Child
Protection
Partnership
Opening remarks SCR Development Session
1 March 2017
CURL Aberdeen 9:30 – 12
Welcome to this event. This is a Development Session in connection with Significant Case Reviews hosted by the
partnership of Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Child Protection Committees.
1. The event has been organised in recognition of a number of things:

As many of you will be aware, the Scottish Government is carrying out a review of child protection around
Scotland. It is expected to report on this in the next few days but, as I speak, we are not yet aware of the
findings. However, we do know that Significant Case Reviews have been one of the focuses of the
government review. It is expected that the importance of these reviews will be escalated, with the
corresponding requirement that all Child Protection Committees have vigorous and up-to date procedures
around SCRs in place. So I welcome all professionals here today and hope that this event will provide a
helpful refresh on our individual and collective roles and responsibilities in relation to SCRs.

The National Significant Case Review Guidance was published in late 2015 and has been adopted by all the
Child Protection Committees in the north east of Scotland. Local procedures are being produced. I am aware
that, whilst we now have 3 separate CPCs in the region, there is a willingness to work together to make sure
our procedures are each consistent with the others. This makes sense when we have so many families who
move from one area to another. SCRs in the past have highlighted that children are particularly vulnerable
when the family move and the children “fall between two stools”. We want to make sure that doesn’t
happen here. I am also aware that our colleagues in the Police and NHS find consistency across the area
helpful in ensuring we deliver the very best of practice.

The National Guidance is primarily for people who sit on Child Protection Committees (CPCs). I am pleased to
see that we have representation across the variety of agencies who form our local CPCs. But this is not just a
matter for CPCs. The CPC, on behalf of its local Chief Officers Group, is responsible for deciding whether a
significant case review (SCR) is warranted, and for agreeing how the review is conducted. So I am pleased to
see a number of my Chief Officer colleagues here today in support of the CPCs and in recognition of our
governance role in all aspects of protecting children and young people.

We have not have many SCRs in the north east in recent years, 7 in the last 10 years, but we take this very
seriously and have a history of working together on this. There is much to be learned from the tragic
circumstances of a child’s death or “near miss”. We want to make sure that lessons are learned and
improvements made where needed. All 3 areas participated in the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)
Learning Together training pilot in Scotland. This model is considered favourably by the Care Inspectorate
who now has an oversight role in relation to SCRs. It is expected that the government will make their role
clearer in the report expected in the next day or two. Whatever model we use, each CPC aims to promote
inter-agency working, continuous improvement through self-evaluation and sharing best practice in child
protection services. So it makes sense for us to conduct Significant Case Reviews in a consistent manner in
keeping with the ethos of child protection partnership-working across the Grampian area. And it makes
sense for us to come together today to hear more about it.

Locally, each Child Protection Committee now has an SCR Sub Committee who will make sure procedures are
in place and will progress both Initial Case reviews and Significant Case reviews as they arise. The devil is
often in the detail and we want to get this right locally. We are looking forward to drawing on the expertise
of Beth Smith and Jane Scott as we think about
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Whether the criteria for a significant case review is met
Who makes that decision
Who should conduct the SCR
Which model should we use and what is the purpose of the SCR
What are our roles and responsibilities in this process
How do we learn from it
When is it appropriate to publish the results
2. Jane Scott and Beth Smith are Independent Consultants who were involved in the Review of the 2007
National Guidance on SCRs and the refresh of the 2015 Guidance. They have experience of acting as ‘critical
friend’, co-working and leading SCRs in Scotland.
Jane has a background of research and development in child welfare including large national projects. Jane
has experience of the practice and policy landscape in relation to child protection and the wider child care
field through various roles within academic institutions such as Universities of Stirling, Dundee and
Loughborough.
Beth is a registered social worker with a background in social work practice, management and leadership
and has held a number of senior management posts within various local authorities. Beth is an Honorary
Senior Research Fellow with the University of Stirling and an Associate of SCIE
3. Thank you for attending today and I hope you enjoy the opportunity and time out of our busy schedules to
look at the guidance and consider and reflect on our local arrangements for undertaking SCR’s.
I will now pass over to Beth to take us through the morning….