Learning from Child Practice Reviews 2020

In this presentation, we report findings from a qualitative, multi-disciplinary analysis of 20 Child Practice Reviews (CPRs) (previously Serious Case Review) in Wales. The reviews were analysed from three different disciplinary perspectives: law, criminology and practice (social work). The paper identifies the following cross-cutting themes: (i) hierarchy of knowledge, where certain sources of knowledge were privileged over others (ii) information sharing/recording, where deficiencies of sharing or recording of information were evident (iii) partial assessment, where certain assessments were not always holistic, and lastly, (iv) voice of the child, where the experience or perspective of the child was not always considered. This is the first study to explore themes emerging from (Welsh) CPRs and is also the first to do so from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The presentation will focus on implications for practice and policy.