Child protection in England is a complex multi‑agency system with many different organisations and individuals playing their part. When a serious incident occurs, it is important to understand the involvement of all individuals, organisations and agencies, and the impact of their actions on the children involved. This helps identify whether alternative approaches or decisions might have led to better outcomes.
The learning process begins when a serious incident notification is made. This is followed by a rapid review and, where criteria are met, an Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR).
This page brings together resources and local case studies to support safeguarding partnerships to commission, carry out and learn from local reviews.
How reviews work
The child safeguarding review process includes three main stages. These help ensure early learning, deeper analysis and national oversight.
A statutory notification submitted by the local authority when a child dies or is seriously harmed and abuse or neglect is known or suspected.
Shortly after the incident.
Local authority (with safeguarding partners).
A notification via the Child Safeguarding Incident Notification System
Ensures serious incidents are recorded quickly and can trigger rapid learning.
A short review that assembles the key facts, identifies immediate actions and decides whether a Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) is needed.
Usually completed within 15 working days.
Local safeguarding partners.
A factual summary and early learning.
Secures timely insight and helps protect children quickly.
A detailed review commissioned when there is significant learning that may improve local safeguarding practice.
Where rapid reviews indicate criteria are met.
Local safeguarding partners with an independent reviewer.
A published report (or an anonymous summary).
Provides deeper learning to drive system improvement.
Rapid reviews
When safeguarding partners notify the Panel about a serious incident they must undertake a rapid review of the child’s experience within 15 working days (calculated from the date that the notification was sent to the Panel). The key purposes of a rapid review are to identify if there is any immediate action required to ensure children’s safety, therefore meetings need to be held promptly and identify areas for learning and improvement in how agencies are working together.
Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews
When the rapid review indicates that criteria are met, LCSPRs help local partnerships understand what can be learned to improve future practice.
Decisions on whether to undertake an LCSPR should be made collaboratively and transparently
between safeguarding partner agencies, considering what additional local learning is likely
to be achieved. They should provide a way of analysing frontline practice as well as organisational structures and reflect both the child’s perspective and the family context.
The NSPCC’s national collection of case reviews is a repository of over 2,000 local and national case reviews from across the UK dating back to 1945, as well as thematic analysis reports from all four nations. NSPCC thematic briefings also highlight the learning from case reviews on a range of topics.
The following documents contain important learning that can help safeguarding partnerships when commissioning or conducting LCSPRs.
Explores how children’s voices, particularly from Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage backgrounds, are often missing in safeguarding reviews.
Examines how language and adultification can obscure racism, reinforce bias and impact how Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage children are protected.
Guidance for safeguarding partners and safeguarding professionals on what the Panel does, how it works and advice about conducting child safeguarding reviews.
Research about supporting local safeguarding partners to learn from serious child safeguarding incidents.
Local case studies
Our 7‑minute briefings are short case studies that bring learning from rapid reviews and local child safeguarding practice reviews (LCSPRs) to life. Each briefing summarises what happened, what professionals learned, and how practice can improve, using clear and accessible language. They are designed to support discussion, reflection and continuous improvement across the local safeguarding system. The briefings help teams quickly understand and apply learning to their day‑to‑day work with children and families, cascading information from different safeguarding partnerships across the country.
Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage children
A case study about a three-year-old boy of Black British heritage who died. The cause of death was undetermined, but he was severely malnourished.
A case study about a six-year-old girl with dual-heritage who fell from an upstairs window at home, resulting in severe injuries.
Child sexual abuse
This case study is about a child with ADHD who shared that she had been sexually abused by her stepfather.
This case study is about a young adult who died from drug-related causes after experiencing sexual abuse by a long-term foster carer.
This case study is about a 13-year-old girl who was sexually abused by a relative who provided financial support to the family. The relative said that her parents were aware of the abuse.