Serious Incidents

Agency responsibility to notify KSCP of Serious Incidents and Child Deaths

A notifiable incident is an incident involving the care of a child which meets any of the following criteria:

A child has died (including cases of suspected suicide), and abuse or neglect is known or suspected;
A child has been ‘seriously harmed’ and abuse or neglect is known or suspected
A looked after child has died (including cases where abuse or neglect is not known or suspected); or
A child in a regulated setting or service has died (including cases where abuse or neglect is not known or suspected)

‘Seriously harmed’ in the context of the above includes, but is not limited to, cases where the child has sustained, as a result of abuse or neglect, any or all of the following:

A potentially life-threatening injury;
Serious and/or likely long-term impairment of physical or mental health or physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development.

This definition is not exhaustive. In addition, even if a child recovers, this does not mean that serious harm cannot have occurred. The KSCP will ensure that its considerations on whether serious harm has occurred are informed by available research evidence.
Responsibilities of an organisation where a notifiable incident occurs
Where a serious incident occurs which meets the definition of a ‘notifiable incident’, the first step for any organisation is to take appropriate action to ensure the immediate safety of the child or minimise the impact of any serious harm.
In all circumstances staff should consult with their Safeguarding Lead/Senior Manager. The Safeguarding Lead/Senior Manager should contact the Local Authority and the KSCP to identify whether the criteria for notification has been met.

The organisation should have its own internal processes to ensure that:

Where a child has suffered serious harm, the organisation will make a referral to the Local Authority
The organisation’s Safeguarding Lead is informed of the incident/s and agrees with a Senior Manager within the organisation that the criteria has been met
Where the child has died (whether this expected or unexpected), the correct procedures are followed, as outlined in our CDOP procedures

Responsibilities of the Local Authority

In accordance with Working Together (2018), Kirklees Local Authority is required to report any incident that meets the criteria of a ‘notifiable incident’ to Ofsted promptly, and within five working days of becoming aware that the incident has occurred.

Local Resources

Collated Serious Incident, Rapid Review and Safeguarding Practice Review Guidance Document
Anyone can notify KSCP of a Serious Incident. Please access the case review system and fill out the notification form.
Serious Incident notification template

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