Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (CSPRs)
The responsibility for how the system learns the lessons from serious child safeguarding incidents lies at a national level with the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (the Panel) and at local level with the safeguarding partners.
The Panel is responsible for identifying and overseeing the review of serious child safeguarding cases which, in its view, raise issues that are complex or of national importance.
Sometimes a child suffers a serious injury or death as a result of child abuse or neglect. Understanding not only what happened but also why things happened as they did can help to improve our response in the future. Understanding the impact that the actions of different organisations and agencies had on the child’s life, and on the lives of his or her family, and whether or not different approaches or actions may have resulted in a different outcome, is essential to improve our collective knowledge. It is in this way that we can make good judgments about what might need to change at a local or national level. (Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023)
Click the link to view Brief Guide to Statutory Reviews by VKPP, February 2025.
The purpose of this document is to provide information about:
• The types of statutory reviews that exist which are linked to vulnerability.
• The governance related to reviews and the key agencies involved.
• Guidance on the process of conducting and writing reviews.
• Information about where review repositories, if available, are located.
Click the link to view Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel: Guidance for Safeguarding Partners , June 2025.
This guidance is for local safeguarding partners. It applies to all local authorities, integrated care boards (ICB), police and other organisations who have responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, with particular reference to education and childcare settings. It is relevant to all strategic and senior leaders as well as frontline practitioners involved in child safeguarding, and the relevant inspectorates. The guidance is pertinent to those involved in local child safeguarding practice reviews (LCSPR) including reviewers, review panel members, and those responsible for decision-making around reviews.
The Purpose of a Child Safeguarding Practice Review +
The purpose of reviews of serious child safeguarding cases, at both local and national level, is to identify improvements to be made to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Reviews should seek to prevent or reduce the risk of recurrence of similar incidents. They are not conducted to hold individuals, organisations or agencies to account, as there are other processes for that purpose, including through employment law and disciplinary procedures, professional regulation and, in exceptional cases, criminal proceedings.
When are Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews undertaken? +
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023) defines serious child safeguarding cases as those in which abuse of neglect of a child is known or suspected and the child has died or been seriously harmed.
Safeguarding partners are required, by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review and Relevant Agency (England) Regulations 2018, to consider certain criteria and guidance when determining whether to carry out a LCSPR. They must take into account whether the case highlights, or may highlight;
- Improvements needed to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, including where those improvements have been previously identified;
- Recurrent themes in the safeguarding and promotion of the welfare of children;
- Concerns regarding two or more organisations or agencies working together effectively to safeguard and promote the welfare of children; and / or
- Is one which the National Panel have considered and concluded that a local review may be more appropriate.
They should also have regard to the following circumstances:
- Where the safeguarding partners have cause for concern about the actions of a single agency;
- Where there has been no agency involvement this gives the safeguarding partners cause for concern;
- Where more than one local authority, police area or clinical commissioning group is involved, including in cases where families have moved around;
- Where the case may raise issues relating to safeguarding or promoting the welfare of children in institutional settings.
Meeting the criteria does not mean a LCSPR must automatically be undertaken, it make be that an alternative learning review is considered.
Timescales +
The National Panel have provided the following timescales within their guidance;
- Notifications to the National Panel of incidents meeting the criteria should be made within 5 working days of becoming aware of the incident.
- Rapid Review reports should be submitted to the National Panel within 15 working days (National Panel will advise of the submission date after the notification has been made).
- Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews should be completed no later than six months from the date of the decision to initiate a review.
Once concluded reports and learning briefs relating to the reviews will be published here for a period of 12 months after their date of publication.
Local reports and Learning Briefs +
National Panel Reports +