1.5.1 Death or Serious Injury to a Child (including Children in Care) |
SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER
This procedure outlines the steps to be taken in the event of the death of or serious injury to a child living in the community (where there are suspicions of abuse or neglect) and the death of/serious injury to any Child in Care (whether or not abuse or neglect is known or suspected Looked After).
These steps are in addition to any Rapid Review or Child Safeguarding Practice Review which may be commissioned and the work of the Child Death Overview Panel.
This procedure uses the expression Designated Manager (Death of a Child). This Designated Manager must also be notified in circumstances where there is a serious injury to a child.
AMENDMENT
In September 2020 this chapter was updated throughout to reflect Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) and the process for reporting a serious incident to the Panel via the Child Safeguarding Incident Notification System.
Contents
- Death of or Serious Injury to a Child in the Community where there are Suspicions of Abuse or Neglect
- Death of, or Serious Injury to, a Child in Care
- Needs of Social Workers / Team / Manager / Carer(s)
1. Death of or Serious Injury of a Child in the Community where there are Suspicions of Abuse or Neglect
Local Authorities in England must notify the national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (the Panel) within 5 working days of becoming aware of a serious incident.
A serious incident which should be reported is one where the local authority knows or suspects that a child has been abused or neglected and:
- The child dies (including suspected suicide) or is seriously harmed in the local authority’s area; or
- While normally resident in the Local Authority’s area, the child dies or is seriously harmed outside England.
The process for reporting a serious incident to the Panel via the Child Safeguarding Incident Notification System is set out in the following: Report A Serious Child Safeguarding Incident (GOV.UK). The Panel will share all notifications with Ofsted and the DfE.
When a serious incident occurs, the following tasks are also required:
1.1 | The child's social worker or, if not previously known to Children's Social Care, the duty worker receiving the information will:
|
1.2 | The line manager will immediately inform the Designated Manager (Death of a Child) by telephone and provide follow up information in writing by email as soon as possible afterwards. |
1.3 | The Designated Manager (Death or Serious Injury to a Child) will:
|
1.4 | Before the report to Ofsted is submitted the contents entered must be reviewed by the Designated Manager. The form requires a range of information and is set out clearly in sections. Before you start you will need:
A copy of the completed form should be saved to the child’s electronic record. In urgent situations, or where publicity is anticipated, the Deputy Director or Director of Children’s Services should telephone Ofsted on 0300 123 1231 and then complete the form. Email mailbox.nationalreviewpanel@education.gov.uk if you have any queries. |
1.5 | Where a Child Safeguarding Practice Review is to be held, this will be in accordance with Working Together to Safeguard Children, Chapter 4: Improving child protection and safeguarding practice and the City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures. |
2. Death of, or Serious Injury to, a Child in Care
Where information comes to the notice of the local authority concerning the death of or serious injury to a child in care, the following tasks are required:
2.1 | The child's social worker will:
|
2.2 | The line manager will:
|
2.3 | The Designated Manager (Death of a Child) will:
|
2.4 | The report to Ofsted is the same as the previously outlined online report above. In the event of a Child Safeguarding Practice Review and/or internal management review being required, the steps outlined in Section 3, Needs of Social Workers / Team / Manager / Carer(s) should be followed. |
3. Needs of Social Workers / Team / Managers / Carer(s)
During the implementation of this procedure consideration must be given to the needs of those staff and carers involved in the case, including who will provide them with information and or support. This should be discussed and agreed by the relevant managers and head of service, on a case by case basis.
The impact of a child death on family support worker/social workers/practice, or service unit as well as the manager, service manager and carer(s) needs to be addressed in terms of:
- The need for counselling for those involved;
- Consider impact on carers’ capacity to continue to care for other children still in placement, and any associated additional support needs;
- The manner in which such support is offered;
- The provision of access to legal and professional advice about the on-going conduct of the case;
- The provision of a clear explanation of the process of a Child Safeguarding Practice Review;
- Support for staff in the event of Police investigation/interviews;
- The need to inform and keep informed any relevant Trades Unions;
- The need for team debriefing whilst observing confidentiality. This must be discussed with the Service and Group Manager;
- The need to acknowledge that a child death can impact on the productivity of any team and its ability to function; and the need to agree strategies to monitor and manage workloads;
- The need to be aware of the potential for a child death to impact on workers’ and managers’ capacity to make certain decisions, or impact on the quality of decision making, and the need to provide additional support around this for as long as is deemed necessary.
End