk to children or who are otherwise unsuited to work with them. The LSCB has developed recruitment and selection procedures which will help to effectively safeguard children.
The BLSCB has commissioned specific 1 day training Courses for all those who recruit staff or volunteers to work with children and families in Bedfordshire. Please see the training calendar for further information regarding dates and venues.
Child Protection Leaflets
Bedfordshire LSCB policies
NICE guidelines - When to suspect Child Maltreatment - for Health professionals
