Case Review Group Terms of Reference

Policy Context

129. Achieving improvement in safeguarding policy, systems and practice is a core function of a Safeguarding Board. A Board therefore needs to be focused on learning from the experience of its professionals across the agencies. A Board must establish child and adult practice reviews where they meet the criteria in regulations, as well as audits, case reviews, thematic reviews and investigations, and ensure that they are effectively managed, supported and resourced. The Board is also required to monitor the extent to which any recommendations made by such reviews, audits and investigations are being met and what has changed as a result.

130. Criteria for child practice reviews are set out in regulation 4 of the Safeguarding Boards (Functions and Procedures) Wales) Regulations 2015 (see Annex 1), which replace the Local Safeguarding Children Boards (Wales) Regulations 2006 (as amended in 2012).

Concise child practice reviews must be undertaken where, within the area of the Board, abuse or neglect of a child is known or suspected and the child has –

  • died; or
  • sustained potentially life threatening injury; or
  • sustained serious and permanent impairment of health or development; and the child was neither on the child protection register nor a looked after child on any date during the 6 months preceding –
  • the date of the event referred to above; or
  • the date on which a local authority or relevant partner identified that a child has sustained serious and permanent impairment of health and development.

Extended child practice reviews must be undertaken where, within the area of the Board abuse or neglect of a child is known or suspected and the child has –

  • died; or
  • sustained potentially life threatening injury; or
  • sustained serious and permanent impairment of health or development; and the child was on the child protection register and/or was a looked after child (including a care leaver under the age of 18) on any date during the 6 months preceding –
  • the date of the event referred to above; or
  • the date on which a local authority or relevant partner identified that a child has sustained serious and permanent impairment of health and development.

131. Criteria for adult practice reviews are introduced by regulation 4 of the Safeguarding Boards (Functions and Procedures) Wales) Regulations 2015 (see Annex 1).

Concise adult practice reviews must be undertaken where, within the area of the Board, abuse or neglect of an adult is known or suspected and the adult has –

  • died; or
  • sustained potentially life threatening injury; or
  • sustained serious and permanent impairment of health or development; and the adult has not been, on any date during the 6 months preceding the date of the event referred to in the bullet points above, a person in respect of whom a local authority has determined to take action to protect from abuse or neglect in accordance with section 32(1)(b)(i) of the Act following enquiries by a local authority under section 126(2) of the Act.

Extended adult practice reviews must be undertaken where, within the area of the Board, abuse or neglect of an adult is known or suspected and that adult has

  • died; or
  • sustained potentially life threatening injury; or
  • sustained serious and permanent impairment of health or development; and the adult has been, on any date during the 6 months preceding the date of the event referred to in the bullet points above, a person in respect of whom a local authority has determined to take action to protect from abuse or neglect in accordance with section 32(1)(b)(i) of the Act following an enquiry by a local authority under section 126(2) of the Act.

An adult practice review must consider the extent to which details about the adult were received by the local authority. This includes the extent that details were received or could have been received from an individual or agency as part of good practice information sharing or provided from a relevant partner as part of the duty to report under section 128 of the Act.

Whilst the criteria are set for concise and extended practice reviews to ensure consistency of Safeguarding Board opportunity for learning, there is nothing to preclude a Safeguarding Board from applying the principles or the process of an extended practice review where they consider there is an opportunity for broader examination of a case and learning.

Whilst practice reviews will not usually be carried out in relation to a victim who resides in a Prison or Youth Detention Centre, as other review routes will be adopted by the secure estate, the Safeguarding Board should consider involvement of professionals and organisations who were involved with the child or adult.

132. The Board should receive reports of both child and adult practice reviews and provides professional challenge in discussing the findings, as well as identifying the strategic and service implications for improving systems and practice, and sign off the final report and action plan. The Board should make reports of child and adult practice reviews publicly available by publishing them on the Board’s website. It should then ensure the learning from reviews is used by the Board and the Board partners and other bodies represented on the Board to take effective action and that the outcomes are monitored. Learning may inform the review or development of National protection procedures.

133. Consideration of reports presented to the Board is an important means of Board members being in touch with the challenge and complexity of child and adult protection work that their professional staff are undertaking. The Board needs to be able to maintain a close oversight and understanding of current practice and to encourage a supportive learning environment throughout organisations and agencies represented on the Board.

[Working Together to Safeguarding People: Volume 1 – Guidance on the functions of Safeguarding Boards, SSWBA 2014]

Purpose

The group will support the South East Wales Safeguarding Children Board (SEWSCB) and the Gwent-wide Adult Safeguarding Board (GwASB) by delivering on the statutory function to consider all referrals for Child Practice Reviews and Adult Practice Reviews and apparent child suicides. The group will also consider referrals for Domestic Homicide Reviews, thematic reviews and audits as appropriate. The group will ensure that all reviews are appropriately resourced and that strategic and operational action plans are co-ordinated and managed effectively.

Objectives

  • The group will make recommendations to the chair of the relevant Board to undertake reviews Child Practice Reviews (CPR), Adult Practice Reviews (APR) or Multi Agency Professional Forums (MAPF) as appropriate.
  • To determine the scope, agency contribution and develop first draft terms of reference for each individual CPR or APR
  • To establish CPR and APR panels by nominating individual agency members to undertake specific roles of Reviewers and panel chairs
  • The group will oversee the review process reporting to the relevant Board any barriers to completion of the review and revised timescales. In the first instance the Chair of the CRG will discuss barriers with the panel chair
  • The Group will quality assure CPR, APR and MAPF reports before presentation to the relevant Board
  • The group will monitor completion of outstanding action plans by exception from the Quality Assurance and Performance Group
  • The group will sign off completed action plans from CPR’s and APR’s
  • Following a referral through the agreed Home Office procedure, the group will consider the criteria and make a recommendation to the relevant Public Service Board (PSB) to undertake a Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) as required.

Membership

The Case Review Group will consist of members with organisational responsibility who have sufficient authority to commit resources and hold organisations to account. In normal circumstances CRG members should also be Board members. The following agencies are members of the CRG:

  • Children’s Services, Adult Services and Education Services representation from the following Local Authority areas:
    • Blaenau Gwent
    • Caerphilly
    • Monmouthshire
    • Newport
    • Torfaen
  • National Probation Service
  • Wales Community Rehabilitation Company
  • Youth Offending Service
  • Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
  • Public Health Wales
  • Gwent police
  • Local Authority Housing Provider

Process

  • The group will meet on a quarterly basis and support will be provided by the Regional Safeguarding Business Unit.
  • Members of the group will nominate staff from their organisations to sit on task and finish groups, as and when required, to develop specific activities on the work plan.

Governance

  • The Chair of the group will report directly to the SEWSCB and GwASB on a quarterly basis
  • The Chair of the group will provide an annual report of the activity of the group to SEWSCB and GwASB. This report may be used to inform the annual report that is submitted to Welsh Government as required by the Social Services and Well-being Act 2014
  • Attendance will be monitored and any issues will be reported to the Regional Board