Article: Child Death Review Process
When a child up to the age of 18 dies, there are certain
processes that have to be followed to help us understand the
reasons for the child's death, and enable us to address the
possible needs of other children and family members in the
household. Developing a better understanding of child deaths, and
considering lessons we can learn from each case, helps us develop
more effective prevention strategies for safeguarding children's
welfare in the future.
Since 1 April 2008 all Local Safeguarding Children Boards in
England and Wales have established a Child Death Overview Panel and
associated Rapid Response Process to meet the requirements
of Chapter 5 of the government's statutory guidance
Working Together to Safeguard Children
2013.
Rapid response involves a group of key professionals coming
together to undertake an enquiry and evaluation of every unexpected
death of a child, and subsequently to provide support or ensure
that the family are already being supported in their
loss.
The Child Death Overview Panel collects and analyses information
about each death to identify:
- cases that may require a serious case review
- matters of concern affecting the safety and welfare of other
children
- any wider public health or safety concerns arising from a
particular death, or a pattern of deaths.
The Panel, which revised its
Terms of Reference in January 2014, does not take
over from the work of the coroner, local safeguarding children
board, police, health, social care or any other agency undertaking
investigation of serious untoward incidents.
The Government has published
data on completed Child Death Reviews over the
previous four years
Useful documents
Barnsley Safeguarding Children Board Policies and
Procedures are available
here