Child Safeguarding Review Processes

Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FIN/25/003727/L

Version Date: 13/10/2025

The Crime & Criminal Justice Department has provided the following information:

Please provide details of the mechanisms, policies, or processes your force had in place from 1 January 2021 to the present for:

Receiving and reviewing findings, recommendations or learning from Serious Case Reviews, Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews or equivalent reviews concerning children

Dorset currently has two Child Safeguarding Boards as well as a single Pan Dorset Adult Safeguarding Boards.

For child cases, cases potentially suitable for local child safeguarding reviews are either identified through our Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) or force review officer. Cases are then passed to the local authority for review as the Local Authority has the final decision upon whether a Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCPR) is agreed. Within each Local Policing Area aligned to the two local authorities and safeguarding boards is a safeguarding hub commanded by a Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) who will along with the MASH DCI will represent the force on such reviews including supporting the identification of any learning and findings.

For adult cases, the safeguarding hub DCI will attend a pan dorset Safeguarding Adult Review (SAR) coordination meeting where each child case is discussed and the force supports the identification of any learnings and findings.

Findings are then fed back into the force through an oversight meeting which maintains oversight of learning from all Adult Safeguarding reviews, Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs), and Local Child Safeguarding Reviews. The Force’s Learning and Development Unit is part of the oversight meetings. Learning is fed into training and development programmes.

Disseminating and embedding this learning internally within the force, including between departments, teams or officers

Please see answer to question 1.

Sharing or embedding this learning externally with partner agencies or multi-agency safeguarding partnerships

Partners are present with the relevant processes and party to the development of action plans. Learning is developed by both the adult and child safeguarding boards. Further information will be held by those boards.

Monitoring or evaluating whether this learning has been implemented effectively in practice

Please see answer to question 3.

If possible, please provide copies of any relevant policies, procedures, frameworks or guidance documents that were in place during this period

If policies or processes have changed since 1 January 2021, please provide information on the current version and any revisions during this period

No information held.

Relevant policies and procedures are held by the Pan Dorset Adult Safeguarding Board, the Dorset Child Safeguarding Board and BCP Child Safeguarding Boards as well as working together national policies. 

Please contact Dorset Council and BCP Council for this information:

Freedom of Information (FOI) - Dorset Council

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