# What is a child safeguarding practice review, and what is a school asked to do?

Source page: https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/cspr  
Last updated: 2026-10-20  
Publisher: Pupil Protect (Glacier Labs Ltd)

> A child safeguarding practice review looks at what can be learned when a child dies or is seriously harmed and abuse or neglect is known or suspected. The local authority notifies the national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel within 5 working days, the local safeguarding partners send a rapid review within 15 working days, and they then decide whether a local review is needed, which should be finished within 6 months. Schools must provide information when the safeguarding partners ask for it, often including a chronology, and staff are invited to contribute without fear of blame.

## What a review is for

Child safeguarding practice reviews look at what happened when a child died or was seriously harmed and abuse or neglect was known or suspected, so that agencies can learn and prevent it happening again. Working Together 2026 says reviews are **not about holding people to account**. Disciplinary procedures, professional regulation and criminal proceedings deal with that separately (paragraph 387).

They replaced **serious case reviews**, after the Children and Social Work Act 2017 changed the Children Act 2004. The rules are in chapter 5 of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 and the Child Safeguarding Practice Review and Relevant Agency (England) Regulations 2018.

## What triggers one

Under **section 16C of the Children Act 2004**, the local authority must notify the national **Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel** if it knows or suspects that a child has been abused or neglected and the child:

- dies or is seriously harmed in its area, or
- dies or is seriously harmed outside England while normally living in its area

**Serious harm** includes serious or long-term impairment of a child's mental health or intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development. Serious harm can have happened even if the child recovers (paragraph 367).

The three safeguarding partners decide together whether an incident meets the criteria (paragraph 370). Anyone else who works with children, including a school, should tell the partners about an incident they think should be considered for notification (paragraph 371). Only the local authority can submit it (paragraph 379).

## The three stages and their timescales

Working Together 2026 sets out three stages, in order (paragraph 385):

| Stage | Who | Timescale |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Serious incident notification | The local authority, for all three partners, through the online notification system | Within **5 working days** of becoming aware of the incident |
| Rapid review | The local safeguarding partners, sent to the Panel | Within **15 working days** of the notification |
| Local child safeguarding practice review (LCSPR), if needed | Commissioned by the partners, carried out by a reviewer they appoint | Completed within **6 months** of the decision to start it |

The 15 working day rapid review deadline is new in the 2026 edition. The summary of the timescales calls it a non-statutory requirement, with more detail in the Panel's own guidance.

### The rapid review

The partners should carry out the rapid review promptly (paragraph 392), to:

- gather the facts, as far as they can readily be established
- decide whether any immediate action is needed to keep children safe
- consider what could be improved
- decide what to do next, including whether to hold a local review or suggest a national one

A well-run rapid review can draw out enough learning that no local review is needed (paragraph 395).

### The local review

There is no expectation that every rapid review leads to an LCSPR. The partners decide, considering whether the case highlights improvements needed or recurring themes, or raises concerns about agencies working together (paragraph 395). The review should use a systems approach, reflect every child involved and look at things from the child's perspective (paragraph 398).

The partners must publish the report, or at least the improvements to be made, unless that's inappropriate, and keep it public for at least a year (paragraphs 404 and 405). They send it to the Panel and the Secretary of State at least 7 working days before publication (paragraph 407).

## The national Panel

The **Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel** is an independent national body. After each rapid review it decides whether a case is complex or of national importance and needs a **national review**. Only the Panel decides on national reviews (paragraph 412). National reports stay public for at least three years (paragraph 426).

The Panel also publishes thematic reviews and an annual report. Examples relevant to schools include its national review into child sexual abuse within the family environment (November 2024) and its briefing on safeguarding children in elective home education (October 2024). The most recent annual report we found on GOV.UK, when we checked on 20 October 2026, covers April 2023 to March 2024.

## What schools contribute

Schools are usually one of the agencies that knew the child best. What you are likely to be asked for:

- **Information.** Safeguarding partners can require any organisation to provide information for a local or national review, under section 16H of the Children Act 2004, and the organisation **must comply** (Working Together 2026, paragraphs 89 and 90). KCSIE 2026 says governing bodies should be prepared to supply information the partners ask for (paragraph 137).
- **A chronology.** Rapid reviews often ask each agency for a chronology of its involvement, with what the school knew, what it did and when. See [what to include in a safeguarding chronology](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/chronology).
- **Your staff's perspective.** Practitioners should be fully involved and invited to give their perspective "without fear of being blamed for actions they took in good faith" (paragraph 400). Support the staff who knew the child, before and after they contribute, and consider [safeguarding supervision](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/guides/safeguarding-supervision-for-dsls) for the DSL.
- **Acting on the learning.** KCSIE says research and local reviews have repeatedly shown the dangers of failing to act (paragraph 76). Read the reviews your partnership publishes and build their learning into training and your child protection policy.

The NSPCC keeps a searchable repository of published reviews, including older serious case reviews, which is useful for training.

## Questions

**What triggers a child safeguarding practice review?**  
A serious incident notification. Under section 16C of the Children Act 2004, a local authority must notify the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel when it knows or suspects a child has been abused or neglected and the child has died or been seriously harmed in its area, or has died or been seriously harmed outside England while normally living in its area. The rapid review that follows decides whether a full review is needed.

**What is a local child safeguarding practice review?**  
A review commissioned by the three local safeguarding partners (the local authority, integrated care board and police) when a serious incident raises issues of importance for their area. It isn't automatic after a rapid review. It looks at how agencies worked, from the child's perspective, and should be completed and published within 6 months of the decision to start it (Working Together 2026, paragraphs 395 and 408).

**What is a rapid review in safeguarding?**  
A short review the local safeguarding partners carry out promptly after a serious incident notification. It gathers the facts, checks whether children need immediate action to keep them safe, and decides whether to hold a local review or ask the national Panel to consider one. Working Together 2026 says it should reach the Panel within 15 working days of the notification (paragraphs 385 and 392).

**Are serious case reviews still used?**  
No. Serious case reviews were replaced by child safeguarding practice reviews after the Children and Social Work Act 2017 changed the Children Act 2004. Some older published reports and the NSPCC repository still use the name serious case review.

**Who is involved in a child safeguarding practice review?**  
The local safeguarding partners commission and oversee it and appoint a reviewer, checking for any conflict of interest. Practitioners from every agency involved, including schools, are invited to contribute, and families, including surviving children, should be invited too. The national Panel decides on national reviews (Working Together 2026, paragraphs 396 to 400 and 412).

## Sources

- [Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, chapter 5, paragraphs 362 to 428, and chapter 2, paragraphs 89 and 90 (DfE, March 2026)](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69fb1c28d0e316a40f269a5b/Working_together_to_safeguard_children_2026_a_guide_to_multi_agency_working.pdf), checked 2026-10-20
- [Children Act 2004, section 16C (duty to notify the Panel) and section 16H (information requests)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/31/section/16C), checked 2026-10-20
- [Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel: guidance for safeguarding partners (June 2025)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-safeguarding-practice-review-panel-practice-guidance), checked 2026-10-20
- [Report the death or serious harm of a child or care leaver (GOV.UK, updated 14 October 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-a-serious-child-safeguarding-incident), checked 2026-10-20
- [Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel: annual report 2023 to 2024 (December 2024)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-safeguarding-practice-review-panel-annual-report-2023-to-2024), checked 2026-10-20
- [Keeping children safe in education 2026, paragraphs 76 and 135 to 137 (DfE, in force from 1 September 2026)](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6ac3c09c11ed58342ad8e4ac/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_2026.pdf), checked 2026-10-20
- [NSPCC Learning: national case review repository](https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/case-reviews/national-case-review-repository), checked 2026-10-20

## Related

- [Safeguarding chronology template](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/tools/safeguarding-chronology-template): Pull a child's key events together when a review asks for them.
- [What to include in a safeguarding chronology](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/chronology)
- [Working Together 2026 summary](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/wtsc)
- [Information sharing in safeguarding](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/information-sharing)
- [Safeguarding and DSL jobs](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/jobs/role/safeguarding)

## In Pupil Protect

Pupil Protect Safeguard puts every concern, action, meeting and document on one chronology for each child. Filter it to key events only when you are writing a conference report. [See the chronology in Safeguard](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/safeguard)