The Safeguarding Practice Review Process

The Safeguarding Practice Review Group is tasked to:

• Identify serious child safeguarding incidents where a review would raise issues of importance in Croydon
• Commission an oversee reviews for those cases they consider it appropriate
• Ensure that action plans are drawn up in response to reviews, and that reviews are diligently followed to enhance processes and improve outcomes for children and young people.

Each SPRG member is tasked to:

• Take responsibility for the timely completion of the Rapid Review Information Request/IMRs/other documents required by the review coordinator. The forms may be completed by a relevant professional from their organisation, but the SPRG member is responsible for making contact with that professional as well as the quality and standard of the report.
• Liaising with the professionals from their organisation, who had contact with the child or family subject to the review, to ensure feedback about the purpose and outcomes of any review.
• Liaising with relevant professionals within their organisation, to determine whether they should attend SPRG Panels or other meetings (agreement from the Chair of these meetings will need to be sought by the coordinator)
• Informing their organisation’s press office and ensuring any communication about publication of any review is shared with their organisation.
• Prepare for all meetings by reading papers in advance and, by sending papers or reports in accordance with deadlines set by the coordinators. Attend SPRG/RR meetings or ensure a proxy of similar seniority attends in their place.
• Follow up actions arising from meetings to be addressed between meetings and in accordance with deadlines set by coordinators.
• Be involved in safeguarding learning and practice improvement,
• Take responsibility to influence their own agency/service safeguarding learning approach and implementation
• To report on the sharing of/impact of learning in their organisation 

Membership & Quoracy

Membership will be formed of representatives of the three statutory safeguarding partners plus representation from other relevant agencies as follows:

Quoracy is achieved by the attendance of: Croydon Children’s Social Care, Croydon Health (ICB), & the Police.

Frequency & Standing Items

• Frequency - The Safeguarding Practice Review Group will meet six times a year / bi-monthly. 
• Standing Items include:
  •  Summary of Reviews
  •  Partnership updates
  • Confirmation of previous minutes & actions. 
  • The SPRG Meeting Schedule (circulated with papers)
• The Chair is rotated, agreed in advance as per the Meeting Schedule
• These terms of reference should be updated every 2 years.

The SPRG has oversight of:

• Stage 3 and above Escalations 
• Case of Concern (CoC)
• Rapid Review (RR)
• Safeguarding Practice Review (SPR)

The L&D Project Officer produces a bi-monthly report which summarises all reviews, the current progress as well as provides data to support greater understanding of the themes and features of safeguarding reviews. This oversight will influence the training offered by the CSCP.

The SPRG will agree the methodology to be used for each review, this decision may be influenced by:

• Known areas of improvement needed, including where those improvements have been previously identified.
• Re-occurring themes in safeguarding and promotion of the welfare of children.
• Concerns regarding effectiveness of agencies working together and associated procedures.
• Concern about the actions of a single agency and relevant procedures.
• Where there has been no agency involvement, and this gives safeguarding partners cause for concern.
• Where more than one local authority, police area, or ICB is involved, particularly where families have moved around.
• Recommendations from the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel to undertake a review.

The CSCP conduct statutory and non-statutory reviews depending on the severity of harm and the likelihood of eliciting new learning to support better practice and outcomes for children. 

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The Escalation Policy is designed to help professionals who encounter disagreements about a course of action. It provides a framework for managing necessary conversations and escalating unresolved issues. You can find the full policy here: CSCP Escalation and Resolution Policy 

The CSCP tracks all escalations that reach Stage 3. Whether the matter is resolved at this stage or not, it is essential that a copy of the escalation is sent to CSCP@croydon.gov.uk.

Escalation flow chart: 

Document

cscp_escalation_stages.odp (ODP, 136.12KB)

This section outlines the steps for managing a Case of Concern, including how agencies can initiate the process by completing the relevant referral form and the potential actions that follow. Additionally, this section covers the procedures for SINs, Rapid Reviews (RRs), and SPRs, providing guidance for professionals involved in child safeguarding reviews.

Case of Concern

In situations where the criteria for a Significant Incident Notification (SIN) or a Safeguarding Practice Review (SPR) are not met, but there remains a need for a multi-agency review to identify and share key learnings, the case can be classified as a Case of Concern. The SPRG will determine the best approach for achieving learning from the case. This is typically a short, focused review process.

The Case of Concern report form: 

• case_of_concern_referral_form_sep_2024.doc (111.5 KB)

Any agency can complete the form and send to CSCP@croydon.gov.uk which will be reviewed by the CSCP Business Manager, who may seek advice from partner agencies & the Independent Scrutineer before either:

1. Offer advice as to how the matter should be progressed outside of the CSCP Review Process
2. Scheduling for a discussion at the next appropriate CSCP meeting (usually SPRG).

The SPRG will consider the request and agree on the best approach to achieve learning and which agencies need to be involved. This could include an internal file review and case discussion, an appreciative inquiry, or a review of policies and procedures. Once this work is completed, the outcomes will be shared with the SPRG and Learning.

Serious Incident Notification (SIN)

A SIN is a statutory duty on the local authority when certain criteria are met:

16C (1) of the Children Act 2004 (as amended by the Children and Social Work Act 2017) states: 

Where a local authority in England knows or suspects that a child has been abused or neglected, the local authority must notify the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel if: 

(a) the child dies or is seriously harmed in the local authority's area 

(b) while normally resident in the local authority's area, the child dies or is seriously harmed outside England

The death of a Care leavers under the age of 25 must also be notified, this notification does not automatically trigger a Rapid Review and may require liaison with the Croydon Adult Safeguarding Board (CSAB). Though the responsibility to notify rests on the local authority, it is for all three safeguarding partners to agree which incidents should be notified in their local area. 

SINs should be notified to the National Panel within 5 days of the LA becoming aware of the incident that led to the child death or serious harm.

Rapid Review (RR)

If a SIN is reported for a child under 18, there must be a Rapid Review within 15 working days. A SIN always results in Rapid Review. 

The purpose of the Rapid Review is to:

• gather the facts about the case, as far as they can be readily established 
• discuss whether any immediate action is needed to ensure children’s safety and share any learning appropriately 
• consider the potential for identifying improvements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children 
• decide what steps they should take next, including whether to undertake a child safeguarding practice review (SPR)

Even if the criteria for a SPR are met, commissioning one is not mandatory. The Rapid Review Process is coordinated by the CSCP Business Team. Professionals are expected to complete the required template within the specified timescales, attend the Rapid Review meeting, and ensure the learning is shared with their respective agencies.

Safeguarding Practice Review (SPR)

SPRs are about promoting and sharing information about improvements, both within the area and potentially beyond, so the safeguarding partners must publish the report, unless they consider it inappropriate to do so. 

The CSCP Business Team will co-ordinate the SPR process. Professionals will be required to complete relevant templates, attend panel meetings specific to the review and share the learning with their agencies.