Bedfordshire Local Safeguarding Children Board

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Bedfordshire Local Safeguarding Children Board

• LSCB Inter-Agency Protocol Summary
• Serious Case Review Process

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This summary is provided to help safeguarding
children practitioners gain a quick understanding
of the protocol. The summary complements the
protocol which must still be read and understood
by all relevant safeguarding children
practitioners and managers. The protocol
itself is the source document and must be
referred to at all times.
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Purpose

• Establish whether there are lessons to be learned
  from the case about the way in which local
  professionals and agencies work together to
  safeguard children
• Identify clearly what those lessons are, how they
  will be acted upon, and what is expected to
  change as a result and
• as a consequence, to improve inter-agency working
  and better safeguard children
• Serious case reviews are not enquiries into how
  a child died or who is culpable that is a matter
  for determination by Coroners and Criminal Courts
  respectively

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Core Membership incompatible with conducting
single agency management reviews

• Designated Doctor
• Designated Nurse
• Senior Social Care Manager
• Senior Education Officer

• Police Superintendent
• Legal Advisor
• LSCB Business Manager
• LSCB Chair

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Criteria for SCR

• Always when a child dies and abuse or neglect is
  suspected
• Usually where there are concerns about
  inter-agency working and
• A child has received a life threatening injury or
  has been seriously abused, or
• A parent has been murdered and a homicide review
  is being conducted, or
• A parent has been killed in a domestic abuse
  situation

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Decision making

• Based on a number of considerations in the
  guidance, SCR Panel will decide whether to
• Instigate a serious cases review
• Instigate an Interagency management review
• Instigate a near miss review
• Agree no further action and discuss the reasons
  for this with the referrer.

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Process

• Notification to LSCB on CPC1 same day
• SCRP meets within 1 week. If SCR
• LSCB notifies OFSTED
• Chief officers informed and case records secured
• SCRP scoping meeting / agency reviews initiated
  and report writers briefed
• Independent overview report writer appointed
• Draft overview report discussed
• Executive summary and media strategy agreed
• Report signed off (copies to Ofsted, SHA and
  DfES), executive summary published, action plan
  initiated

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Where SCR Not Initiated

• Interagency Management Review
• No Independent Reviewer
• No formal notifications or publications
• Succinct report
• Quicker process but still high quality
• Interagency Near Miss Review
• As above but can be initiated for less serious
  cases

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General

• Confidentiality and storage
• Accountability and disclosure
• Learning lessons locally
• SCR across LSCB areas
• Chronologies
• Blame