serious case review

serious case review

A case review which occurs in the context of the UK Department of Health’s Working Together to Safeguard Children framework, which is intended to
• Establish whether lessons can be learned from the case about the way in which local professionals and agencies work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children;
• Identify what those lessons are, how they will be acted on and what is expected to change as a result;
• Improve inter-agency working and better safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
Reasons for conducting Serious Case Reviews
• A child dies (including by suicide), and abuse or neglect is known or suspected to be a factor in the death; or
• A child sustains a potentially life-threatening injury or serious and permanent impairment of health and development 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
• The case gives rise to concerns about inter-agency working to protect children from harm.