Highland Child Protection Committee - Significant Case Review

If you are worried about a child or young person and would like to speak to someone, you can contact Emergency Out of Hours Service on 08457 697284 or the Police on 101.

Speaking on behalf of the Highland Child Protection Committee (HCPC), Chair of the HCPC, Detective Chief Inspector Vincent Mclaughlin, and Bill Alexander, Director of Care and Learning said: "The Child Protection Committee, on behalf of the Chief Officers Group, is responsible for deciding whether a significant case review (SCR) is warranted and for agreeing how the review is conducted.

"In the context of child protection, an SCR is a multi-agency process for establishing the facts of, and learning lessons from, a situation where a child has died or been significantly harmed.

"SCR's should be seen in the context of a culture of continuous improvement and should focus on learning and reflection on day-to-day practices, and the systems within which those practices operate.

"The SCR relating to the death of Child R in February 2014 was commissioned by the Highland Child Protection Committee in 2014.

"It reported in December 2016, due to a requirement to delay the SCR process given ongoing parallel criminal proceedings.

"This was a tragic case relating to the death of a two-year-old child which had a lasting effect on his immediate family and the wider community of Inverness.

 "Our thoughts at every stage of this process have been with those affected by this tragedy.

It was a very sad and challenging case for everyone involved. Professionals want to work in cooperation with parents to provide support, but that support relies on parents’ willingness to receive it.

"The learning identified within the SCR has informed continuous improvement work across Family Teams in Highland in the complex and challenging practice of assessment of risk where neglect is a factor in a child’s life.

"The Highland Child Protection Committee held its annual conference in March 2017 with theme of neglect, which was attended by over 160 child protection practitioners from across Highland.

"The findings of this SCR have been the foundation for a number of positive developments implemented across Highland child protection practice since this case.

"Practice improvement around neglect continues to be a priority for Highland Child Protection Committee and implementation of the NSPCC Graded Care Profile 2 risk assessment tool for children’s services practitioners commenced in October 2017.

“Child protection is everyone’s responsibility. If you have any concerns about a child’s welfare, please do not hesitate to contact the authorities:  You can contact any of the following: Police (101) or Social Work (01349 886606 or Out of hours: 0845 601 4813), or a Head Teacher or a Doctor.”

For further information about the multi-agency Child Protection Committee and child protection visit http://hcpc.scot/

This website is for anyone who wants to know more about child protection. The website has been developed by Highland Child Protection Committee to help you find out what to do and who to contact if you are concerned about a child and information on what might happen next. You can also search the site for information about local and national services, training courses and recent publications, as well as policies and forthcoming events.