CSPRs - Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews

What is a Child Safeguarding Practice Review? 

The Children and Social Work Act (2017) and Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023) guidance introduced a new legal framework in respect of local safeguarding arrangements for children. Responsibility for how a system learns lessons from serious child safeguarding incidents now rests at a national level with the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel and at a local level with the Safeguarding Partners (KBSP). This means that Serious Case Reviews have been replaced by Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (CSPRs) as learning reviews conducted in cases where abuse or neglect of a child is known or suspected, and the child has died or been seriously harmed. 

The purpose of a Child Safeguarding Practice Review is to: 

• Establish whether there are lessons to be learnt from the case about the way in local professionals and organisations work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. 

• Identify clearly what those lessons are, how they will be acted on, and what is expected to change as a result, and therefore, improve inter-agency working and better safeguard and promote the welfare of children. 

The CSPR Process 

Once aware of a Child Safeguarding Serious Incident (in which abuse or neglect is known or suspected, and a child dies or is seriously harmed in Bristol), the local authority (Bristol City Council) must submit Child Safeguarding Serious Incident Notification to the national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel using the Child safeguarding incident notification system. This notification must take place within 5 working days of becoming aware of the incident. 

Rapid Reviews must be conducted whenever Bristol City Council submits a Child Safeguarding Serious Incident Notification. However, other multi-agency safeguarding partners should also inform the KBSP of cases where it is considered that a Rapid Review should be conducted. 

Request a CSPR 

To inform the KBSP of a Child Safeguarding Serious Incident or request a Rapid Review, complete this CSPR referral form and email to KBSP.statutoryreviews@bristol.gov.uk. Before submitting the referral, please discuss this with your agency representative on the CSPR sub-group or your agency Keeping Children Safe Board member. If you do not have a representative, please discuss this with the Safeguarding lead in your organisation. 

Following the Rapid Review, a recommendation for a local or national Child Safeguarding Practice Review will be made to the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. 

The KBSP Statutory Review Local Protocol and Guidance sets out the processes for rapid reviews and CSPRs in Bristol. 

National Reviews 

The National Child Safeguarding Practice Review are an independent panel working with the Department of Education. The panel review all local rapid reviews and CSPRs, they also commission national reviews. 

Visit the National CSPR Panel website to see all published CSPR reports and briefing papers. 

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) holds a national case review depository on their website. Visit the NSPCC National Case Review Depository to find CSPRs and SCRs published by children safeguarding partnerships across the country. 

Previous CSPRs 

An archive of Serious Case Reviews (SCR) published under the Bristol Safeguarding Children Board can be found below. All CSPRs published after September 2019 are under the banner of the Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership.