Child Safeguarding Rapid Review Process OMG

Child Safeguarding Rapid Review Process OMG

What is a Child Safeguarding Rapid Review?

It is the multiagency review of a case that is carried out in response to a serious child safeguarding incident

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (CSPRP)[i] requires safeguarding partners to promptly undertake a 15 day rapid review on all cases that meet the criteria and are notified as serious incidents.

What is a ‘serious incident’?

Serious incident cases are those in which:

• abuse or neglect of a child is known or suspected and
• the child has died or been seriously harmed

Serious harm includes (but is not limited to) serious and/or long-term impairment of a child’s mental health or intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development. It should also cover impairment of physical health. When making decisions, judgment should be exercised in cases where impairment is likely to be long-term, even if this is not immediately certain. Even if a child recovers, including from a one-off incident, serious harm may still have occurred.

Who is responsible for notification to the CSPRP?

When the above criteria is met the Local Authority must notify the CSPRP and local safeguarding partners within five working days of becoming aware that an incident and/or death has occurred. 

The Local Authority must also notify the Secretary of State and Ofsted where a child in care has died, whether or not abuse or neglect is known or suspected.

What is the purpose of the Rapid Review?

Following notification to the CSPRP, the NYSCP Business Unit instigate a 15 day rapid review of the case to enable partners to;

• Gather the facts about the case, as far as they can be readily established at the time
• Establish whether there is any immediate action needed to ensure a child’s safety
• Consider the potential for identifying improvements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
• Recommend to the three statutory partners what steps they should take next, which includes making a decision as to whether or not a Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) should be undertaken using the criteria set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)[ii].

The NYSCP Manager also notifies the NYSCP Executive (North Yorkshire Police (NYP), North Yorkshire Council (NYC) and Humber and North Yorkshire (ICB) and notifies the Chair and Independent Scrutineer of the NYSCP.

Who undertakes the rapid review?

The rapid review is undertaken by North Yorkshire Safeguarding Practice Review Group (NY SPRG) which consists of named representatives from key organisations responsible for children and young people’s services in North Yorkshire. Additional participants are only invited if appropriate. 

Timeline of the rapid review

The NY SPRG convene an Initial Case Discussion Meeting to agree the key lines of enquiry (KLOE), develop the rapid review timeline and decided which organisations to request information from.

Information is requested from organisations via the NY SPRG ‘Form 2’ which contains the KLOE’s.  NY SPRG members and any additional NYSCP Partner leads the gathering of the information which is returned to the NYSCP Business Unit for collation.

The collated information is shared with the NY SPRG ahead of the Rapid Review Meeting. 

The NY SPRG convene a Rapid Review Meeting where they review and discuss the available information.  The NY SPRG Chair and the NYSCP Business Unit then finalise the Rapid Review Report which should include whether NY SPRG recommend a further review is needed.

The outcomes are shared and agreement sought from the NYSCP Executive Strategic Partners (NYP, NYC and ICB) and notified to the Executive Chair and Independent Scrutineer of the NYSCP.

On agreement by the NYSCP Executive Leads for the three statutory partners (NYP, NYC and ICB), a copy of the final report is sent to the CSPRP which includes a recommendation about whether a LCSPR is required and whether the cases raises issues which are complex or of national importance such that a national review many be appropriate. 

The CSPRP

On receipt of the information from the rapid review the CSPRP will decide whether it is appropriate to commission a national review of the case.  They will consider if the case;

• Highlights or may highlight improvements needed to safeguard and promote the welfare of children including those improvements have been previously made.
• Raise or may raise issues requiring legislative change or changes to guidance issued under or father to any enactment
• Highlights of may highlight recurrent themes in the safeguarding and promotion of the welfare of children.
• Significant harm or death to a child educated otherwise than at school
• Where a child is seriously harmed or dies whilst in the care of the local authority, or while on (or recently removed from) a child protection plan.
• Cases which involve a range of types of abuse.
• Where the case may raise an issue relating to safeguarding or promoting the welfare of children in institutional settings.

The CSPRP have 15 working days to respond to safeguarding partners following receipt of the rapid review, where they will consider if;

• A national review is appropriate
• Further information is required to support their decision making.
• Whether they agree and support the outcomes and recommendations made by safeguarding partners within the rapid review.

Once a response is received, the NYSCP Business Unit will share it with the Chair of NY SPRG, NYP, NYC ICB, NYSCP Independent Scrutineer and NY SPRG membership.

Post Rapid Review

The NY SPRG will then convene a Post Rapid Review Meeting within 10 working days to review and consider

• The response from the CSPRP
• Formulate the next steps
• Parental engagement

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[i] Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[i] Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 (publishing.service.gov.uk)