A summary of the DfE's "Serious and fatal child maltreatment: setting serious case review data in context with other data on violent and maltreatment-related deaths in 2009-10"
NSPCC briefing
December 2011
This briefing summarises the key findings from the Department for Education's interim report
Serious and fatal child maltreatment: setting serious case review data in context with other data on violent and maltreatment-related deaths in 2009-10 (PDF).
The report provides a comprehensive picture of violent and maltreatment-related deaths of children in England.
Overview
The report analyses data from 105 serious case reviews (SCRs) notified to the Department for Education (DfE) and relating to incidents between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010.
The analysis provides descriptive data on numbers and calculated rates by age and gender, based on mid-year population estimates from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) for children aged 0-17 in England. Data on ethnic groups, disability and number of siblings is also briefly provided.
For comparison purposes, data is also included from the ONS on birth and death registrations, Home Office homicide statistics, Child Death Overview Panel Returns and the Children in Need census.
In addition to summarising descriptive data provided by the various sources, the report also analyses and makes comparisons on data relating to children in need and violent child deaths.
Analysis of 579 SCRs carried out between 2005-2010 is presented to provide information on current trends.
Findings
The report's findings include:
- the total number of violent and maltreatment-related deaths of children (0-17 years) is estimated at around 74 (0.67 per 100,000 children aged 0-17) per year, approximately 50-55 directly caused by violence, abuse or neglect, and a further 20-25 in which maltreatment contributed but was not the primary cause of death
- slight discrepancies in data on child deaths from violence or abuse, particularly in relation to infants and adolescents
- rates for SCRs were highest in infancy (6.02 per 100,000 infants), dropping in the pre-school, school-age years, and rising slightly in late adolescence
- between 2005 and 2010 there were an average of 69 SCRs per year relating to child fatalities where abuse or neglect were known or suspected to be a factor. 44% of these related to infants
- year-on-year fluctuations in number of non-fatal cases resulting in SCRs, due to Local Safeguarding Children Boards having some discretion in deciding whether or not to carry out a SCR.
Conclusions
The report concludes that:
- there is no one data source which captures all violent and maltreatment-related deaths but comparing annual data from various sources should help provide a reasonably accurate profile and show any trends
- more detailed analysis of SCR overview reports will provide greater understanding and help inform developments in policy, practice and professional understanding.
References
Sidebotham, Peter, Brandon, Marian, Bailey, Sue, Belderson, Pippa and Hawley, Carol (2011)
Serious and fatal child maltreatment: setting serious case review data in context with other data on violent and maltreatment-related deaths in 2009-10 (PDF). [London]: Department for Education (DfE).
Related NSPCC resources
Serious case reviewsOur pages on the case reviews of child deaths and serious injury collating guidance, research reports and a list of published case reviews.
Child killings in England and WalesNSPCC, 2011. Explains the different sources of statistics.
How to find, understand and use statistics about child abuseNSPCC, 2011. A brief introduction to child abuse statistics.
CASPAR newsView the latest child protection news or sign up to our current awareness email that delivers a bitesize summary of all the new developments in research policy and practice to your inbox every Monday.
Contact the NSPCC Information Service for specialist information on serious case reviews, data sources on child abuse and neglect or any child protection topic
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