Child Practice Reviews (CPRs)
In accordance with The Safeguarding Boards (Functions and Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2015, Regional Safeguarding Children Boards have a statutory responsibility to undertake multi-agency Child Practice Reviews in circumstances of a significant incident where abuse or neglect of a child is known or suspected.
The prime purpose of practice reviews, as defined in The Safeguarding Boards (Functions and Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2015, is to identify any steps that can be taken by Safeguarding Board partners or other bodies to achieve improvements in multi-agency child protection practice.
While reviews may vary in their breadth and complexity they should be completed in a timely manner. Lessons learned from practice reviews should be disseminated effectively and any recommendation arising should be implemented promptly so that the changes required result wherever possible, in children being protected from suffering or harm in the future. Where possible lessons should be acted upon without necessarily waiting for the completion of the review.
Practice reviews are not inquiries into how a child died or was seriously harmed, or into who is culpable. These are matters for coroners and criminal courts, respectively to determine as appropriate.
In accordance with Welsh Government guidance, Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 – Working Together to Safeguard People Volume 2 – Child Practice Reviews, there are two types of review. Please see below for the criteria for undertaking each type of review.
Concise Reviews
Criteria for undertaking a Concise Review
A Safeguarding Board must undertake a concise child practice review in any of the following cases where, within the board area, 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 in the 6 months preceding-
- The date of the event referred to above; or
- The date on which the local authority or relevant partner* identifies that a child has sustained serious and permanent impairment of health or development.
Extended Reviews
Criteria for undertaking an Extended Review
A Board must undertake an extended practice review in any of the following cases where, within the area of the Board, abuse or neglect of a child is known or suspected and the child has;
- died; or
- sustained a 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 person who has turned 18 years of age, but who was 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* identifies that a child has sustained serious and permanent impairment of health and development.