Tameside SCB

Building on the learning from serious case reviews:A two-year analysis of child protection database notifications 2007-2009

This analysis is briefer than previous biennial reviews since it has been undertaken during a period of transition when new ways of carrying out national analysis to prompt better learning are being considered.

Some findings from the latest analysis:

• The characteristics of the children, and their families, are very similar to those. found in the earlier biennial reviews; there was, for example, a similar proportion of children with child protection plans, and a similar age range.
• Approximately half of all serious case reviews are in relation to babies under one year of age, underlining the importance of effective universal services provision for young children, for example health visitors and early-years services such as Sure Start Children‟s Centres.
• A quarter of the reviews concerned older young people who are likely to pose a risk to themselves and/or others, and whose needs are not always recognised, or met.
• Little difference was noted between those notifications for serious injury which became a serious case review and those which did not (based on the information available to the researchers).
• While more than three quarters of the children were killed or harmed at home, just over one in five incidents (21%) took place in a "community context‟. The incident that prompts a serious case review is not always preceded bypractice failings.

The authors note that the  analysis of the brief information contained in the child protection database notifications provides little context to each case and tends to lose the reality of the children‟s experiences and the human tragedy that underlines each of these serious case reviews. For this reason the research team have, additionally, carried out a  qualitative analysis about the children and young people who died or were seriously harmed not at home but at a community level.

for more information about the new SCR analysis documents from the DfE click here

Neglect is an area of safeguarding that has more recently become a focus of research. A good example is Neglect: research evidence to inform practice (Dr Patricia Moran, Action for Children 2009)

It covers several areas of interest to practitioners:

• Outcomes for neglected children
• Contexts and causes of neglect
• Assessment of neglect
• Intervening in neglect cases
• General interventions for ‘high risk’ children and families

Action for Children has a series of resources about neglect in Wake up to Neglect

Also in 2009, the DCSF (now DfE) published Noticing and Helping the Neglected Child - Literature Review  

This systematic review of the literature examined what is known about the ways in which children and families directly and indirectly signal their need for help, and to what extent practitioners are equipped to recognise and respond to the indications that a childs needs are likely to be, or are being neglected. The review looked at whether the evidence suggests that professional response could be swifter. Read it here:

Attachments:

File	File size
Noticing Neglect 2009	234 Kb

A new approach to child protection for older children is urgently needed in order to ensure their safeguarding, according to a three year study, published today by The Children's Society, the NSPCC and the University of York and funded by the Big Lottery.

Safeguarding Young People found that the needs of 11-17 year olds were not always met by child protection processes which are more geared to protecting younger children. The study found that a lack of resources in Children’s Social Care Services can negatively affect older children, whereas younger children in similar circumstances may be prioritised.

At the TSCB Annual conference in February 2010, Michael Murphy from the University of Salford gave an insightful and challenging presentation on the subject of Risk and Serious Case Reviews

The slides from the presentation can be accessed here.

Attachments:

File	File size
Risk & SCRs - A Critical Look	76 Kb