Responding to a parliamentary question, children’s minister Edward Timpson revealed that from 2012 there was a dramatic increase in the number of SCRs both commissioned and published.
Between April 2013 and March 2014 there were 114 serious case reviews commissioned and 71 published, compared with 2012/13, when 81 were commissioned and 31 published.
Between 2011 and 2012, just 12 were published out of only 55 commissioned SCRs.
Sue Woolmore, chair of the Association of Independent Local Safeguarding Children Board Chairs, says a key factor behind the rise is the fact that Ofsted ceased evaluating SCRs from July 2012.
This had been a recommendation by Professor Eileen Munro in her child protection review.
The March 2013 release of revised Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance, which gave Local Safeguarding Children Boards greater flexibility in how they carry out SCRs, was also pivotal, she added.
Relaxation of SCR procedures was another recommendation made by Professor Munro.
Woolmore, said: “Commissioning and publishing a SCR was a big challenge as the process was very prescriptive for Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs).
“What the Working Together revisions did was give LSCBs much more flexibility.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
