Serious case reviews

The purpose of a Serious Case Review (SCR) is to 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. Through this process we will identify clearly what those lessons are, how they will be acted upon and what is expected to change as a result.

As a consequence, it is expected that the SCR process will help us to improve interagency working and better safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Serious case reviews are not inquiries into how a child died or who is culpable. That is a matter for Coroners and criminal courts, respectively, to determine as appropriate.

The authority to conduct a serious case review is described in Government guidance. For reference see Working Together to Safeguard Children, HM Government 2015. At the end of each serious case review a final report is agreed by the Hillingdon Safeguarding Children Partnership and published.

The purpose of a serious case review is to:

• Establish what lessons are to be learnt from the case about the way in which local professionals and organisations work individually and together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children;
• Identify clearly what those lessons are both within and between agencies, how and within what timescales they will be acted upon, and what is expected to change as result.
• Improve intra- and inter-agency working and better safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

In order to ensure that Hillingdon is a safer place for children to live agencies must ensure that the learning from serious case reviews is embedded into practice. Any review should enable local partner agencies to be clear about their responsibilities, to learn from experience and improve services as a result.

Downloads:

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  Serious Case Review Child X Final Report

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  Hillingdon Safeguarding Children Partnership Response to Child X Serious Case Review