Death or Serious Injury to a Child (Looked After and Child In Need)

1. Introduction

In accordance with Working Together to Safeguard Children, the Local Authority is required to notify Ofsted and the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership of any "serious childcare incident", specifically:

• Responding to the death (including suspected suicide) or serious injury of a child in the community;
• Responding to the death (including suspected suicide) or serious injury of a Looked After Child;
• The death of a Looked After Child;
• The death of a child in a regulated setting or service;
• Cases where Female Genital Mutilation are identified.

The purpose of these procedures is therefore to ensure that:

• It is clear when the Local Authority is required to notify Ofsted of a serious childcare incident;
• The arrangements for responding to serious childcare incidents are clear and that there is sufficient scrutiny and challenge of decision-making.

Statutory Framework

These procedures are underpinned by the following legal frameworks:

• Children Act 1989, Schedule 2, paragraph 20(1)(a);
• Working Together to Safeguard Children, Chapter 4, paragraph 13-16;
• Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, Part V, s.40;
• Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011, Schedule 6 and Schedule;
• Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE, March 2014).

Definitions

For the purposes of these procedures, 'serious injury' includes any injury, which is life-threatening or which may cause significant, long-term impairment or disability to the child.

Responsibilities

The Service Director, Children's Services is responsible for ensuring that Ofsted is notified, without delay, of a death or serious injury of a child. Other responsibilities are detailed in the following processes.

2. Responding to the Death (Including Suspected Suicide) or Serious Injury of a Child in the Community

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.

Incidents should be reported 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
• 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.

2.1 The Child's Social Worker will:

• Immediately inform his or her Team Manager;
• Obtain as much information as possible on the circumstances surrounding the cause of death/serious injury, usually by liaison with the Police, and pass this to the relevant Team Manager; and
• Take any necessary action, in consultation with their line manager and Senior Manager (SM), Police and Health partners, to safeguard any surviving child or siblings, in accordance with child protection procedures.

2.2 The Team Manager will:

• Immediately inform the Designated Manager (Death or Serious Injury to a Child), their SM, and Service Director, Children's Services by telephone and provide follow-up information by e-mail as soon as possible;
• Ensure any necessary support is made available to staff;
• Ensure any on-going safeguarding issues are responded to.

2.3 The SM will:

• Consider the need for a rapid response meeting following the North and South of Tyne Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures, Child Death Reviews Processes meeting in consultation with others;
• Chair the strategy discussions in relation to the death.

2.4 The Service Director, Children's Services will:

• Immediately inform the Director of Children's Services, who will come to a decision about whether to notify members;
• Inform Ofsted within 1 working day, using the online Notification Form for Serious Childcare Incidents;
• Consider, in consultation with the Chair of the Northumberland Strategic Safeguarding Partnership, the appropriate response under the NSCP procedures, including the need to hold a Serious Case Review in accordance with LSCB Regulations 2006;
• Come to a decision about the need for a Multi-Agency Deep Dive Review of the case and if so, the appropriate person to conduct the review, in consultation with the Chair of NSCP Case Review Sub Committee;
• Where a Serious Case Review or Multi-Agency Deep Dive Review is to be conducted, ensure the electronic files (and all other records) relating to the child are secured;
• Agree with the chair of the NSCP when and how to inform other relevant agencies about the death/serious injury and remind them to secure their files where a review is likely to be required;
• Consider any media considerations and liaise with the local authority's media office as necessary.

3. Responding to the Death (Including Suspected Suicide) or Serious Injury of a Looked After Child

Where information comes to notice of the death of/or serious injury to a child who is Looked After, the following actions should be taken:

3.1 The Child's Social Worker will:

• Immediately inform his or her Team Manager;
• In consultation with the Team Manager and SM, agree arrangements for:
  • Notifying the child's parents;
  • In the event of a child's death, discussing with the parent(s) and reaching agreement regarding the arrangements for the funeral. (In the event of sudden, unexplained deaths, arrangements for the funeral may need to be delayed);
  • In the event of a serious injury to the child, arranging with the parent(s) to visit the child in hospital if appropriate;
  • Payments of any necessary expenditure including reasonable travel expenses to assist the family to attend the funeral or visit the child in hospital where it appears there is financial hardship.
• Obtain as much information as possible on the circumstances surrounding the cause of death/serious injury and pass this to their team manager;
• Where the child was in a long term foster placement, discuss with the line manager any possible conflict between the carers and the parents regarding arrangements for the child's funeral.

3.2 The Team Manager will:

• Immediately inform their SM, Service Director, Children's Services, by telephone and provide follow-up information by e-mail as soon as possible;
• Liaise with Family Placement Service Manager with regard to any safeguarding issues for other children in placement, and with regard to the support needs of the carers and other children;
• Liaise with Senior Manager – Looked After Children Services (if the child is/was living in a Local Authority residential care home) with regard to any safeguarding issues for other children in the residential care home, and with regard to the support needs of the staff and other children in the home;
• Advise senior manager for the Independent Reviewing Service;
• Advise Legal Services by telephone, confirming details by secure e-mail.

