Serious Case Reviews
A Serious Case Review is held when a child has died (including suicide) and abuse or neglect is known or suspected to be a factor in the child's death.
Reviews may also be held in other circumstances:
When a child has been seriously injured through abuse or neglect; or
a child has been subjected to particularly serious sexual abuse; or
a parent has been murdered and a homicide review is being initiated; or
a child has been killed by a parent with a mental illness; or
a case gives rise to concerns about inter-agency working to protect children form harm.
Serious Case Reviews are not undertaken to apportion blame. The government provides advice and guidance to all the agencies that work with children, about how to conduct a Serious Case Review.
Chapter 8 of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010 sets out the purpose and process of serious case reviews. The purpose of Serious Case Reviews carried out under this guidance is to:
Establish whether there are lessons to be learnt from the case about the way in which local professionals and organisations work both individually and together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
Identify clearly what those lessons are, how they will be shared and acted on effectively, and what is expected to change as a result; and...
As a consequence, improve inter-agency working and better safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
Hartlepool Safeguarding Children Board is responsible for undertaking any Serious Case Reviews. It is the Serious Case Review Panel that considers whether to undertake a Serious Case Review.
An executive summary of each serious case review is made available online to the public. The content is anonymised in order to protect the confidentiality of relevant family members and others. The LSCB has a responsibility to provide relevant information to those with a legitimate interest.
Learning the lessons nationally
The DCSF is committed to learning from the lessons identified by serious case reviews nationally and aims to publish biennial reports summarising what these are.
Useful documents
Learning from Past Experience - A Review of Serious Case Reviews
Improving safeguarding practice: Study of serious case reviews 2001 - 2003
Analysing child deaths and serious Injury through abuse and child neglect: what can we learn? A biennial analysis of serious case reviews 2003 - 2005