National and Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews
Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews and Briefings
The purpose of a Local Safeguarding Child Practice Review (LSCPR) is for agencies and individuals to learn lessons to improve the way in which they work both individually and collectively to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. It is not an inquiry into how a child died or was seriously harmed, or into who is culpable. These are matters for coroners and criminal courts, respectively, to determine as appropriate.
The Children Act 2004 (as amended by the Children and Social Work Act 2017) places a duty on local authorities to notify serious incidents to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.
National Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews and Briefings
The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel holds the key responsibility for how the system learns from serious child safeguarding incidents at a national level. The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel meets regularly to decide whether to commission national reviews of child safeguarding cases that are notified to the panel. The panel’s decisions are based on the possibility of identifying improvements from cases which it views as complex or of national importance.
National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel Briefing on Children in Elective Home Education
The National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel provided a briefing paper about the safeguarding of children in elective home education. The briefing outlines common themes and patterns identified in reviews where children died or were seriously harmed while being electively home educated. The review outlines that over half of the children in this study were previously known to children’s social care; of those who were withdrawn from school or had never attended school, health practitioners were often the main professionals who had knowledge of the child before the serious harm or death occurred. Therefore, they outline that it is crucial that effective multi-agency working is at the heart of local responses to help and protect this group of children. The Panel recommends that safeguarding partners assure themselves about the effectiveness of their local systems to help safeguard children who are electively home educated. Learning from reviews highlights the importance of ensuring there is good safeguarding training on offer for elective home education teams within local authorities, and also that these teams are well connected with other children’s services. Therefore they suggest that safeguarding partnerships take appropriate action to make sure that all professionals understand their roles and responsibilities with respect of this group of children.
National Review into Child Sexual Abuse within the Family Environment
This comprehensive national review, published by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, investigates the experiences of children who were sexually abused by a family member. The review analysed 136 serious child safeguarding incidents and 41 related serious case reviews (SCRs) and local child safeguarding practice reviews (LCSPRs). It explores the specific challenges in identifying, assessing, and responding to child sexual abuse within the family environment. The report sets out key findings and recommendations for national government and local safeguarding partners to enhance the protection of children at risk. It underscores the necessity for improved multi-agency collaboration and information sharing to more effectively identify and respond to abuse. The review also highlights the importance of specialised training for professionals to recognise and address signs of child sexual abuse. Additionally, it calls for better support systems for victims and their families to ensure their safety and well-being. The recommendations aim to create a more robust framework for safeguarding children at risk of sexual abuse within their families.