3.3 The SM will:

• Consider the need for a rapid response meeting following the NSCP child death overview procedures meeting in consultation with others;
• Chair the strategy discussions in relation to the death.

3.4 The Service Director, Children's Services will:

• Immediately inform the Director of Children's Services, who will come to a decision about whether to notify members;
• Local authorities should continue to use Ofsted's current Notification Form for Serious Childcare Incidents to notify the Panel until a new system for the Panel goes live. Notifications made through this route will go to the Panel, Ofsted and the DfE;
• Consider, in consultation with the Chair of the Northumberland Strategic Safeguarding Partnership the need to hold appropriate meetings under the NSCP procedures, including the need to hold a Serious Case Review in accordance with NSCP Regulations 2006;
• Come to a decision about the need for a Multi-Agency Deep Dive Review of the case and if so, the appropriate person to conduct the review, in consultation with the Chair of NSCP Case Review Sub-Committee;
• Where a Child Safeguarding Practice Review or Multi-Agency Deep Dive Review is to be conducted, ensure the electronic files (and all other records) relating to the child are secured;
• Agree with the chair of the NSCP when and how to inform other relevant agencies about the death/serious injury and remind them to secure their files where a review is likely to be required;
• Consider any media considerations and liaise with the local authority's media office as necessary.

4. Responding to the Death or Serious Injury of a Child in a Regulated Settings or Services

• If a child dies in a regulated setting or service, Ofsted must be notified in accordance with the above process, using the online Notification Form for Serious Childcare Incidents;
• If any other incident or injury occurs in a regulated setting or service, Ofsted must be notified by the Registered Provider using the specific online Notification Forms;
• In addition: early years providers, maintained schools, non-maintained schools, independent schools, all providers on the Early Years Register and all providers registered with an early years childminder agency must follow the guidance provided in the Statutory Framework for the early years foundation stage.

5. Responding to Cases where Female Genital Mutilation are Identified

Where information comes to notice where FGM has taken place:

5.1 The child's social worker will:

• Immediately inform his or her Team Manager;
• If any other incident or injury occurs in a regulated setting or service, the local authority must inform the national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel within 5 days using the Child Safeguarding Incident Notification System. The Panel, will share all notifications with Ofsted and the DfE. The local authority must also notify the Secretary of State and Ofsted where a Looked After Child has died, whether or not abuse or neglect is known or suspected;
• Ensuring the FGM Pathway (Flowchart).

5.2 The Team Manager will:

• Immediately inform their SM, Service Director, Children's Services, by telephone and provide follow-up information by e-mail as soon as possible;
• Liaise with the Paediatric services where it is believed that FGM has already taken place to ensure that a Medical Assessment takes place;
• Notify the police if they discover that an act of FGM appears to have been carried out on a girl who is under 18 (either if they have visually confirmed it or it has been verbally disclosed by an affected girl);
• Advise Legal Services by telephone, confirming details by secure e-mail.

5.3 The SM will:

• Chair the strategy discussions in relation to FGM and protecting other members of the family;
• Children's Social Care Services in consultation with the Police will undertake a Section 47 Enquiry if it has reason to believe that a child is likely to suffer or has suffered FGM.

5.4 The Service Director, Children's Services will:

• Immediately inform the Director of Children's Services, who will come to a decision about whether to notify members;
• Inform Ofsted within 1 working day, using the online Notification Form for Serious Childcare Incidents;
• Consider, in consultation with the Chair of the Northumberland Strategic Safeguarding Partnership, the appropriate response under the NSCP procedures, including the need to hold a Child Safeguarding Practice Review in accordance with LSCB Regulations 2006;
• Come to a decision about the need for a Multi-Agency Deep Dive Review of the case and if so, the appropriate person to conduct the review, in consultation with the Chair of NSCP Case Review Sub Committee;
• Where a Serious Case Review or Multi-Agency Deep Dive Review is to be conducted, ensure the electronic files (and all other records) relating to the child are secured;
• Agree with the chair of the NSCP when and how to inform other relevant agencies about the death/serious injury and remind them to secure their files where a review is likely to be required;
• Consider any media considerations and liaise with the local authority's media office as necessary.

6. Needs of Social Worker / Team / Managers / Carer

During the implementation of this procedure consideration must be given to the needs of those staff and carers involved in the case.

The impact of a child death on social worker/team/manager/carer needs to be addressed in terms of:

• The need for counselling for those involved;
• The manner in which such support is offered;
• The provision of access to legal and professional advice about the ongoing conduct of the case;
• The provision of a clear explanation of the process of a Serious Case 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 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 manage workloads.